5 fun things to do in Damariscotta
Glenn "Mitch" Mitchell, owner of Midcoast Kayak, loves to hop the islands of Muscungus Bay near Damariscotta. (Courtesy of Mitch MItchell)
Glenn “Mitch” Mitchell has lived and traveled all over the world. He moved to Maine 25 years ago, and the day he visited Damariscotta for the first time, he knew.
“I always felt super comfortable here,” he said. “It just has felt like my real home. It’s a pace of life here that works for me.”
In 2005, he bought the business that is now Midcoast Kayak, which offers kayak, paddleboard and canoe rentals, tours and lessons. Eight years ago, he bought a house in Damariscotta and now lives there year round. He has gotten to know both the lands and the waters of his town well.
He took a few minutes during the busy summer season to answer five questions about Damariscotta. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Where do you go to eat?
My go-to for sure is Best Thai. I go there frequently. I’ve tried a number of things on the menu, but I more often than not go for the curry dishes. It’s not an unusual thing for me to finish up work and just go on my own, or maybe grab a friend and sit at the bar and eat there.
Where do you go for a drink?
An aerial view of the Schooner Landing Restaurant and Marina’s position on the Damariscotta River. (Photo by Scott Folsom)
My favorite place, especially on a nice evening, is Schooner Landing because it is right on the water. It is an open-air bar. It’s a place that really does bring out an excellent mix of locals and visitors, and they tend to have music. I was there Sunday afternoon, and they usually have a good band, and people are up dancing. I love it.
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Where do you go to connect with nature?
I do a lot of wandering in the woods around here, but I would have to say my go-to is still kayaking on Muscongus Bay.
If I’m out on the bay, I’m typically island hopping. I guess if I was gonna pick one of my spots that I’ve really loved over the years, it would be Thief Island. It’s a little bit farther off shore than some of the closer islands, although it’s really only a couple hours’ paddle from the harbor we put in at. I’ve camped there many times, and it just has a feeling of being a little more out to sea. You’re surrounded by other islands. You don’t see any mainland. Especially in the evening when you’re camping, you really feel like you’re out there in nature and detached from the road world.
Where do you shop local?
I like the Main Street Grocery. The bigger market we have here in town is Hannaford, right, which is just fine. But the Main Street Grocery works for me because it’s smaller, more Maine style. There’s only, like, eight aisles. For my day-to-day getting what I need, I definitely pop in there. It’s just easy. I don’t have to run a mile to get everything I need, and it just feels very local. The same people are working there every day. I know their names, and they know me.
What’s one more thing you can’t miss in Damariscotta?
If you’re going to come up here to Damariscotta, you gotta find a way to get on the water. It’s not just the ocean up here. We have ocean, then we have the Damariscotta River estuary, and then we have a number of beautiful lakes. I’m a water guy, obviously, but it’s a perspective of the Midcoast that you don’t just get on foot or on road.
Five Things is a feature in which locals give our readers suggestions for exploring the state of Maine, town by town. Have a city or town you think we should explore in the future? Tell News & Culture Editor Katherine Lee at [email protected].
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Megan Gray covers the outdoors and tourism at the Portland Press Herald. A Midwest native, she moved to Maine in 2016. She has written about presidential politics and local government, jury trials and. More by Megan Gray
