Calais Activities

Calais is a beautiful city on the St. Croix River. This is an excellent spot if you’re looking for the beautiful Maine coast but without the tourists!

Biking

  • Calais Waterfront Walkway Calais Waterfront Walkway, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2521 ext. 10
    • “This rail trail offers easy walking along the historic shoreline of the St. Croix River. The trail passes from a rural setting through downtown Calais and connects to the shorefront trails in St. Stephen, New Brunswick via the international bridge.”
  • Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge 103 Headquarters Rd, Baring, ME 04694 | (207) 454-7161
    • Located just outside Calais, this is the easternmost National Wildlife Refuge in the Atlantic Flyway. Its primary purpose is to protect bird wildlife.
  • Sipayik Trail Treatment Plant Rd, Perry, ME 04667 | (207) 853-2600
    • A 1.8-mile trail on the Passamaquoddy Reservation overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay and bordered by ecologically dynamic, diverse, and productive environments great for biking, walking, and skiing.

Camping

  • Keenes Lake Family Campground 70 Keenes Lake Rd, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2022
    • “Nestle by a campfire and enjoy the sounds of the loons throughout the summer months. Located about ten miles from the Canadian border, you can have a two-nation vacation!”

Events

  • International Homecoming Festival Calais, ME 04619 and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada | (207) 454-2521
    • This festival celebrates the friendship between St. Stephen and Calais with a street fair, games, concerts, craft shows, fireworks, and more!

Farms

  • Mingo’s Products 405 Shattuck Rd, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-7411
    • Family-owned balsam and cranberry farm. They sell their cranberries and make wreaths, garlands, and more for the holidays.

Golf

  • St. Croix Country Club 48 South River Rd, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-8875
    • Picturesque nine-hole golf course on the banks of the St. Croix River, great for beginners and experienced golfers.

Hiking

  • Calais Waterfront Walkway Calais Waterfront Walkway, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2521 ext. 10
    • “The Walkway’s gravel surface is about 6 feet wide and of a mostly level grade, making it accessible to hikers of a wide range of abilities and challenges and wheelchair users.”
  • Devil’s Head Conservation Area Rural US-1, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2521 ext. 10
    • “Devil’s Head has a rich cultural history going back thousands of years. Today, it features the habitats of numerous forms of floral and fauna that thrive in the combination of salty waters, rocky woodlands, and forest marshes. Visitors are invited to explore the park along two distinct trails and the access road that leads from Route One down to the beach or to spend time alongside the river at a cleared picnic spot.”
  • Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge 103 Headquarters Rd, Baring, ME 04694 | (207) 454-7161
    • “Most trails at the Edmunds Division are service roads with gentle grades. The refuge’s landscape is varied, with rolling hills, large ledge outcrops, streams, lakes, bogs, and marshes. A northern hardwood forest of aspen, maple, birch, oak, spruce, and fir dominates the upland. Scattered stands of majestic white pine are common.”
  • Sipayik Trail Treatment Plant Rd, Perry, ME 04667 | (207) 853-2600
    • “The wide, paved trail includes a panoramic vista of Passamaquoddy Bay, views of the Little River, Gleason Cove, Western Passage, and Kci-peskiyak, a salt marsh pond which is also a traditional gathering area for sweet grass used by Tribal artisans. The eastern end of the Sipayik Trail offers spectacular views of First and Second Island just off the coast and, across the bay in New Brunswick, of St. Andrews and Deer Island.”

Historic

  • Calais Observatory Lincoln & North St, Calais, ME 04619 
    • All that is left of this observatory now are two large stones, but it was once the Coast and Geodetic Survey’s Calais Observatory and was last officially used back in 1895. It helped to define Greenwich, England, as the zero point for the worldwide longitude values, which is the ultimate reference point for the planet. Today you can still go and visit the stones and see the NOAA plaque commemorating its historical significance. It is known by the New England Historical Society as the Six New England Places to Gaze at the Stars.
  • Dr. Job Holmes Cottage and Museum 527 Main St, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-3061
    • Dr. Holmes was the third doctor to practice in this house; the first was Shilometh Whipple, a famous Boston physician, and the second was Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, the older brother of Hannibal Hamlin, the vice president of Abraham Lincoln. This museum has been restored to look like Dr. Holmes’s home and office and has many pictures, maps, medical equipment, and more.
  • Saint Croix Island International Historic Site 84 St. Croix Dr, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-3871
    • This historic site overlooks the Saint Croix Island, located between the borders of Maine and New Brunswick. Visits to the island are discouraged because of its fragility, but at the historic site, there is a trail with bronze sculptures of French settlers and the Passamaquoddy people. There are also ranger-guided programs, indoor exhibits, artifacts, and a Junior Ranger program for kids.
  • Wabanaki Culture Center and Museum 39 Union St, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2126
    • Here, you can find artifacts, historical displays, and art by the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Native American tribes. There is also a gift shop and a Touch Tank for kids. Admission is free, and donations are accepted!

Lighthouses

  • Whitlock’s Mill Lighthouse Lighthouse Ln, Calais, ME 04619
    • This is the northernmost lighthouse and the last lighthouse to be built in Maine. From 1892 to 1910, the “lighthouse” was simply a lantern hung in a tree by Mr. Whitlock, the local mill operator. In 1910, the current lighthouse was built.

Rainy Day Activities

  • State Cinemas 239 Main St, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-8830
    • Locally owned and operated movie theater.

Skiing

  • Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge 103 Headquarters Rd, Baring, ME 04694 | (207) 454-7161
    • Located just outside Calais, this is the easternmost National Wildlife Refuge in the Atlantic Flyway. Its main purpose is to protect bird wildlife.
  • Sipayik Trail Treatment Plant Rd, Perry, ME 04667 | (207) 853-2600
    • A 1.8-mile trail on the Passamaquoddy Reservation overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay and bordered by ecologically dynamic, diverse, and productive environments great for biking, walking, and skiing.

Waterfront: Beaches, Swimming, Boating, Fishing

  • Smoking Rivers Canoe Expeditions PO Box 491, Hampden, ME 04444 | (303) 725-2533
    • Take a canoe trip on the St. Croix River with Smoking Rivers! This company takes trips on many rivers throughout Maine, including the river between Calais, ME, and Vanceboro, Canada, which is great for all experience levels.

Wildlife: Birding

  • Devil’s Head Conservation Area Rural US-1, Calais, ME 04619 | (207) 454-2521 ext. 10
    • “This 318-acre conservation area has two trails and a shore path with access to a rocky-sandy beach. Pileated woodpeckers may be heard or seen in the big trees, and bald eagles, ospreys, loons, and ducks frequent the shorelines. Deer, moose, coyotes, red foxes, beavers, and mink, less often seen, may visit the woods or marsh.”
  • Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge 103 Headquarters Rd, Baring, ME 04694 | (207) 454-7161
    • Located just outside Calais, this is the easternmost National Wildlife Refuge in the Atlantic Flyway. Its main purpose is to protect bird wildlife.

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