Your Unofficial Guide to Mud Season Fun and Survival

Welcome to Mud Season in the MidCoast. This is Maine’s unofficial “5th Season” that can make our back roads a little soft or turn them into extreme, ankle-deep muck. Warming days and melting snow are the perfect recipe for weeks of premium-quality mud. And in the MidCoast, mud has a rich, extra-mucky consistency thanks to ancient layers of marine soil and heavy glacial clay. However, as you might expect, there are great upsides for this time of the year.

 

 

Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, March 26-27

Every fourth Sunday in March is the long-awaited Maine Maple Sunday. Mark your calendar for March 26-27 this year, when nearly 100 participating sugarhouses open their doors to the public. You’ll see how maple syrup is produced and at most sugarhouses, get to enjoy samples of freshly made maple syrup and other goodies. The confusing maple syrup grades from years past have been boiled down to four: Golden, Amber, Dark and Very Dark. The lightest colors are pancake perfect, while the darkest are naturals for maple flavored candies and most any recipe that calls for molasses.

 

Wildlife and Wild Flower Watching

The only thing standing between you and outdoor watching is a good pair of boots. From mid-March through mid-May, migratory birds, hibernating animals, and early spring flowers make their splashy debuts. A walk along most any ocean beach will reveal terns, herons, sea ducks, and on occasion, magnificent Snowy Owls. In the coastal mountains near Camden and Rockport, thousands of migratory hawks, some from as far away at South America will begin arriving soon and building nests. Few sights are as exciting as large, broad-wing hawks circling high in the clouds.

 

 

Uncrowded Lighthouse Visits

Many of the 24 MidCoast lighthouses or their adjacent museums and parking areas are open this time of year. Five lighthouses that are easy to reach by car include Marshall Point Lighthouse (shown above) in St. George, the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol, Fort Point Lighthouse in Stockton Springs, and nearly-hidden Owls Head Light in Rockland.

 

 

Maine’s Talented Mud Slingers

With so much glacial marine, “Wild Maine Clay” at hand, potters and artisans have been digging, throwing, and turning clay for decades in the MidCoast. Malley Weber of Hallowell (shown above) is one of handful of Maine potters who prefers and harvests their own wild Maine clay. She describes the 14,000 year-old clay as, “the most amazing stuff around.” In Newcastle, Maine, the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts hosts workshops and educational programs about working with wild clay.

 

 

Tropical Days on the Back Deck

The early-spring sun has a special warmth that calls for celebration in Maine. And there’s no better place to soak up the rays, than an outdoor deck. Sunscreen, beverage, and zero-agenda are all you need. There’s no shortage of decks in the MidCoast. Choose from decks large and small at hotels, cottage rentals, B&B’s, craft breweries, harbor overlooks – there are so many to explore. And remember, there are special bonuses this time of the year: no bugs, no crowds, no traffic jams.

 

Mud Season’s Off-Season Deals

As more people discover the less-crowded pleasures during this time of the year, hotels, inns and cottage rental are offering terrific, off-season deals. That also means extra attention and easy reservations that you may not find during the busy summer months. It doesn’t take long to find different mud season packages, spa mud treatments, and of course, mudslide cocktails.