For native Mainers, embracing the state’s distinct seasons is tradition—a heritage filled with sensory memories of natural wonders. Hailee Carter, a military veteran based in Ellsworth, Maine who founded On the Horizon Bakery three years ago, recalls visiting Shin Pond as a child with her father. Once the ice froze over, the pair would take snowmobiles over the trails and across the pond. “It’s very peaceful,” she says. “There are trails where both the field opens up and you can just gun it and keep going or you can travel the groomed sections and take in the scene of the canopies of snow-covered trees hanging over, skate around the edge, and then grab a bite to eat and warm up.”
Ice fishing, snowmobiling, and more winter fun in Shin Pond and beyond
Cross-country skiing at night offers opportunities for epic stargazing in Aroostook County, Maine.
Courtesy of the Maine Office of Tourism
Carter recommends renting a cabin along Shin Pond in the winter for ice fishing and snowmobiling, while also advising that travelers look into lodging and equipment rental options around the Millinocket, Moosehead Lake, and Rangeley Lakes areas.
To maximize your time in the snow, Carter suggests going to Millinocket and continuing “north into The County,” using the local shorthand for the laid-back winter wonderland that is Aroostook County.
Check out breweries, restaurants, and festivals in Ellsworth
Baker Hailee Carter in her On The Horizon food truck in Ellsworth, Maine
Courtesy of Hailee Carter
Closer to home in Ellsworth, the baker heads to Fogtown Brewing Company, where she says community spirit meets an appreciation for the mouthwatering flavors of craft beer and wood-fired pizzas. With pies taking advantage of seasonal ingredients, a favorite is the pizza covered in fiddleheads, a beloved springtime staple often foraged in Maine that has an earthy, asparagus-like taste. Carter describes its appearance as “a mini green cinnamon roll, all swirled up.”
At other times of the year, you might try Fogtown’s elote pizza, covered in corn, cotija cheese, and lime zest and slathered in a spicy crema sauce. Or simply grab a Maine Coast IPA, which uses Maine-grown grains, and cozy up to some live music. Proceeds of the beer help with coastal conservation efforts, in keeping with the community-oriented spirit that makes Carter a fan of the brewery.
Another go-to spot in Ellsworth with a community focus (which also happens to be around the corner from Fogtown) is the Conscious Cafe at Steamy Buddha. There, she picks up savory salad and grain bowls. For something richer, Carter dines at the Airline Brewery Company’s Ellsworth location on Main Street, a popular restaurant in the style of a British pub where the atmosphere and menu are five-star worthy. “The food’s delicious,” she says. “You gotta love their build-your-own mac and cheese on Wednesdays.”
Carter’s own bakery, On the Horizon Bakery, operates out of a food truck most days of the week in Ellsworth; serves desserts, pastries, hot breakfast, and coffee; and is known for its gooey cinnamon rolls. She also brings her bakery to festivals throughout the year, including to a favorite that’s also one of Maine’s newest, the Downeast Rock & Roots Music Festival. Organized by another Ellsworth local at the city’s Knowlton Park in July and only in its second year, the family-friendly festival showcases local singers, songwriters, and musicians, as well as a slate of food trucks.
Hike Clifton’s trails and nature preserves
Mountain biking in Clifton, Maine
Courtesy of the Maine Office of Tourism
When she’s not serving up cinnamon rolls at festivals or in Ellsworth, Carter hits the trails and gets out into nature with her two dogs. A favorite destination is Chick Hill, near Clifton, with a dog-friendly trail that takes you up to a gorgeous view of nearby lakes and a grove of trees. Although the wintertime view is stunningly peaceful, Carter particularly loves to take her pups out in the first or second week of October for “beautiful scenic hikes, when the foliage really tends to turn.”
She also takes her dogs to a different spot near Chick Hill, the Mariaville Falls Preserve, where a moderate trail maintained by the Frenchman Bay Conservancy takes you along a series of small but mighty waterfalls. It’s her time in nature and in the community that makes Carter grateful for the gift of living in Maine.
