Our Area Guide book &
History & Today at the Inn
Welcome to Freeport
Freeport is the ideal destination for exploring the Maine Coastline! In addition to Freeport being loaded with shopping (Yankee Magazine voted Freeport as a favorite shopping destination), it also has beautiful State Parks, stunning coastal areas, hiking trails, gardens, museums, farms, history, and nature.
A short list of just some of the things to do & see in Freeport
Scroll down for some rainy day recommendations!
- Freeport LOVES it's festivals and events. Weekly free summer outdoor concerts, town-wide art fairs, Fall festivals, and it's famous Holiday Sparkle Celebration. Go to Visit Freeport to see our town calendar of events!
- Take Seacoast Tours out to Eagle Island! Seacoast Tours does a great boat tour of the islands off the Freeport coastline, but it also includes a two hour stop-over on Eagle Island! Read all about the tour here. We love it for it's beauty, but it's also a great place to take a picnic lunch, or your sketch book!
- LL Bean's Flagship Store and LL Bean Outdoor Adventures Take a look at their website and sign up for an outdoor class! Click here to see their schedule of events on the town green - including free yoga during the summer
- Cafes and Restaurants we love in Freeport: The Tuscan Bistro (amazing local muscles!), Jameson Tavern, Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster in South Freeport, Brickyard Hollow Pizza, Maine Beer Co, and the Sunrise Café or The Met for a great breakfast!
- Art Galleries in Freeport are all wonderful (we really LOVE Meetinghouse Arts!), Sherman's Bookshop, The British Goods Store, Leapin' Lizards, and Mexicali Blues are our go-to spots when we feel like shopping.
- Freeport Performing Arts Center & Freeport Community Players
- Freeport's Famous Outlets, including everything from clothes to pottery outlets!
- Pettengill Farm. Our favorite walk in Freeport! A beautiful place that takes you back in time. Click here for more information!
- Wolfes Neck State Park
- Wolfes Neck Farm, Camping, and Trails
- Winslow Park. We LOVE Winslow! Wonderful trails along the waterfront, and beautiful views all the way around the peninsula! It's a weekly stop for us year round! Turn left out of our driveway, and about 6 minutes down the road, turn left onto Staples Point Road. Winslow is at the end.
A few favorites within 30 minutes of Freeport
- We LOVE the Schooner Alert! Catch this amazing Schooner on Bailey Island (about a 30 minute ride from here), and have the most amazing day at sea! End it with lunch at Cook's Lobster House.
- Portland Maine, and all of it's galleries, restaurants, shopping, island cruises, and lighthouses!
- Pineland Farms, with over 5000 acres of open public land for hiking, skiing, biking, and more.
- Portland Museum of Art
- Maine Maritime Museum
- Walking Trails and Cliff Walks in Harpswell
- Longfellow House in Portland Maine
- Victoria Mansion
- Walker Art Museum at Bowdoin College
- Museum of African Tribal Art
- Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art
- Casco Bay Lines, where you can catch a 3 hour mailboat run out around the islands, a boat out to Peaks island for an afternoon of walking around the island, or any number of other day adventures on the water.
- Merrill Auditorium
- Too many parks, hiking trails, and nature preserves to list!
Within an hour of Freeport
- Maine Botanical Gardens
- Lighthouse, lighthouses, and more Lighthouses.
- Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth
- Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth
- Seguin Island Lighthouse, Georgetown
- Bates College Museum of Art
- Fansworth Art Museum
- Whaleback, Kittery, Piscataqua River entrance
- Kennebunkport & Cape Porpoise
- Wood Island, Biddeford
- Spring Point Ledge, South Portland
- Portland Breakwater, South Portland
- Halfway Rock
- Perkins Island, Georgetown
- Boothbay Harbor
- ... and so much more!
225 years of history
What's the history of the Porters Landing Guest House, you ask? It's unknown exactly when it was built, however a brick in the kitchen fireplace gives the biggest clue with its 1796 carving in one of the old bricks. In the mid 1800's, it was home to a shipwright by the name of John Blethen, his wife Lavinia, and their large family. We also know that in the late 1800's the house was home to a Civil War Veteran and his family.
John Blethen operated a shipbuilding business in Porters Landing, and in 1850, employed five men. He and his crew were building and selling vessels valued at $8400. The vessels were built on gently sloped ground reinforced with timbers embedded in the earth down on the water's edge. You can still see some of those timbers today!
Today, creative thinking and artistic craftsmanship are still happening here! Your host, and owner of Porters Landing, Amanda, lives onsite and has a glass and painting studio &gallery located on the property. She welcomes artists from all over the world for art retreats and classes. The studio & gallery is open for guests to visit every day of the week!
We continue to research the house, and it's history, and we are so grateful that we get to put our stamp on this home now. We are proud to live and grow here, create art here, and share it with people through our suites and small, very unique Inn!!