If you drive north along Route 1 through Camden, it’s impossible to miss the green slope rising just behind the harbor. That’s Camden Hills State Park, and at the top of it sits Mount Battie, one of the most breathtaking overlooks on the entire coastal highway. The summit road winds through spruce and birch before opening to a stone lookout tower and an unforgettable panorama of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay. Below, the town looks like a living postcard, with white sails, steeples, and weathered clapboard homes all nestled between the sea and the hillside.

The air up here smells of pine needles and salt spray. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Mount Desert Island. Locals come for sunrise hikes; visitors bring picnic lunches and stay long enough to watch fog roll in off the bay. The tower itself, built in 1921 as a World War I memorial, feels timeless; simple, sturdy, and perfectly placed to frame the Atlantic.

It’s only a few minutes from Route 1, but it feels like stepping into another world. Whether you hike up or drive the summit road, the view from Mount Battie captures everything that makes coastal Maine unforgettable: granite, salt air, and a sense that beauty is always just around the next turn.