Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Turns On the Charm for the Winter

This is a shame because as the weather gets colder, the flying gets better in certain ways. The scenery generally is gorgeous from autumn through winter, airports are not as busy now as they are in the summer, and many hotels at traditional warm-weather destinations are offering discounts and special packages to keep travelers coming.

General aviation aircraft tend to be happiest when flying during the cold season because their engines develop more power when breathing the cool, dry air. Density altitudes that can make our airplanes sluggish during the summer lessen in the crisp weather many parts of the U.S. are experiencing now, so overall performance improves noticeably.

Now that you have the good news, where would you like to go? How about a destination that is famous for celebrating the winter holidays with a variety of spectacular outdoor decorations for the public to enjoy.

New York City might come to mind, with its elaborate holiday displays in store windows and the annual lighting of a 75-foot Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. Branson, Missouri, is another city well known for holiday flair, with 1,000 trees and 6.5 million lights adorning its Silver Dollar City theme park.

But today we are looking at a destination that might not be as famous but is no less picturesque: Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Long known as a popular summer vacation spot on the Atlantic Coast, the town also turns on the charm for six weeks during the winter holidays with a range of special events and decorations along streets, on buildings, and even adorning its fleet of lobster boats. The town has become a must-see for people visiting the area during December.

Indeed, some picky vacationers who find Boothbay a bit too crowded during the summer peak still make a point of turning out for the offseason light show.

Maine is a great place for private pilots any time of year, with a range of airports from short public and private turf strips carved out of remote forests to former military bases with parallel paved 8,000-foot runways.

Class C international fields at bustling Portland (KPWM) and Bangor (KBGR) serve a number of airlines but remain GA friendly. The Pine Tree State is home to numerous seaplane bases, including a famous one at Moosehead Lake that hosts regular fly-ins. Snowy winters bring out pilots of ski-equipped aircraft.

A healthy network of nontowered state, county, and regional airports ensures that there is a runway close to most of the places people want to visit. These are the types of fields that GA pilots will find familiar, including a cluster convenient to Boothbay Harbor.

If a beautiful, scenic approach is important to you, Knox County Regional Airport (KRKD) is a good place to start.

Visitors arriving from other East Coast states may naturally tend to follow a northeast track, east of Portland’s airspace and over the ocean. They will have a view of Maine’s dramatic coastline to the port side, small islands scattered below and soon, dead ahead, the crossing runways, 13/31 and 7/21, of Knox County.

This airport will be especially familiar to GA pilots because it goes by a few different names. Many Mainers call it Rockland, for the town where it is located. Others call it Owls Head, for the terrain feature it occupies and because it is home to its association with the Owls Head Transportation Museum.

The museum makes the airport a destination in itself, as it would be easy to spend days exploring its collection of aircraft reaching back to the earliest days of powered flight. Pilots can arrange through the FBO, Downeast Aviation, to pick up rental cars on the field for the drive to Boothbay.

If, while passing to the east of Portland, you decide you would like a longer runway—or two—you can scan to the northwest and easily spot the twin 8,000-foot asphalt and concrete strips of Brunswick Executive Airport (KBXM). These 200-foot-wide runways are especially comforting in a crosswind, but it is also simply cool to aim for the impressive field from up to 20 miles out.

Remember that the huge landing surface may appear closer than it is, so you will have to adjust your sight picture, especially if, like me, you are more accustomed to something closer to 3,000 feet long and perhaps 60 to 75 feet wide.

Brunswick is yet another airport that you might have trouble leaving once you land because there is so much to see.

Formerly known as Naval Air Station Brunswick, the field started in 1935 as a project of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Even then there were two runways, but each only 1,800 feet long with a gravel surface. Following expansion during World War II Brunswick became a training base and later, during the Cold War, the base for maritime patrol aircraft and submarine hunters such as the P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion.

Topping off the distractions at Brunswick is the new Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum, which focuses on the hugely important but often overlooked maritime patrol mission that was vital in securing our national waters and defending our shores. Pilots should allot extra time to check out the museum’s development. 

After prying yourself away from whichever airport you choose, the drive into Boothbay Harbor will take about 45 minutes to an hour, despite the short straight-line distance between the town and the airports. Such is the character of Maine’s jagged shoreline that reaching seaside destinations by car often entails traveling up, over, around, and down.

More than 70 lighthouses dot the Maine coastline. Seven of them are in the Boothbay Harbor region and most were built in the early 1800s. Each has an interesting and unique history to explore.

For example, the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, commissioned by President John Quincy Adams in 1827, adorns the state’s quarter coin. Some stations may not be open for tours during the winter, but all make for a picturesque selfie stop while traversing the area by car.

In town, you might consider stopping for a late lunch, coffee break, or early dinner outside of town so you can arrive after dark and take in the remarkable light show. Homes, stores, and other buildings are meticulously decorated and truly capture the season’s festive spirit.

Simply driving through town might seem like the main event though it is really more of a prelude.

Boothbay Harbor’s celebration period runs from November 16 to December 31 with a range of special events taking place during that period. One of the best is the Gardens Aglow light show at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, a 300-acre space that is among the state’s top attractions.

The signature event that, perhaps more than any other, exudes the essence of coastal Maine, is the annual Lighted Boat parade, in which decorated local lobster and fishing boats take laps of the inner harbor. Along the way they stop for a blessing from local clergy.

This year’s parade takes place December 7. Fireworks follow the parade. Get there early to find a viewing spot. 

Train fans can catch a ride on the North Pole Express at the Boothbay Railway Village on Saturdays and Sundays from November 30 through December 15. A First Responders Parade including lighted fire trucks and other official vehicles is scheduled for November 23. A chili cook-off follows the parade, giving spectators a chance to sample chili, see the fire trucks up close and celebrate with first responders.

Boothbay Harbor offers many more special events and promotions aimed at transforming the summer hot spot into a winter destination. Other towns also celebrate the holidays with special events, so we would encourage visitors to expand their travels beyond Boothbay if time permits.

Towns and cities such as Portland, Bangor, Lewiston, Belfast, Bar Harbor, Presque Isle, and many more host special holiday activities and are easily worth visiting regardless of the season. Best of all, each of the places we mention has its own airport with an interesting history.

This column first appeared in the December Issue 953 of the FLYING print edition.