Mount Battie

Friday morning, before heading out to more row by row quilt shops and the Maine Quilts show we took the time to go to Camden Hills State Park which was just down the road between the Bay Leaf Cottages and the town of Camden.

Camden Hills State Park is 5700 acres with an 800 foot summit to the top of Mount Battie where there are vast views of Penobscot Bay.  Luckily, they have an auto road so you don’t have to climb it yourself, but they do have 30 miles of hiking trails should you wish to walk to the top or around the park grounds.

A Camden resident named Columbus Bushwell built a carriage road to the top of Mount Battie in 1897.  In 1898, he built a house he called Summit House and opened it to the public as a hotel.  It was purchased in 1899 by the Mt. Battie Association and turned into a clubhouse and social center.  In 1918 a fire burned the mountaintop and 2 years later the house was torn down.  The current stone tower that stands in the same location was erected in 1921 by the Mt. Battie Association.  Mount Battie became part of Camden Hills State Park in 1948.  It is said that Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote the poem "Renascence" while enjoying the view from the summit of Mount Battie.

It was a memorable way to start the day.  But, there were more quilt shops and a quilt show waiting for us as well!