Fée Verte: Driving Directions

317 Town Hill Road
Appleton, ME 04862

Appleton is in midcoast Maine, about 13 miles inland from Penobscot Bay at Belfast, Camden and Rockland. It's about a 3.5 hour drive north of Boston and a 2.5 hour drive southwest of the Canadian border.

From Boston and Points South:

On entering Maine at Kittery in the south, continue northward on Interstate 95 (same as the Maine Turnpike in southern Maine) for about 50 miles to the Portland area.

At Portland, take the Interstate 295 loop through the city. Continue north on I-295. Do NOT take the Maine Turnpike (I-95) to Augusta. Take I-295 towards Falmouth, Yarmouth, Brunswick, and Augusta. Stay on I-295 North; do NOT take scenic US Route 1 towards Bath and the coast (unless you want to).

Driving to Appleton from the Portland Airport, you would miss the shortcut I-295 loop, getting onto I-95/Maine Turnpike northbound at exit 45 or 47. Get off the Turnpike at exit 52 and get onto I-295 towards Falmouth, Brunswick and Augusta.

On I-295, about 50 miles north from Portland and before Augusta, take the Gardiner exit 49 and go east on US Route 201 to the business district of Gardiner.

As you enter the city of Gardiner on Route 201, you will go over the Cobbosseecontee Stream after the traffic lights across from the Post Office (there is a cute old-fashioned "A-1 Diner" built right on the bridge). In a few more blocks you will be at the Kennebec River. Go straight over this large bridge (over the Kennebec River, now on Routes 27 South, 9, and 126 East). While on the bridge, get into the right lane and turn right after crossing the bridge (so you are on the east side of the Kennebec River, heading south on 126). Go about a quarter mile and turn left onto State Route 226 North (at the auto body shop on left side). This is poorly marked: if you get to Pittston, you missed the turn! Drive north on Route 226 until it T's into Route 17 at Abbot's Market & Deli (you must turn right or left). Turn right onto Route 17 and go eastward towards Rockland for about 30 miles, through Cooper's Mills, Windsor, Washington and then to Union.

As you come into Union from the west (you will not see the town itself because Route 17 bypasses to the north of the town common) you will see a John Deere dealership on the left at the junction of Route 17 and Route 131 North. Turn left onto Route 131 going north. Drive about five miles until you reach the "center" of Appleton (slow to 25 miles per hour). Immediately past the Appleton General Store (closed), turn left onto Town Hill Road. Go up the hill for about one-half a mile to 317 Town Hill Road, driveway on the right.

From Camden/Rockport/Rockland:

If you are starting in Camden, take Route 105 through Hope and turn south on Route 131 until you reach Appleton. Turn right onto Town Hill Road. From Rockland, take Route 17 to Union. Turn right onto Route 131 before the John Deere dealership and proceed to Appleton. Turn left onto Town Hill Road.