Just South Of Rockport Is Maine's Hidden Coastal Town With Unspoiled Nature And Unique Sculpture Art

When in Maine, you can't skip a visit to the wild and beautiful coast. Maine's coastal edge offers a scenic route through secluded harbors and seaside villages, home to iconic spots like Acadia National Park and hidden gems like Phippsburg, one of the state's oldest towns. The craggy shores and stark open pastures have inspired world-renowned painters and sculptors with their raw beauty. The town of Cushing was most famously immortalized in the art world in the painting "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth, based on a local home. But the town also has a thriving arts scene beyond the painting, including a quirky sculpture garden within a gorgeous nature preserve and a community artists' venue housed within a barn.

Cushing is a quieter neighbor to the city of Rockland, another artsy charmer with waterfront trails, just a 25-minute drive away. You can get to town in just under two hours from the Portland International Jetport. Cushing's population has steadily hovered around 1,500, and it can hardly be said to have a downtown. Instead, driving through town, you'll see a few buildings scattered along the main throughway of Pleasant Point Road and along the coastline. You won't really find restaurants or lively streets in Cushing, though there are plenty of great options in nearby Friendship or Rockland. The untouched landscape of Cushing is best savored with a walk in nature or a paintbrush in hand.

Today, Cushing's most iconic site, and a National Historic Landmark, the Olson House is a humble-looking, weathered farmhouse on a tract of field on a hill. It was built in 1806, and it became the residence of the Olson family in 1892. It wasn't until the summer of 1939, when painter Andrew Wyeth first met Christina Olson, that the house began to take on a new significance. Wyeth sketched and painted scenes from the house every summer meticulously for the next 30 years, yielding his most famous painting, "Christina's World," a haunting portrait of Christina looking towards the house distantly from the field. Wyeth was inspired to make the painting after seeing Christina, who had a paralyzing neuromuscular condition and would move by pulling herself with her arms, dragging herself through the field. Though the painting now belongs to New York's MoMA, you can see its real-life setting in Cushing, which today is a museum.

Further up along the estuary of the St. George River, you can see the fruits of another one-of-a-kind artist who was drawn to Cushing. The Langlais Art Preserve is a 90-acre nature preserve doubling as an outdoor museum dedicated to the works of Bernard Langlais. Over a dozen of Langlais' wooden sculptures are assembled along a 0.25-mile path through orchards, ponds, and granite ledges. One of the most famous is the thirteen-foot-tall "Horse," while another is a sculpted version of Christina from "Christina's World." It's also worth stopping by Arts in the Barn to see some of the contemporary work being produced in town. Managed by the Cushing Historical Society, Arts in the Barn is a gallery space for local artists that also hosts concerts and stage shows.

A lone convenience store, Fales Store and More, sits at the edge of Broad Cove overlooking the waterfront. It's the town's one-stop shop for gas, groceries, pizza, and sandwiches. Adjacent to the store is Good Neighbors Park, where there's a small picnic shelter, so you can sit and eat by the water or just stroll among the wildflowers. As you continue further down the peninsula, you'll notice cape-style homes sitting along coves and upon hills, many of which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. They remain as relics of Cushing's past as an isolated settlement of farmers, fur traders, and fishers.

See more of Cushing's pretty coastline at the Cross Cushing Nature Preserve. The preserve spans 31 acres, comprising midcoast forest and riverfront shoreland. A lovely 1.6-mile trail loops from the waterfront and into the woodlands, with some steeper uphill sections. There are some swimming spots along the trail by the river coves. Closer to the peninsula's southern tip is the 65-acre Pleasant Point Nature Preserve. There are more trails here, which partially connect along picturesque wetland boardwalks.