This 1950s Summer Camp in Lincolnville, Maine Is Now a Boutique Hotel

There’s a NEW place to stay in midcoast Maine that feels so different from the typical coastal inn or luxury hotel experience, and honestly, that’s what makes it special.

Tucked into the woods of Lincolnville, Camp DeForest feels like stepping into a nostalgic Maine summer from another era. It’s a 1950s summer camp reimagined as a boutique hotel, complete with cozy cabins, nightly campfires, cocktails under the pines, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you instantly slow down.

What I love most is that it doesn’t try too hard to be trendy or overly curated in that “luxury resort” way. It still feels deeply Maine. The cabins have vintage-inspired details, record players, wool blankets, wood-paneled walls, and this perfectly balanced rustic-meets-comfort feel that somehow makes you nostalgic even if you never went to summer camp growing up.

The amenities make the experience feel even more thoughtful too, camp breakfast is included with your stay, there are fresh-made meals at the lodge, nightly campfires with s’mores, cocktails, coffee in the mornings, woodland trails, and little gathering spaces that encourage you to actually unplug for a while.

I also assumed a place like this would be adults-only, but it’s actually designed for both couples and families, which somehow makes it feel even more like an authentic Maine camp experience. There honestly aren’t many places in Maine doing this exact style of stay right now. Maine has plenty of beautiful inns and coastal hotels, but this feels more immersive, like a grown-up version of the summers so many people remember here.

One Yelp review described Camp DeForest as “truly magical,” and honestly that feels accurate. Sitting around a fire in the Maine woods at night with music playing softly in the background just feels different here. Cozy, nostalgic, personal, the kind of place that reminds you why summers in Maine are so special in the first place.