The Puffin Pines Country Gift Store

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Location and Mileage

Situated in eastern Maine, Washington County is "The Gateway to Atlantic Canada" for Americans and "The Gateway to Maine and New England" for Atlantic Canadians.  The Puffin Pines lies on the same latitude as Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Bordeaux, France, and Nova Scotia, Canada.

When you visit Washington County, Maine, we hope you will pay us a visit as well.  This page shows you where we are and gives you an idea about how near to our store you really are.  We are fewer than 450 miles from Hartford and New London, Connecticut; fewer than 650 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; about 750 miles from Baltimore, Maryland; just over 800 miles from Buffalo, New York; about 900 miles from Richmond, Virginia; and about 960 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  We have listed many other cities at the bottom of the page.

Location

Washington County, the home of The Puffin Pines, is in eastern Maine.  Maine is where "America Greets The Day."  Washington County is Maine's easternmost county.  As the easternmost point of land in the continental USA, we see the sun rise first here.  Hence the county's nickname -- "America's Sunrise County."

When the sailing ships sailed eastward from Boston with the prevailing winds, they sailed down wind or down east.  As Maine is down east from Boston, Washington County is "The Real Down East Maine."

Maine is famous for its coastline, lobsters, and lighthouses; woods, moose, and fall foliage; and its rivers, lakes, and fishing.  Washington County offers all of these - without the over-commercialization that has come to southern and central Maine.  Mainers see Maine as "The Way Life Should Be."  We consider Washington County to be "The Way Maine Used To Be."

Gateway to Atlantic Canada - and Gateway to Maine

For Americans, Washington County is your "Gateway to Atlantic Canada" -- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.  For Atlantic Canadians, we are your gateway to Maine, New England, and the rest of the USA.  There are five border crossings on the Washington County-New Brunswick border, including Calais-St. Stephen -- the busiest in Atlantic Canada and the 6th busiest along the entire U.S.-Canada border.  During your travels, we encourage you to make Washington County one of your stops.

Travel Between New England and Washington County

Travel is easy between New England and Washington County, Maine.  Between Boston, MA, and Bangor, ME, take I-95.  (Between Portland and south Augusta, you can take I-95 or I-495.)  Then you have three options.

(A)  The Southern Coastal Route.  From Bangor, take US1A to Ellsworth.  Then take scenic US1/US1A to Washington County's coastal communities - including The Puffin Pines in Whiting.  Alternatively a few miles east of Ellsworth, you may wish to take Rte 182, a scenic inland route that re-connects to U.S. 1 in Cherryfield.

There is a slightly shorter southern route you can take as well, though during June-September, you will encounter more traffic along this route than the route above.  Leave I-95/495 at exit 30 in Augusta, before you get to Bangor.  Then take Rte 3 to Belfast, where you'll pick up U.S. 1 North.  U.S. 1 will take you to Ellsworth and then into Washington County.

(B)  The "Airline" Route.  From Bangor, take SR9 to US1 in the vicinity of Calais, and then head north or south along US1.  SR9 also provides access to the central Washington County communities.  SR9 is called "the airline" because aircraft flying between Bangor and points east usually fly above that highway.

(C)  The Northerly Route.  From Bangor, continue north on I-95 to the Howland-West Enfield exit (54).  Go east on SR6, which will take you to Topsfield, and then head north or south along US1.

Maps are available at the Maine Tourist Bureau offices as you enter Maine from the south along I-95 and in Calais, and from other information centers along the way, including The Puffin Pines.

Latitude

The Puffin Pines is in Whiting, Maine.  The town of Perry, a few miles north of Whiting, lies at 45 degrees north latitude - midway between the equator and the north pole.  Whiting, therefore, lies just below 45 degrees north latitude.

Traveling westward around the world, other places at about the same latitude as Whiting are:  Bangor-Brewer, Maine, USA; Plattsburgh, New York, USA; Perth, Ontario, Canada; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Northern Hokkaido Island, Japan; Bucharest, Rumania; Bologna and Genoa, Italy; Bordeaux, France; Middleton and Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Local Mileage

Whiting lies at the intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 189 in southeastern Washington County, Maine.

To the east of Whiting, down 189, lie West Lubec and Lubec, Maine, about 7 and 11 miles respectively, and Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, about 13 miles from Whiting. Approaching Lubec, local residential areas also can be reached on the North Lubec Road and the South Lubec Road. The latter leads to the Quoddy Head State Park and West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, about 15 miles from Whiting. (East Quoddy Head Light is on Campobello Island.)

To the south lie South Trescott, Cutler, and North Cutler. Travel east on 189 towards Lubec for about 6 miles, and then turn right/south on 191 about 3 miles to South Trescott, another 10 to Cutler, and another 3 to North Cutler. Continue along 191 another 8 miles and reach East Machias, to the west of Whiting.

To the west of Whiting along U.S. 1 lie East Machias, Machias, and Jonesboro, about 13, 16, and 24 miles respectively. The town of Ellsworth is another 55 miles west. From Ellsworth, head south 20 miles to Bar Harbor, north 26 miles to Bangor, or west 85 miles to Augusta. Bangor to Augusta is about 76 miles.

Along U.S. 1 to the north of Whiting lie Pembroke (17 miles), Perry (20 miles) and Eastport (an additional 7 miles along Rte 190), Robbinston (30 miles), and Calais (40 miles). St. Croix Island National Historical Site lies at Red Beach, between Robbinston and Calais. Danforth, at the northern end of Washington County, lies an additional 55 miles northwest from Calais along U.S. 1.

St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, lies just across the border from Calais. From St. Stephen, the major New Brunswick cities of Saint John and Fredericton, the capital, lie only 85 and 80 miles respectively. So it is not much further to travel from Whiting via Calais to Saint John or Fredericton, Canada (115-120 miles), as it is to travel from Whiting to Bangor, Maine (100 miles). Traveling from Whiting via Campobello Island to Saint John takes longer than traveling via Calais, as two ferries are required, though the distance is halved.

The approximate mileage to The Puffin Pines from various cities in the USA and Canada is shown below.