Most days, after work, I head north on Atlantic Highway, or Route 1. I like taking my time getting home, as it gives me the chance to decompress from the day, listen to a podcast, and get last minute dinner ingredients from Wentworth Market.

This spring, I have been noticing the changes at the old Ducktrap Motel, a classic, 1950s era  roadside lodging, set up on the hill above Howe Point. It was undergoing significant renovations. Then came the sign: Camp DeForest.

Arriving home and doing a quick internet search, I came across the website. “Pack your knapsack and hit the road to Camp DeForest, a summer camp themed motel in beautiful Midcoast Maine” the site reads. I needed to find out more.

The brainchild of Northport residents Jessica and Brady Brim-DeForest, Camp DeForest is designed to give the impression of a classic 50s motel, with strong summer camp vibes. All 14 rooms and cabins have been fully refurbished, with modern/vintage furnishing and amenities, hardwood flooring, and four season heating and insulation. 

General Manager Ben Gustin was generous enough to give me a full tour, as he prepared for opening, sometime in mid-May, firm date not yet established.

Ben is no stranger to Lincolnville, having lived here for five years prior to the pandemic, working in several local restaurants. A rare book dealer on the side, Ben described a life jumping between the East and West coasts — Oregon to Massachusetts, back to Oregon, to Vermont, to Maine, to Los Angeles, and back to Maine, picking up kitchen and restaurant management skills along the way.

As the pandemic raged at his home in Lincolnville, Ben happened upon the instagram post of an old friend, Cara, who was visiting her friend just up the road in Northport, Jessica Brim-DeForest. Cara and Ben reconnected, and he ended up moving with her to Los Angeles. They now have two boys, two-and-a-half year-old Elio, and seven-month-old Rory.

When Jessica and Brady decided to open Camp DeForest, the family moved back to Lincolnville, and Ben was tapped to be its general manager, a much more family friendly position than his years in fine dining.

The romantic in me finds this a very sweet story.

Ben’s experience with hospitality is clearly evident, as he enthused about the property. It really is a lovely place. I was particularly drawn to the vintage inspired Frigidaire mini-fridges in each room, each in appropriate candy colors. Ben donated a portion of his book collection to add to the room’s shelves, where you will find old hard covers of the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins. Two of their rooms are fully ADA compliant.

The lodge is similarly inundated with nostalgia, though admittedly for a time most of us do not remember. Breakfast will be served every morning in the lodge, and it also contains a camp store- snacks and T-shirts, mixed with antiques, like the row of 1950s era Boy Scout hats.

Several products sport Camp DeForest’s own mascot, Marshall the Marshmallow, so named by little Elio.

In front of the motel are several fire pits, perfect for toasting marshmallows on a chilly evening. Ducktrap, after all, is known for its foggy evenings. The horseshoe pit is also in its final stages of completion, and the motel plans to have kayaks for rent.

I wish Jessica and Brady, and Ben and Cara and their staff good luck with this new endeavor, and welcome Camp DeForest among the fine lodgings of Lincolnville. It is definitely something different, and a pretty cool place to check out.

FInd out more at campdeforest.com.