Working Lighthouse in Isle au Haut, Maine:
Yearning for a true island getaway? “No television, no fax, no e-mail, no Internet, no electricity,” promises the Keeper’s House Inn.
A 40-minute ride on the mail boat from Stonington takes you across Penobscot Bay to Isle au Haut, on which dwell about 75 full-time residents, a stubby 1907 lighthouse, and the comfy but rigorously off-the-grid inn. There’s no electricity here, save for some solar and windmill power supplementing the gaslights, candles, and kerosene lanterns.
Still, three gourmet meals a day come from the kitchen, and the inn supplies bicycles for exploring the fishing village and the 2,700 acres of Acadia National Park land. The four rooms in the main house and the two cottages are a bit spare but blissfully cozy, in keeping with their ruggedly beautiful surroundings.
Tip: Are you cut out for the lobstering life? Take a cruise on a lobster boat and find out. Helping to haul traps is encouraged.
Book it: Rates start at $350; 207/335-2990 or keepershouse.com