Bucksport

Not the most picturesque of Maine [1] coastal towns, the gritty town of Bucksport guards the entrance to the Penobscot River, historically one of the main trading routes for lumber and furs from Bangor [2] and points north in Canada. The river mouth is marred by the smokestacks of a giant paper mill, but a key to its strategic importance is the formidable bulk of Fort Knox [3], one of the greatest surviving examples of the Civil War–era network of eastern coastal forts.

Entertainment and Events

The old-time 1916 Alamo Theatre (379 Main St., 207/469-6910, www.oldfilm.org/alamo [4]) is the headquarters of Northeast Historic Film, which shows both current and historical films in the renovated 120-seat theater, as well as staging occasional music concerts.

The labyrinthine corridors of Fort Knox [3] are scary enough during the daytime, but they become positively frightful during Fright at the Fort (Bucksport, 207/469-6553, http://fortknox.maineguide.com/fright [5], $5–7), which fills up the fort with ghouls and goblins culled from the local teen population every Halloween.

Food

A Bucksport institution for more than two decades, Macleod’s Restaurant (93 Main St., 207/469-3963, 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m. Tue.–Sat.; 4–8 p.m. Sun., $10–21) is a cut above most of the local establishments. French chocolate silk pie is reason enough to stop in.