The place where your family actually puts their phones down.
18 acres on a lake in Maine. Canoe, paddle boat, kayaks, a Warrior Confidence Course, arts and crafts, and a fire pit. Whether you are four or twenty-four. Dogs welcome.
You have done the resort. The all-inclusive where the kids spent four days at the pool and the adults spent four days saying 'put your phone down.' The rental house that looked great online and turned out to be a condo with a view of a parking lot. The vacation where you all traveled to be in the same place and somehow ended up doing different things in different rooms. You keep hoping for the trip where everyone is genuinely tired at the end of the day. Not bored-tired. Adventure-tired. The kind of tired where your eight-year-old falls asleep in the car mid-sentence, still talking about the Warp Wall.
Here is what happens. You pull up to 18 acres on a lake in Parkman, Maine. The kids are on the Warrior Confidence Course before the car is unpacked. Your partner wanders into the Arts & Crafts Studio and does not come out for three hours. Someone grabs a kayak. Someone else takes the canoe. Someone spots a bald eagle from the dock. By 6pm the fire pit is going, the s'mores kit is out, and nobody has asked for the WiFi password. You sit in a chair by the water and realize this is the first time in months your whole family is in the same place, doing nothing, together. And it works for a family of four in the Main House just as well as it works for a reunion of 28.
What your kids will do all day
And most of it does not involve a screen.
Warrior Confidence Course
Certified Warp Wall. Cargo nets, monkey bars, obstacle elements. Your kids will attempt the course eight times before lunch and talk about it for months. This is the thing they draw pictures of when they get home.
Arts & Crafts Studio
Painting. Watercolor. Beadwork. All-ages projects. This is the most-used space on the property, and not just by kids. The studio has plenty ready to go for most families. Walk in, make something, leave it on the shelf to dry.
The Waterfront
Private dock on a 475-acre pond. Canoe, paddle boat, kayaks, and swimming from the shore. Lifejackets in every size. The water is clean enough to see the bottom and warm enough by July that nobody wants to get out.
Stargazing
Zero light pollution. The Milky Way is visible with your bare eyes. The Bunk House balcony faces the pond, and on a clear night the sky is so full it looks fake. Veena from New Jersey brought a camera and shot the Milky Way from the dock.
Also on the property: bocce court, disc golf, cornhole, hiking trails, fire pit with complimentary s'mores kit, vegetable garden and orchard (pick what's ripe), and a three-season Fish House on the waterfront.
“Our kids had a blast playing all the yard games and painting rocks in the Art studio.”
“The main house as well as the bunkhouse were perfect for my family of 9 and our 3 dogs.”
“The comfort of our stay was only surpassed by the simple beauty.”
Wednesday at . No itinerary.
Nobody planned this day. It just happened.
You wake up to quiet. Actual quiet. The pond is flat. You take coffee to the dock and sit there until someone small appears and asks if they can swim before breakfast.
Your partner makes pancakes in the Main House kitchen while the kids argue over who gets the Warp Wall first. The eight-year-old wins. The twelve-year-old pretends not to care and then spends 40 minutes on the course.
The arts and crafts studio. Your daughter is painting rocks. Your son is making a clay something he insists is a dragon. You are making a bracelet and wondering why you don't do this at home. You know why.
Kayaks. The pond is 475 acres. You paddle along the shoreline. A blue heron lifts off from the rocks ahead. Your kid whispers "did you see that" like they just saw something impossible.
You grill on the Blackstone. The kids pick tomatoes from the garden for the salad. Someone finds the bocce set. Dinner happens outside because everything happens outside here.
Fire pit. S'mores. The stars come out and your kid looks up and says 'is that the Milky Way' and you look up and realize it is. Nobody is looking at a phone. Not because you took them away. Because there is better stuff to look at.
Every season is different here
Summer
Swimming, kayaking, fishing, long days on the dock. Fireflies over the garden at dusk. The pond is warm enough to stay in for hours. Blueberry season in July.
Fall
Foliage across 18 acres. Apple picking from the orchard. Cool mornings, fire pit every night. September and October are the most photographed months on the property.
Winter
Snowshoeing through the woods. Snowmobile trail access nearby. Cocoa by the fire. The sky at night is unreal. The property under snow feels like a different century.
Spring
Ice-out on the pond. Wildflowers. The garden beds come back. Loons return in late April. Everything waking up. The quietest season and some people's favorite.
Included with Every Stay
Carrie Reed
Carrie Reed works with the Dragonwood team and coordinates the details behind the scenes, from grocery pickup and setup to the flow of your wedding weekend or group stay. She works to make sure you can stay present with your people.
Start the conversation.
Plan Your Family TripThe Main House sleeps 10. The Bunk House sleeps 16. The Airstream sleeps 2. Book one building or book all three.
dragonwood.me