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A new summer camp-style getaway in Lincolnville is open to people of all ages — even those who have long aged out of the traditional overnight childhood experience.
Camp DeForest opened this year at the site of the former Ducktrap Motel at 12 Whitney Road, offering well-appointed cabins and traditional motel rooms where guests can stay at all times of the year.
But it also has many touches meant to evoke a classic camp experience, including private fire rings with materials for s’mores, the raising of flags, games and outdoor activities, and booklets listing merit-badge style achievements for guests to complete during their visit.
The owners, Jessica and Brady Brim-DeForest, came up with the idea after moving to the area in 2020 and taking over the former motor lodge, more than a half century after it first opened. Two years later, the pair set their idea into motion, starting with rebuilding the property from the ground up.
“I think the midcoast has so many really charming experiences and properties that really feel very distinctly Maine, but I also think that many of them cater to a particular way of imagining Maine,” Brady Brim-DeForest said. “It’s very coastal, perhaps geared a little more towards the romantic getaway or the bed and breakfast audience. We were looking for something that was more oriented towards the narrative experience that surprises and delights.”
While the marketing of the summer camp-style experience is unique, the Brim-DeForests are part of a wave of new places offering their guests a more rustic slant on the traditional Maine vacation. Since the beginning of the pandemic, luxury campsites known as “glampgrounds” also have been opening along Maine’s coast, seeing strong demand for their cushy tents that diverge from the coastal cottages that have traditionally been part of the state’s touristy image.
Camp DeForest can now accommodate roughly 45 guests at a time, with 10 rooms in its main lodge and additional space in a group of cabins. Accommodations can range in price from roughly $250 to more than $300 per night, according to its website.
Though it has only been open for about eight weeks, it’s already had several fully booked weekends. It will also make its camp-style activities, such as campfires and singalongs, available to people who are not staying in the lodging.
The campfire sites can be reserved for 90-minute time slots. Participants can obtain camping gear and materials such as marshmallows and hot chocolate in an on-site shop.
The DeForests have tried to decorate the motel in a way that will transport guests back in time to when they were going to camp, in part with antique furniture they’ve found around the state.
When guests check in, they will also receive the book of merits with activities and challenges to pursue, both around camp and the midcoast. Upon completion of the tasks, they can collect stamps to be traded in for merit badges in the manner of Scouts and other youth programs.
The DeForests decided to put their own name on the business, in part, because it connects with the region’s French heritage.
“The ‘DeForest’ part is French for ‘of the forest,’” Jessica Brim-DeForest said. “A lot of people mistake it as we’re trying to ‘deforest,’ or that’s where that comes from. But it’s tied in with the French roots of Maine, our [own] French roots and being one with the forest.”
The couple previously lived in California and have run a variety of businesses, including a marketing firm and a tiki-themed bar. The DeForests said they have always tried to incorporate narrative into their guests’ experience. Growing up on the West Coast, they also both enjoyed time in the woods during their childhoods, which has shaped their new operation in Lincolnville.
“As much as we loved that experience as children, we also love to be in really nice, luxurious places, be well-taken care of, and have everything we need — hot showers, king-size beds,” Jessica Brim-DeForest said. “It’s a combination of being out there in the woods with all of the comforts of home.”
