Although Stephen King placed his fictional town of Jerusalem’s Lot within the very real Cumberland County, Maine in his best-selling vampire novel, “Salem’s Lot,” locals assure us there are very few vampires in Cumberland.
There are, however, lots of happy tourists. Thanks to its unique natural setting — a spectacular coast and a woodsy, mountainous interior — visitors here find an almost endless variety of things to do, from hiking the world-famous White Mountains to dinner in Portland, which Forbes calls “America’s most-livable city.”
Forbes must be right; Cumberland is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. As of 2010, its population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County is the economic and industrial center of the state, having the resources of the Port of Portland, the Maine Mall, and having corporate headquarters of major companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor, IDEXX Laboratories, Unum, and TD Bank. Those rich resources create lots of access to good living, including great food. Portland was named the “foodiest small town in America” by Bon Appétit magazine.
In winter, Cumberland County really sparkles; visitors and residents can ski some of the best slopes in the East, explore the beautiful countryside on pristine cross-country and snowmobile trails and celebrate the holidays by visiting lighthouses decked out in Christmas lights.
Everyone should try ice skating on the pond in Portland’s Deering Oaks Park (trivia: this is the location of the skating scene between Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston in the film “The Preacher’s Wife”) or for more accomplished skaters, on the miles of ice at Sebago Lake or others in the nearby Lakes Region. Sledding is an easy sport for kids of all ages on the snowy hills at Payton Park in Portland.
Those not up for the sporting life can go searching to spot whales and dolphin from Portland Harbor, tour a lighthouse, or take in the richness of the arts and crafts scene in Cumberland County.
The Maine Crafts Association offers a variety of workshops and programs, including Haystack Workshop Weekend, one of the group’s best-loved educational programs. Their “Calendar Series Workshops” offer unique and intensive, full-day techniques workshops held in the studios of master craft artists.
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