Airlines

Information to the proper coastal Maine highway journey

Maine’s breathtaking shoreline is not like every other. It is solely about 280 miles from the New Hampshire border to the New Brunswick, Canada, border in the event you observe the area’s principal highway, U.S. Route 1 (together with state Route 189 for the ultimate stretch).

Nevertheless, this jagged shoreline is something however a straight shot. And in the event you measure the tide shoreline — which incorporates each peninsula, inlet, island and tidal basin — the Maine coast really measures 3,478 miles, making it the fourth-longest within the nation (it barely exceeds California’s).

You may drive it sticking carefully to U.S. 1 in about seven or eight hours, however you would not really see a lot of the ocean. For views of Maine’s azure waters — its rocky headlands dotted with imposing historic lighthouses, its sheltered harbors aglow with modern sailboats and colourful lobster buoys — you may wish to detour ceaselessly from the principle route. To totally expertise this breathtaking maritime panorama immortalized within the work of Winslow Homer, Marsden Hartley, Andrew Wyeth and numerous different luminaries, spend at the very least a number of days (or ideally a few weeks) tracing the coast’s many contours.

The gorgeous Portland Head Gentle, a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was accomplished in 1791 and is the oldest lighthouse within the state. BKAMPRATH/GETTY IMAGES

As you traverse the coast in a northeasterly route, heading “down east” because it’s recognized in Maine vernacular, you may encounter far fewer folks and far much less business improvement. The comparatively direct stretch from the New Hampshire border to the state’s largest metropolis, Portland, abounds with refined sea-to-table eating places and posh nation inns in addition to charming lobster shacks, attractive ice cream stands and nostalgic minigolf facilities. When you get previous Freeport, with its iconic L.L. Bean flagship retailer, you begin to encounter the wilder and extra rugged Maine coast, with its lengthy and slender peninsulas.

Alongside this a part of the coast, you may nonetheless discover pockets of upscale vacationers in prosperous summer season colonies like Boothbay Harbor, Camden and Bar Harbor, however the tempo slows. The ultimate stretch of coast past Mount Desert Island to the Canadian border feels utterly rural. You will encounter few fellow vacationers on this sparsely populated however verdant space that relies upon economically extra on business fishing and blueberry farming than tourism.

However by exploring the complete size of Maine’s beautiful coast, you may discover a lot to understand. You’ll be able to feast on unbelievable seafood (not simply lobster however rock and Jonah crab, oysters, mussels, and myriad fish) and a dizzying number of craft beers. You will uncover excellent artwork museums and galleries, and various natural world to view on coastal hikes, wildlife-watching cruises and kayaking and biking excursions. And, in fact, there’s the gorgeous pure surroundings of Acadia Nationwide Park.

This is your information to planning the proper coastal Maine highway journey and every little thing you must see and do alongside the best way.

Maine highway journey planning

Vehicles driving on a highway in Acadia Nationwide Park. ALLARD1/GETTY IMAGES

GPS gadgets are usually at cross functions with really having fun with a drive up the Maine coast, as they always try to shunt you onto U.S. Route 1 or, worse, Interstate Freeway 95, as an alternative of the fortunately meandering and circuitous roads that run nearer to the shoreline. Except you are pressed for time, be at liberty to disregard the entreaties of your GPS and take the scenic route every time potential. Detour right down to the information of Maine’s finger-shaped peninsulas, and if there’s an island you possibly can attain by bridge and even by ferry, go for it, at the very least as soon as. Bailey Island, Deer Isle and Vinalhaven (which entails a ferry experience) are all good bets.

Be aware that many municipal seashores have steep parking charges for nonresidents, generally $25 or extra. Day-use charges at state seashores are per individual relatively than per automobile and sometimes value round $7 or $8 per individual. In Portland and a few of the extra fashionable small cities alongside the coast — Bar Harbor, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit — road parking might be laborious to come back by, particularly throughout the summer season excessive season, so put together to make use of a pay lot which will even be costly.

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Fuel stations are current all alongside U.S. Route 1 and in most cities, however they are often tougher to seek out, or much more costly, on the extra rural peninsulas and islands. It is best to prime off your tank earlier than venturing wherever distant.

Put aside sufficient time

A pair kayaking on Jordan Pond in Acadia Nationwide Park. JERRY MONKMAN/AURORA PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

In the event you’re driving this full itinerary from Kittery to the Canadian border, give your self a minimal of 5 days and 4 nights to have the ability to expertise the important thing sights alongside the best way. This lets you put aside a full day every for exploring Portland and Acadia Nationwide Park, and sufficient time to drive by the entire cities described on this article. To understand this journey at a extra leisurely tempo, price range every week to 10 days and attempt to spend two nights in a few of the extra distinguished areas, comparable to Kittery-Portsmouth, Portland, Rockland-Camden, and Bar Harbor-Acadia Nationwide Park. When you’ve got two weeks and even longer, you will not run out of partaking issues to see and do.

Attending to the Maine coast

Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) has by far the best variety of direct flights in New England, and it is only a 75-minute drive from the Maine border. An alternative choice is to fly into Maine’s small, user-friendly Portland Worldwide Jetport (PWM), which is a 45-minute drive from Kittery. A lesser-known choice that is only a 50-minute drive from Kittery is Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in New Hampshire. It is served by a number of of the main airways. Though Logan Airport is probably going the simplest to succeed in from a lot of the nation and lots of worldwide locations, it’s a busy hub in a metropolis with infamous visitors, and rental automotive charges are usually steeper than on the airports in Portland and Manchester, that are additionally smaller and extra nice to navigate.

From Boston, Amtrak serves Portland and a number of other smaller cities alongside the decrease Maine coast. And there is frequent each day bus service on a number of carriers from Logan Airport and downtown Boston to each Portsmouth and Portland.

Greatest beginning and finish factors on the Maine coast

View of a fishing harbor in Kittery, Maine. ALBERTPEGO/GETTY IMAGES

This itinerary follows Maine’s coast in a northeasterly route, starting on the city of Kittery, which is simply throughout the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This nook of the state is simple to get to, because it’s only a 75-minute drive up the coast from Boston by way of I-95, and there are many accommodations within the space, each on the New Hampshire and Maine sides of the border. This journey ends on the Canadian border, the place you’ve the choice of extending your journey by persevering with into New Brunswick and probably past. Though it will probably take a number of days to journey alongside the coast’s meandering roads, exploring its peninsulas and inlets, the drive again from Lubec to Kittery-Portsmouth takes slightly below 5 hours in the event you take essentially the most direct inside route (state Route 189, U.S. Route 1, state Route 192 and state Route 9 to Bangor, after which I-95 the remainder of the best way).

The most effective time to go to the Maine coast

WYATT SMITH/THE POINTS GUY

For the perfect stability of climate and surroundings with out extreme crowds or super-steep resort charges, make this journey throughout the spring and fall shoulder seasons, between Could and mid-June or mid-September and mid-November. The exception to this rule is fall’s peak foliage season, which alongside the Maine coast is mostly from round mid-September by the primary week of November. Though the coast attracts fewer leaf-peepers than inside New England, crowds do choose up round this time and resort charges may also spike a bit.

July and August are peak high-season, as are vacation weekends in spring and fall. That is the perfect time to laze on Maine’s seashores and even swim within the ocean (which continues to be fairly chilly, with highs averaging round 70 levels in summer season). It is also when seasonal companies like lobster shacks, ice cream stands and scenic tour boats have their longest hours. However you may pay a premium at coastal accommodations throughout this time (be aware that the beginning charges for accommodations advisable on this article are for the summer season excessive season).

Conversely, winter on the Maine coast is usually a cut price so long as you do not thoughts bundling up, and you will generally have seashores all to your self. However many companies, together with lodgings and eating places, shut down in winter — and in some circumstances all the best way from mid-October by early Could, particularly the farther up the coast you go.

Kittery to the Kennebunks

Kennebunk’s Decrease Village and Kennebunkport’s Dock Sq. are situated alongside the ocean and Kennebunk River. SURA ARK/GETTY IMAGES

Greater than every other part of Maine’s coast, this comparatively brief (30-mile) stretch within the state’s southwestern nook is best to entry from coastal roads, which roughly parallel the shore’s contours, even past Kennebunkport and up by Cape Elizabeth and South Portland.

The area is characterised by broad, crescent-shaped, golden seashores and is dwelling to the best focus of tourism-related companies. You will discover no scarcity of lodging, from swanky seaside inns to low-frills, family-friendly motels to trip leases of each configuration and worth vary. Though the inhabitants swells in summer season and visitors can sluggish to a crawl on weekends, do not give in to the temptation to skip this area in favor of the quieter areas past Portland. It is a stupendous a part of the state with quite a lot of interesting sights. What you may take into account doing, nonetheless, is timing your journey so that you simply’re on this space midweek relatively than throughout the busier weekend.

Kittery and the Yorks

Begin your journey by taking U.S. Route 1 over the Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Piscataqua River from historic downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine’s oldest city. If you wish to gas up early, cease on Badger’s Island, which is true in the course of the river, for a hearty meal at Ore Nell’s Barbecue or within the historic downtown at Lil’s Cafe, an artisan bakery with nice espresso drinks.

Proceed east on state Route 103 alongside the curving riverfront relatively than following U.S. Route 1 into the tangle of outlet outlets for which Kittery is most well-known. Cease to stroll round colonial-era Fort McClary State Historic Website, with its formidable granite partitions and views of fairly Portsmouth Harbor. The highway curves previous attribute colonial houses earlier than becoming a member of with U.S. Route 1A, a scenic coastal highway that passes by the traditional seaside trip villages of York Harbor, York Seaside and Cape Neddick. These cities have a nostalgic household trip vibe and there are many locations to hop out for a stroll alongside the sand or a chunk to eat overlooking the ocean.

Simply north of York Seaside — a stretch of seashore cottages and accommodations that appears like a postcard from the Nineteen Forties — flip proper (observe the indicators) to the parking space for what’s fairly probably essentially the most photographed constructing in Maine: Nubble Lighthouse, an elegantly easy white tower beside a red-roofed Victorian keeper’s home set on a small rocky island simply offshore. You’ll be able to’t really go to the island, however the view from throughout the water is splendid, and subsequent to the car parking zone, Fox’s Lobster Home is an effective spot to bask in your first bowl of chowder or lobster roll.

Elective aspect journey to Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Memorial Bridge over the Piscataqua River connects New Hampshire to Maine. TRAVELVIEW/GETTY IMAGES

The most important group on New Hampshire’s 18-mile shoreline, this upbeat historic metropolis with a inhabitants of round 23,000 is each a wonderful base for exploring the adjoining southwestern nook of Maine and a pleasant vacation spot in its personal proper.

A compact seaport, Portsmouth is thought for its fastidiously preserved colonial buildings, a lot of them open to the general public. A spotlight is Strawbery Banke Museum, a 10-acre residing historical past village of greater than three dozen restored buildings. Generally described as a miniature Portland, this metropolis of slender tree-shaded lanes and well-tended gardens has a rising restaurant scene and loads of galleries, crafts outlets, bookstores and clothiers to maintain you busy.

Ogunquit

Simply north of Cape Neddick, the place U.S. Route 1A cuts west to hitch U.S. Route 1, flip proper onto Shore Street and observe this slender, curvy route into charming Ogunquit, which developed into an artists colony and a summer season resort within the late Nineteenth century and has in more moderen many years turn out to be a preferred LGBTQIA+ vacation spot. Testomony to this cheerful seashore city’s artistic legacy are the small however glorious Ogunquit Museum of American Artwork and the acclaimed Ogunquit Playhouse summer season theater. You should definitely try the outlets and seafood eateries (comparable to Footbridge Lobster and Barnacle Billy’s) of Perkins Cove, the place there’s additionally a photogenic footbridge throughout the city’s boat basin. From right here, stroll the gorgeous 1.3-mile Marginal Means footpath alongside a sequence of sea cliffs into the lovable downtown, the place you may uncover quite a lot of hip bars and eating places.

Kennebunkport

As you head north on U.S. Route 1 from Ogunquit, flip proper onto the state Route 9 shore route into the old-money enclave of Kennebunkport, with its interesting village heart bisected by the scenic Kennebunk River. Stroll amongst Dock Sq.’s many outlets and eating places, the place you may also ebook a sightseeing cruise on The Pineapple Ketch, a historic 38-foot ship that gives a glimpse of the various imposing summer season cottages (mansions, actually) that dot the city’s shoreline, together with Walker’s Level, aka the Bush compound, which served because the “Summer season White Home” for President George H.W. Bush. Off Dyke Street a number of miles northeast of city, Goose Rocks Seaside is among the space’s gems, providing nice alternatives for tidepooling and absorbing rays.

The place to remain

CLIFF HOUSE/FACEBOOK

With days of driving forward, you may take into account treating your self to an evening or two in a wonderful spa resort, like Cape Neddick’s luxurious Cliff Home Maine (charges begin at $699 per night time), which is perched on a dramatic rocky ledge a number of miles south of the Ogunquit border. Along with having a 9,000-square-foot spa overlooking the ocean, this up to date 226-room resort boasts a championship golf course, a number of eating places and myriad leisure actions. From the enchanting Trellis Home (charges begin at $309 per night time), an eight-room bed-and-breakfast surrounded by lush gardens and greenery, you are steps from Ogunquit’s Marginal Means coastal path and inside strolling or trolleying distance of the seashore and native eating.

The contemporary-chic AWOL Kennebunkport (charges begin at $327 per night time) provides a definite distinction to the world’s many old school inns. A brief stroll from full of life Dock Sq. in Kennebunkport, it is made up of 17 ethereal cabins with low-slung, tasteful furnishings and personal patios and balconies. Most rooms have fireplaces, and charges embrace a breakfast that includes a toast bar with bagels, muffins, breads and gourmand toppings. AWOL is a part of the famend boutique resort model Lark Lodges, which has 4 different Maine properties, together with the gorgeous Kennebunkport Captains Assortment (charges begin at $471 per night time), which is simply across the nook and consists of 4 well up to date historic houses with plush rooms and suites outfitted with soaking tubs, working fireplaces and loads of different perks.

Simply throughout the state line in Portsmouth, you may discover an important choice of each fashionable full-service accommodations and distinctive city inns. A few notables embrace the Resort Thaxter (charges begin at $369), a brand new 15-room boutique inn inside the coronary heart of town’s historic downtown, and Wentworth by the Sea (charges begin at $389 per night time), which is a 10-minute drive outdoors of city on the attractive New Citadel island. This legendary grande dame was inbuilt 1874 and overlooks a scenic harbor the place the Piscataqua River meets the ocean. It provides a spa, two swimming pools, tennis courts and a Scottish-style hyperlinks golf course.

Larger Portland

Individuals kayaking in Casco Bay. 1MICHAEL D. WILSON/AURORA PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

Maine’s largest metropolis has slightly below 70,000 residents and is 50 miles up the coast from the New Hampshire border. Along with being a picturesque port metropolis with an unbelievable meals scene, it is a wonderful place to anchor your self in the event you’re planning an extended keep and respect having proximity to each the ocean and a vibrant arts and cultural scene. From Kennebunkport, state Route 9 leads into the cities that type the metro space’s southern edge, together with Biddeford and South Portland.

Biddeford and Cape Elizabeth

From Kennebunkport, observe Route 9 because it curves again inland alongside the Saco River into Biddeford, a once-thriving textile mill city that underwent a extreme downturn throughout the second half of the twentieth century as business moved elsewhere. By the early 2000s, town heart’s good-looking, although largely empty, redbrick mill buildings and storefronts started to draw cooks, brewers, makers, artists and different entrepreneurs, and right now Biddeford buzzes with exercise.

Cease for breakfast or lunch at acclaimed spots like Catface Cafe and the Palace Diner, or a memorable dinner at Elda. Pattern tremendous spirits, together with fragrant small-batch gins, at cozy Spherical Flip Distilling, and house-roasted coffees and native beer on the inviting bookstore-cum-cafe Parts.

As soon as you’ve got stuffed up on glorious food and drinks, observe U.S. Route 1 over the river into one other small industrial metropolis, Saco. Right here, you’ve a choice to make about which path to observe. When you’ve got a delicate spot for the thrum of boardwalk amusement parks, fried-dough and saltwater taffy distributors, T-shirt outlets and memento stands, and different retro-kitschy enjoyable, head east a number of miles to Previous Orchard Seaside, a spirited if at occasions raucous honky-tonk trip city with a protracted pier, a seashore that is jammed on weekends with towels and umbrellas, and fireworks exhibits on Thursday nights from late July by early September.

If this is not your bag, proceed up U.S. Route 1 to the bed room group of Scarborough, and take state routes 207 and 77 by the upscale seaside city of Cape Elizabeth. On this scenic route, you possibly can detour south to Prouts Neck to go to the Winslow Homer Studio (excursions are provided solely by advance reservation by the Portland Museum of Artwork), the place the artist painted a lot of his legendary Maine seascapes from the Eighteen Eighties till his dying in 1910. And you may go to the Portland Head Gentle, which has served as a beacon to ship captains since 1791 and impressed numerous work, together with Edward Hopper’s memorable 1927 work, “Portland Head.” You’ll be able to stroll round this swish stone tower and tour the museum contained in the quaint keeper’s home — strolling paths lead alongside the rock bluffs and all through surrounding Fort Williams Park. Route 77 continues north throughout Casco Bay Bridge and into the guts of Portland.

Portland

Bud Gentle Park in South Portland, Maine. CAPPI THOMPSON/GETTY IMAGES

With its walkable streets lined with stellar eating places, cocktail lounges, tremendous galleries and trendy boutiques, Portland is the proper metropolis to ditch your automotive for a day, or perhaps a few days, and discover on foot. The train will turn out to be useful given how a lot consuming and consuming you may be tempted to bask in. Furthermore, there is a clutch of first-rate accommodations downtown.

Nice views might be had from the grassy lawns of the Western Promenade and Jap Promenade, two hilltop parks that bracket town. The Portland Museum of Artwork options intensive holdings of painters who’ve immortalized the area’s pure surroundings, together with Homer and Hopper but additionally John Marin, George Bellows and Andrew Wyeth. There’s additionally an impressive up to date assortment and terrific rotating reveals. Just a few blocks away you possibly can go to the childhood dwelling of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which now comprises the Maine Historic Society. Close by, the Previous Port district exudes old-world attraction with its bustling wharves, seafood markets and slender lanes.

The place to eat and imbibe? Longtime favorites embrace Fore Avenue for domestically sourced seafood and meats and Duckfat for Belgian-style frites and luscious milkshakes. Alongside the identical block, head to Eventide Oyster Co. for fresh-shucked bivalves and its sister institution, The Honey Paw, for boldly flavored pan-Asian cooking. Newer chef-driven spots comparable to locavore-minded Twelve and warmly convivial Thistle & Grouse are turning heads with their ingenious, artfully ready delicacies. And James Beard Award-nominated cooks are effectively represented on the town; take into account Krista Cole of Sur Lie (she additionally runs Collect, simply up the highway in Yarmouth), Courtney Loreg of Woodford Meals & Beverage, Isaul Perez of Isa Bistro and Jake Stevens of Leeward, to call only a few. Allagash, Bissell Brothers and Austin Avenue are among the many greater than two dozen craft breweries making waves in and round Portland, whereas purveyors of every little thing from artisan baked items (the Holy Donut, Forage, Norimoto) to domestically roasted espresso (Tandem, Bard, Speckled Ax) seem in seemingly each route. Put together to be blown away.

The islands of Casco Bay

When you’ve got an additional day, take into account taking a cruise among the many almost 150 islands of Casco Bay; six might be reached by scheduled ferry service with Casco Bay Strains from downtown Portland. You’ll be able to lease a motorbike close to the terminals of a lot of the islands in the event you’re up for a two-wheel journey, or simply go for a cruise. The dawn and sundown runs are particularly scenic, whereas the mailboat run lets passengers absorb the surroundings as staff ship mail to a number of of the islands. For an extended go to, take into account reserving one of many many trip leases on the islands, or staying at one of many few full-service accommodations, such because the Inn at Diamond Cove on Nice Diamond Island.

Freeport

As you proceed up the coast from Portland, you may encounter the one span of this itinerary that is greatest undertaken by way of a boring however environment friendly freeway. Hop onto Interstate Freeway 295 for the almost 20-mile drive to Freeport, a gorgeous and historic city that is each a suburb and a retail hub, because of the presence within the coronary heart of downtown of the famend gear and sportswear retailer L.L. Bean. Established right here in 1912, this large flagship retailer is open 24/7 and is a should for stocking up on every little thing from boating and snowboarding gear to tasteful housewares and sensible but engaging fleeces, sweaters, boots and extra. A crop of different name-brand retailers have outlet outlets inside strolling distance of L.L. Bean.

The place to remain

IRVIN SERRANO/THE PRESS HOTEL/FACEBOOK

Set in an imaginatively reworked 1850s mill constructing in downtown Biddeford, the clever Lincoln Resort (charges begin at $334 per night time) comprises 33 spacious, industrial-chic rooms with brick partitions, gasoline fireplaces, hovering ceilings and big home windows. It is a wonderful selection for profiting from Biddeford’s more and more acclaimed culinary scene. Near Portland Head Gentle and handy to downtown Portland however with a peaceable setting on Cape Elizabeth’s idyllic Crescent Seaside, the pet-welcoming Inn by the Sea (charges begin at $495 per night time) has 62 individually designed rooms with casually opulent decor; suites have full kitchens.

The seven-story Press Resort (charges begin at $432 or 67,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per night time) occupies a Nineteen Twenties Previous Port constructing that after housed town’s newspaper and has been given new life as a hip 110-room resort with old school writing desks, native artwork, a rooftop deck, numerous comfortable widespread areas and a scene-y (for Portland) farm-to-table restaurant. Positioned in Portland’s historic West Finish, The Francis (charges begin at $395 per night time) is ready in an imposing redbrick mansion that had fallen right into a state of disrepair earlier than its new homeowners accomplished an bold two-year restoration. This dashing 15-room boutique inn has light-filled, uncluttered rooms with a contemporary vibe, and visitors can ebook spa therapies within the resort’s sister property, The Longfellow, simply throughout the road.

On Nice Diamond Island, only a 25-minute ferry experience from Previous Port, the distinctive Inn at Diamond Cove (charges begin at $249 per night time) has been created out of late-Nineteenth-century military barracks and has spacious, fashionable suites, some with kitchens, that function porches or balconies, and a big pool and acclaimed waterfront restaurant.

Brunswick to Camden 

“The View” Lounge overlooking Camden Harbor, Sixteen Bay View Resort, Camden, Maine. JON LOVETTE/GETTY IMAGES

From Freeport, U.S. Route 1 continues to the dapper school city of Brunswick (dwelling to Bowdoin Faculty and arguably the state’s most well-known artisan ice cream purveyor, The Gelato Fiasco), earlier than turning into a less-trafficked and customarily fairly scenic two-lane highway because it meanders in an east-by-northeast route by Maine’s storied Mid-Coast area. It is a few 60-mile drive from Brunswick to Camden, a lot of it by full of life village facilities lined with colonial and Victorian homes and storefronts.

You will not see the precise shoreline alongside this part of highway, however quite a few state roads run south from U.S. Route 1 right down to the picturesque suggestions of a number of craggy peninsulas, resulting in fabled websites of pure magnificence just like the Big’s Stairs on Bailey Island, Popham Seaside in Phippsburg and Pemaquid Level in Bristol. Detouring down these winding, slow-going roads can simply take an hour or extra round-trip, with out stops, so until you’ve numerous time in your arms, do not try to discover each one. However do attempt to put aside time for at the very least one in every of these rewarding aspect excursions, because it’s once you get off the crushed path and expertise this area’s windswept seashores and dramatic rock formations that you simply acquire a real sense of coastal Maine’s sheer magnificence.

Bathtub and Boothbay Harbor

Proceed on U.S. Route 1 from Brunswick to the bustling small metropolis of Bathtub, whose location alongside a deep stretch of the Kennebec River has made it a hub of shipbuilding because the mid-18th century. 1000’s of vessels, together with putting picket clipper ships, had been constructed within the shipyards that previously lined the riverfront, and the grand Federal and Victorian houses that you simply see all through city are a testomony to the wealth derived from this essential business. On the south aspect of downtown, Bathtub Iron Works opened in 1884 and has constructed numerous warships for the U.S. Navy. It continues to operate on this capability as a division of Common Dynamics Corp.

You’ll be able to study concerning the city’s, and the state’s, wealthy shipbuilding legacy on the excellent Maine Maritime Museum, which opened in 1971 on the location of the historic Percy & Small Shipyard. This rambling 20-acre campus comprises dozens of fastidiously preserved buildings together with a terrific museum with a formidable everlasting assortment of nautical artwork, ship fashions and memorabilia, in addition to glorious rotating reveals. In your go to, put aside time to take one of many nature and lighthouse cruises that the museum conducts alongside the Kennebec River.

From Bathtub, shortly after passing by historic Wiscasset (dwelling to the well-known lobster shack Purple’s Eats), flip proper onto state Route 27 and proceed south to Boothbay Harbor, an idyllic yachting enclave that is dwelling to a number of gorgeous lodgings in addition to a handful of colourful boutiques and convivial seafood eating places. Boothbay Harbor’s best draw is the expansive Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Peaceable trails lace the greater than 300 acres of formal plantings, a pleasant kids’s backyard, shady riverside woodlands and artwork installations, together with 5 whimsical, larger-than-life troll sculptures that Danish artist Thomas Dambo long-established out of recycled wooden.

Again on U.S. Route 1, you may proceed by a number of engaging small cities, together with Damariscotta, recognized for its oyster farms and exquisite Victorian buildings. River Home and King Eider’s Pub are a few glorious spots on the town to benefit from the native seafood.

Rockland

Schooners sail across the breakwater and the Rockland Breakwater Gentle in Penobscot Bay throughout “schooner days” in Rockland, Maine. KEVIN FLEMING/GETTY IMAGES

You will discover a few of Mid-Coast Maine’s most bewitching surroundings alongside the shore of West Penobscot Bay, beginning with Rockland. As soon as a rough-and-tumble hub of business fishing and lime quarrying, and later a provide heart serving the wants of the area’s swankier resort communities, this city of about 7,100 has loved a latest renaissance thanks partially to the opening of the famend Farnsworth Artwork Museum, recognized for its exceptional assortment of works by Andrew Wyeth (in addition to his father, N.C., and son Jamie). The museum additionally options the works of many different notables of American portray and sculpture, together with Louise Nevelson and Marsden Hartley. The Farnsworth is the centerpiece of Foremost Avenue, whose putting redbrick Italianate buildings home one-of-a-kind outlets and eateries.

A block away, the strikingly modern Middle for Maine Modern Artwork, which acclaimed architect Toshiko Mori designed in 2016, is one other cornerstone of the city’s exceptional artistic scene. Rockland helps an more and more sturdy eating scene, with Primo and the ethereal Mediterranean delicacies of James Beard Award-winning chef Melissa Kelly main the best way.

Earlier than heading north towards Rockport, make the simple 15-minute detour southeast to Owls Head Lighthouse, a stout white lighthouse that is notable for its dramatic setting atop an 80-foot bluff that guards the doorway to Rockland’s busy harbor. Climb to the highest of this 1852 construction for a rewarding view of Penobscot Bay and the close by island of Vinalhaven, to which ferry service is on the market from downtown Rockland; there is a small, informative museum on the base. Residence to greater than 150 meticulously maintained vintage automobiles, bikes and planes, the Owls Head Transportation Museum makes for a enjoyable cease in your manner again to Rockland.

Rockport and Camden

U.S. Route 1 continues north alongside Penobscot Bay by quaint Rockport, a venerable artists colony set round a wonderful little harbor and residential to destination-worthy eating places like 18 Central Oyster Bar and, turning out seasonally sourced Maine-meets-Mediterranean fare, Nina June. Flip proper onto U.S. Route 1A and observe this slender, twisting highway by the village and round to Camden Metropolis Park, a slice of greenery set on a bluff with commanding views of the vintage wooden-masted sailboats and schooners in Camden Harbor. It has entry to an exquisite little seashore, too.

In Camden, an prosperous summer season getaway that is well-known for its fleet of historic Windjammer ships, a number of outfitters on the town supply sails on the bay. Stroll round downtown, chill out within the Olmsted Brothers-designed Harbor Park or make the brief however relatively steep 1.1-mile round-trip hike as much as the highest of Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park. From the historic commentary tower on the prime, to which you may also drive, the bay views are stupendous. Again on the town, alluring eating places await, comparable to Lengthy Grain, for a few of the tastiest Thai meals within the Northeast, and 40 Paper, with its oft-changing menu of flatbreads, pastas and charcuterie targeted on domestically sourced components.

The place to remain

KR REAL ESTATE MEDIA/TOPSIDE INN/FACEBOOK

A stately 1860s captain’s home with extra rooms in adjoining buildings, the Topside Inn (charges begin at $369 per night time) sits on a hilltop with a gracious garden and sweeping views of Boothbay Harbor. It is a brief stroll from native outlets and eating places and an important base for visiting Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the Maine Maritime Museum.

Overlooking the harbor within the coronary heart of downtown Rockland, the stylishly fashionable 250 Foremost Resort (charges begin at $358 per night time) has 26 spacious, high-ceilinged rooms on 5 flooring, together with a rooftop deck with unbelievable views of the water and downtown. The considerate employees tends to visitors’ each want, and facilities embrace a light-weight complimentary breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese.

Considered one of Mid-Coast Maine’s most luxurious hideaways, the Camden Harbour Inn (charges begin at $555 per night time) is a part of Relais & Chateaux and enjoys a spectacular setting on a hill with expansive views of the city harbor. This 20-room property options an inn and the critically acclaimed restaurant Natalie’s; it is also a brief stroll from downtown eating and buying. A half-mile up U.S. Route 1 from downtown Camden, Whitehall (charges begin at $231 per night time) occupies a Nineteenth-century sea captain’s mansion that is been given a intelligent, boldly coloured Twenty first-century makeover. The 36 rooms and suites are set amongst a number of buildings and vary from plush and expansive to easy and economical (with bogs down the corridor).

Camden to Bar Harbor

An early morning view of Bar Harbor, Maine, and the autumn foliage of the encircling mountains. PICTURELAKE/GETTY IMAGES

There are primarily two methods to get from Camden to Bar Harbor, which is simply 40 miles east because the crow flies: the great distance, following U.S. Route 1 up round Penobscot and immediately throughout to Ellsworth, and the actually great distance, which entails detouring extensively down by the attractive Blue Hill Peninsula and onto pastoral Deer Isle earlier than slicing again as much as Ellsworth.

The primary choice takes a bit below two hours with out stops, whereas the second choice can take so long as 4 hours relying on how most of the Blue Hill Peninsula’s nooks and crannies you determine to discover. This aspect tour is effectively definitely worth the time in the event you’re not in a rush. Both manner, from Ellsworth, it is a straightforward drive down state Route 3 onto the japanese shore of Mount Desert Island to get to Bar Harbor.

Belfast

As you drive northeast alongside U.S. Route 1, skirting the western shore of Penobscot Bay, you may cross by the small seashore city of Lincolnville, which is the place you possibly can choose up the ferry to the engaging summer season trip island of Islesboro, earlier than getting into one of many coast’s most alluring small cities, Belfast. With a downtown considerable with grand centuries-old houses and shopfronts with ornate brick facades, the governmental seat of Waldo County is a pleasure to discover on foot. You will discover a smattering of typically informal bars and eateries on the town, plus some intriguing antiques and housewares outlets.

Searsport and Bucksport

PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM/FACEBOOK

As you proceed up U.S. Route 1, extra antiquing awaits within the pleasant village of Searsport, which can be value a go to for its excellent Penobscot Marine Museum. About 10 miles north, proper earlier than the highway crosses the Penobscot River, make a left flip and observe the indicators to Fort Knox Historic Website and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Inbuilt 2007, the hovering cable-stayed Penobscot Narrows Bridge is dwelling to the world’s tallest bridge observatory; take the elevator to the highest of the 420-foot-high West Tower to benefit from the 360-degree views. Then return to earth and stroll the grounds of the adjoining Fort Knox, a formidable granite fortress constructed within the mid-Nineteenth century.

After driving throughout the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, you may come to the small riverfront city of Bucksport, a former mill city that is reinvented itself as a burgeoning heart of tourism. The strolling path alongside the riverfront makes for a nice stroll.

Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Isle

Bordered by Penobscot Bay to the west and Jericho Bay, Blue Hill Bay and Mount Desert Narrows to the south and east, the largely rural and extremely peaceable Blue Hill Peninsula is about 25 miles lengthy and comprises only a handful of unpretentious but dignified villages and a cluster of atmospheric nation inns and dependable eating places. As you drive alongside its curving nation roads and alongside its pebbly seashores and swish bays, it is simple to think about you are seeing a slice of coastal Maine a lot because it in all probability regarded a century in the past. Residence to a number of conservation areas and nature preserves, the peninsula is fashionable for mountain climbing, with 934-foot-tall Blue Hill Mountain among the many greatest locations for a not-too-strenuous 2-mile round-trip scramble, and the views from the highest are spectacular.

To get right here, flip proper onto state Route 166 from Bucksport and observe it south alongside the japanese shore of Penobscot Bay to Castine, a once-bustling colonial seaport that transitioned progressively right into a summer season colony of understatedly rich industrialists within the Nineteenth century. You will discover a handful of endearing outlets and eateries within the village heart overlooking the harbor.

From right here, backtrack up and round Northern Bay after which observe state Route 175 south to a bridge after which a causeway resulting in 30-square-mile Deer Isle, with a pair of winsome villages, Deer Isle correct and Stonington, with nonetheless extra interesting boutiques, galleries and eateries. Residence to one of many state’s most well-known farm-to-table eating places, Aragosta, Deer Isle attracts greater than its share of foodies. Return to the principle route by crossing again onto the peninsula and taking state Route 175 or 172 northeast to the peninsula’s largest city, Blue Hill, which continues to be fairly tiny (the inhabitants is barely fewer than 1,000 souls).

Bar Harbor

Observe U.S. Route 1 after which state Route 3 onto Mount Desert Island, dwelling to the postcard-worthy resort city of Bar Harbor in addition to most of Acadia Nationwide Park. Bar Harbor was established as a fishing and shipbuilding city within the 1760s, however by the center of the subsequent century, prestigious American panorama painters, together with Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, had been drawn right here by the fascinating harbor, towering granite cliffs and mountains, and sheltered seashores. The city quickly attracted rich guests, a lot of whom, together with Rockefellers, Astors and Vanderbilts, erected large summer season houses. The downtown is among the prettiest, albeit busiest throughout the summer season excessive season, within the state.

From Could by October, cruise ships tie up within the harbor and ferry passengers into city, leading to generally extreme crowds. That being stated, the stunning Foremost Avenue is lined with interesting outlets and eateries, and each the Village Inexperienced and waterfront Agamont Park are enchanting spots to chill out, maybe with a slab of fudge or a dish of ice cream from one of many numerous sweets outlets. Professional tip: Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, which now has places as far-off as Japan, serves the perfect frozen desserts on the town, with distinctive flavors like coriander-lemon curd and hojicha (roasted inexperienced tea). Ensure that to go to the 2 glorious historical past museums on the town, the Abbe Museum, a Smithsonian-affiliated property dedicated to deciphering Maine Indigenous tradition and pure historical past, and La Rochelle Mansion, the Gilded Age “summer season cottage” of George Bowdoin that opened as a museum in 2020.

Acadia Nationwide Park

GABRIELPEVIDE/GETTY IMAGES

Residence to the best peak on the Jap Seaboard (Cadillac Mountain, elevation 1,530 ft) and remarkably various landscapes of rugged and rocky coastal headlands and pristine forests and seashores, Acadia Nationwide Park is among the nice pure treasures of New England. About 77 sq. miles, the park covers round half of Mount Desert Island, totally on the japanese of the island’s two lobes; the remainder of Acadia is on Isle au Haut (reachable by ferry from Deer Isle), quite a lot of small and largely uninhabited islands within the neighborhood, and the southern finish of the Schoodic Peninsula. Most guests focus their efforts on the portion of the park adjoining to Bar Harbor, which is certainly a wonderful place to begin, though this part of Acadia additionally receives the best variety of guests and might really feel a bit overwhelming in summer season, particularly on weekends.

After stopping by the park’s Hulls Cove Customer Middle, drive the breathtaking 27-mile Park Loop Street, absorbing the views from the various rocky ledges. Get pleasure from lunch on the historic Jordan Pond Home restaurant. It is well-known for its fluffy fresh-baked popovers with butter and strawberry jam.

Though you possibly can drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, parking is restricted and reservations are required between mid-Could and mid-October to drive to the summit. In the event you love getting outdoors and also you’re prepared for a break from driving, take into account mountain climbing to the highest as an alternative. A number of trails, ranging in size from round 2 to 7 miles round-trip, result in the summit. Different interesting treks within the park embrace neighboring and fewer crowded Dorr Mountain and climbing the ladders and rungs of the brief however fairly vertical Beehive Loop, which overlooks one of many park’s loveliest stretches of shoreline, Sand Seaside. When you’ve got an additional day or wish to get away from the crowds, put aside a number of hours to discover the park’s quieter western aspect, trying out the paths round Beech Mountain and Echo Lake.

The place to remain

SALT COTTAGES/FACEBOOK

An expensive base that is near each Camden and Belfast but not removed from the Blue Hill Peninsula, the exquisitely restored Homeport Inn and Tavern (charges begin at $179 per night time) is a brief stroll from Searsport’s city park and fishing pier. This 1860s sea captain’s home has a warmly lit British-style pub serving elevated consolation fare, and lots of rooms have terraces overlooking the verdant gardens.

Well-known for having one of many state’s most celebrated eating places, Aragosta at Goose Cove (charges begin at $360 per night time) provides in a single day stays in 9 dog-friendly cottages with kitchenettes and three suites, all of them steps from the ocean (and a few of them with direct water views). It is within the quiet village of Deer Isle, removed from crowds, even in the course of summer season. The Blue Hill Inn (charges begin at $237 per night time) is among the true gems of the Blue Hill Peninsula. This 1830s mansion embellished within the Federal interval model has 11 upscale rooms, and there are two extra up to date suites in an adjoining Cape Home cottage. Charges embrace a lavish multicourse breakfast, and the inn is inside strolling distance of the harbor and a number of other fashionable eating places.

With probably the most fascinating places of any resort on Mount Desert Island, the refined Bar Harbor Inn & Spa (charges begin at $469 per night time) sits on a promontory with stupendous views of Frenchman Bay and a wealth of facilities, together with an infinity pool, a full-service spa and three waterfront eating places; many rooms have balconies with water views. The inn accesses the city’s well-known coastal Shore Path and is a straightforward stroll from quite a few eating places, outlets and the sightseeing cruises that depart from the city pier. The homeowners run a number of different first-rate properties on the town, together with the Bar Harbor Grand Resort (charges begin at $409 per night time), a up to date reconstruction of a baronial Nineteenth-century inn that was misplaced in a fireplace.

The stylishly up to date Salt Cottages (charges begin at $505 per night time) date to the Nineteen Forties and are a 10-minute drive from downtown Bar Harbor, throughout the highway from Hulls Cove Seaside and proper by the Hulls Cove Entrance to Acadia Nationwide Park. In style with households, this welcoming beachy-chic resort provides a number of facilities, from a pool and scorching tub to garden video games and a fireplace pit with s’mores. For a quieter keep away from the bustle of Bar Harbor, ebook a room on the superbly renovated Claremont Resort (charges begin at $529 per night time), overlooking Somes Sound in Southwest Harbor, on the extra tranquil western half of Mount Desert Island. It is an important base for exploring the paths in Acadia Nationwide Park’s west aspect, and this 6-acre property options a big pool, three glorious eating places and a variety of lodging choices, from traditional resort rooms to homes with a number of bedrooms.

Bar Harbor to Lubec

Lubec, Maine. TASHKA/GETTY IMAGES

After returning to U.S. Route 1 from Mount Desert Island, it is a few 90-minute journey — the ultimate quarter-hour on state Route 189 deliver you to the city of Lubec, which is the easternmost level within the contiguous United States. That is essentially the most sparsely populated stretch of Maine’s coast. It is punctuated by a number of hardscrabble fishing, farming and timber cities, and the pure surroundings alongside the smaller roads main out to the coast is gorgeous, however there aren’t a whole lot of devoted sights on this area. One notable exception to maintain a watch out for as you zoom alongside U.S. Route 1 is the Wild Blueberry Heritage Middle in tiny Columbia Falls, which occupies a particular pale-blue geodesic dome constructing meant to resemble a bulbous blueberry. It is a kind of goofy roadside stops that is enjoyable for a photograph op. Contained in the constructing, a small nonprofit museum has reveals concerning the state’s most well-known crop and a present store promoting all issues blueberry-themed.

For essentially the most half, automotive visitors dwindles to a trickle, even in summer season, when you drive east of Ellsworth. On the finish of the highway, nonetheless, Lubec and neighboring (throughout Johnson Bay) Eastport are inviting villages free from extreme improvement. For followers of seaside solitude, it is value tacking on an additional day or two to finish the drive to the Canadian border.

Even in the event you’re not planning to go all the best way to Lubec, take into account driving at the very least so far as the small, laid-back village of Winter Harbor on the Schoodic Peninsula, which dips down into the Gulf of Maine simply 5 miles throughout the water from Bar Harbor. In summer season, you possibly can take a passenger ferry between the 2 cities; in any other case, it is an hour’s drive up and round Frenchman Bay. On the southern tip of the peninsula, off state Route 186, you possibly can enter the almost 4,000-acre Schoodic District of Acadia Nationwide Park, with its largely untrampled conifer forests and bike-friendly scenic park loop highway and gravel paths. Solely a tiny fraction of tourists ever make it to this pristine and extremely underrated part of the park that is anchored by the Schoodic Institute, a Thirties mansion that after held workplaces and residing quarters for the U.S. Navy base that occupied the land earlier than it was transferred to the park in 2002. The constructing now homes a customer heart and a small museum with reveals on pure historical past and the peninsula’s attention-grabbing army historical past.

Lubec

A mellow fishing village surrounded on three sides by water, scenic Lubec has slightly below 300 residents and an unpretentious downtown with a handful of informal lodging and eating choices. After spending the night time on the town, you possibly can rise early and drive to close by Quoddy Head State Park to observe the dawn from the nation’s easternmost level. Put aside an hour or two to stroll across the 49-foot-tall candy-striped West Quoddy Head Lighthouse and discover the park’s peaceable, windswept nature trails.

Campobello Island

DENNIS GRIGGS/ROOSEVELT CAMPOBELLO INTERNATIONAL PARK/FACEBOOK

One other fulfilling exercise on this a part of the world is driving over the one bridge onto Canada’s Campobello Island (from the Canadian mainland, you may get to this wooded island of about 950 residents by ferry solely). The principle occasion right here is visiting Roosevelt Campobello Worldwide Park, the two,800-acre summer season hideaway of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. You’ll be able to tour the 1897 shingle-style home and study extra concerning the couple within the glorious customer heart. Remember to deliver your passport!

Eastport

Tantalizingly inside view of each downtown Lubec and Roosevelt Campobello Worldwide Park, this historic village on the southeastern tip of Moose Island is just reachable (by automotive, at the very least) by driving about 45 minutes round Cobscook Bay. (In summer season, there’s a passengers-only water taxi that runs between Lubec and Eastport.) Regardless of feeling much more distant than Lubec, Eastport’s downtown really has extra in the best way of infrastructure, with a waterfront historic district that contains a number of blocks of good-looking Victorian buildings containing a smattering of galleries and cafes. Horn Run Brewing occupies one of many prettiest buildings on the town and serves well-crafted brews and engaging pub fare, with a tree-shaded patio wanting throughout the Passamaquoddy Bay towards Canada’s Deer and Campobello islands. Cease by the Tides Institute & Museum of Artwork, which is ready inside a classic financial institution constructing and comprises rotating reveals.

Elective aspect journey to St. Andrews, New Brunswick

You may simply proceed your coastal explorations by crossing onto the Canadian mainland and driving farther into the Maritime Provinces. From the border crossing between Calais, Maine (which is a half-hour drive up the St. Croix River from Eastport), and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, it is simply an hour or so to the province’s largest, and Canada’s oldest, included metropolis, St. John. From there, loads of vacationers proceed on to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

However even when your aim is to return to your place to begin in southwestern Maine, you may take into account making a fast aspect tour to St. Andrews, which is only a half-hour southeast of the Calais-St. Stephen border crossing. This colourful maritime village perched on the tip of a peninsula that juts into Passamaquoddy Bay is thought for its quaint downtown artwork galleries, seafood eateries and colonial homes. It is also dwelling to a number of upscale inns and accommodations, together with the gracious, Tudor Revival-style Algonquin Resort.

The place to remain

THE ALGONQUIN RESORT, ST. ANDREWS BY THE SEA, AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION/FACEBOOK

En route from Bar Harbor to the Schoodic District of Acadia Nationwide Park, the enchanting Crocker Home Nation Inn (charges begin at $210 per night time) sits close to the tip of a secluded peninsula, Hancock Level, a straightforward stroll from the Frenchman Bay waterfront. The 11 rooms on this 1884 inn obtained a dapper renovation in 2022, and the inn’s restaurant serves exceptionally tasty up to date American and Asian specialties.

On the Inn on the Wharf (charges begin at $130 per night time) in tiny Lubec, you possibly can keep within the easternmost city in america whereas having fun with a view out of your room of the solar setting to the west over the water. The inn operates out of a former sardine manufacturing unit but additionally has rooms in a number of up to date cottages on a hill overlooking the bay. An informal restaurant serves easy, contemporary seafood, and whale-watching excursions are provided on the inn’s 26-passenger boat. In Eastport’s downtown historic district, the Kilby Home Inn (charges begin at $150 per night time) is ready in a fairly Queen Anne home with 4 period-furnished rooms with vintage beds and nation quilts; a full breakfast is served within the eating room every morning.

In the event you determine to hop throughout the border for an evening or two, take into account staying on the elegantly restored Algonquin Resort St. Andrews by-the-Sea (charges begin at $218 or 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per night time), which is within the quaint seaside village of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. A member of Marriott’s Autograph Assortment, this red-roofed late-Victorian resort has 233 stylishly appointed rooms, 5 eating places and bars, an expensive spa, and an award-winning 18-hole golf course.



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