What to Do In Maine: Escape to Vacationland

Cool temperatures, sunny days, and crisp, colorful leaves? It’s time to make a break from Tri-state existence to VACATIONLAND: aka Maine! In this post, I’ll share our guide for what to do in Maine: what to see, what to eat, and some tips along the way!

The Best Vacation Destination?

I’m convinced that Maine may just be one of the best vacation destinations possibly EVER. There’s forest, coastline and beaches, bustling cities, and quiet towns, all a couple hours’ drive away from each other. 

When I found out that Mainers fondly refer to their home state as “Vacationland,” (it’s emblazoned on every license plate) I was ready to cross state lines.

What’s more, it’s one of the best places to enjoy fall, which is, in my opinion, the best season.

When is tourist season in Maine?

The high season in Maine runs from about June 15 through August. Shoulder seasons would be May-early June and September-October, though of course, fall foliage still draws plenty of visitors to the area.

We’ve largely visited during the shoulder seasons, avoiding the brunt of summertime crowds. During a trip to Maine in early October, some locals congratulated us on just missing the late august and Labor Day hordes.

As for an early June visit, we found it super enjoyable, as businesses were open, but there were fewer crowds. Granted, there were more spring showers, but it still made for a fun and enjoyable trip!

The Best Time in Maine for Fall Leaves

As I was planning a fall trip, there was a point at which I very obsessively tracked the Maine state government foliage tracker.

My conclusion and pro-tip? Later in October is generally better for destinations in southern and coastal Maine. The grainy photo above was taken sadly on one of our last days in Maine, with leaves still showing as low/moderate.

Maine autumns are becoming increasingly mild, as is the case with many places where strange weather patterns are becoming more commonplace. It’s generally taking longer for the leaves to turn those signature red and orange hues. 

As we hiked through Acadia National Park, we saw lots of signs asking folks to send in their photos of the fall foliage so research teams could track patterns and progress! 

My first trip, we went the last week of September and first week of October, which was too early for really strong foliage. I recommend mid-to-late October.

Of course, there’s always a natural risk of a frost or storm coming in and wiping out leaves. We heard this happened in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a stop we made on this trip.

A fellow hiker mentioned that we were about a week too late for peak New Hampshire foliage! But the equivalent time for Maine was too early. What can ya do, right?

Fall leaves or no fall leaves, another bonus of going in mid-to-late October is that Maine is PACKED in summertime. Many people we encountered on our trip noted the summertime mobs had cleared out, making our travels much easier and more enjoyable. 

Planning What to Do in Maine: one potential driving route

I went on this trip with my good friend Niki (Everyone say, “Hi, Niki!” for her official Woks of Life debut!), and as we planned the trip, we realized Maine is a deceptively large state, with lots of ground to cover.

It was a bit challenging to navigate the different pockets of nature and cute towns to isolate the best plan. Plus the best spots to eat all the lobster. And the most efficient route!

But after all was said and done, I think this trip was an excellent route, with a great balance of sand, city and forest. 

Here was the rough itinerary coming from good ol’ (non-Vacationland) New Jersey: 

1. Head north, north, north until you hit Kennebunkport and pause for a reprieve from driving (took us about 5 hours to get here).
2. From there, stop by the iconic L.L. Bean mega-town in Freeport.
3. Then keep going north for Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park—this is the farthest north you’ll go. 
4. After that, mosey back on south, in the general direction of home, to Portland.
5. In a wild card move, with Portland as a home base, cut across state lines and head into New Hampshire for the day.
6. Return home, driving south—and maybe stop through Connecticut for lunch.

In addition to this post, head to our Instagram and check out our Maine story highlight!

Ogunquit

If you’re driving north from New Jersey, before you hit Kennebunkport, you’ll pass Ogunquit, ME. It’s known for it’s sandy shorelines and rocky coastline. As you go north, the prospect of nice sandy beaches gives way to rockier shores, so plan accordingly.

In June 2023, we actually planned to do the Marginal Way Coastal Walk here but accidentally drove right past it on to Kennebunkport. It’s a scenic coastal path with beautiful views of the ocean and the rocky outcroppings.

Kennebunkport

After about five hours of very early morning driving, Kennebunkport makes for the absolute perfect stop to do a little shopping, have lunch, and stretch our legs. 

Right before we hit town, we stumbled upon Snug Harbor Farm. It was the most idyllic and charming gift shop, plant nursery, and farm, rolled into one.

The pictures speak for themselves. This was our “WE’RE ON VACATION!!!!!!” moment. 

From there, we headed into Dock Square and ate at the iconic Clam Shack. It was our first chance to have a delicious lobster roll and THE BEST *HOMEMADE* fried clam strips I’ve ever had. The line was long, but moved quickly.  

The lobster was tender and sweet with a combo of butter and mayo on a non-traditional round potato roll. (You can also get either butter or mayo, but we ain’t countin’ calories.) 

PLUS, I cannot remember a time when I have had homemade clam strips. I’m suspicious that they all generally come from the same factory. While I normally love those, these were on another level.

As you can see, maybe I enjoyed the clam strips a bit more than the lobster roll. Just beware the ravenous seagulls as you dine shoreside under the umbrellas! 

From there, we walked around to take in the town, shop, and grab some ice cream around the corner. Parking was a bit challenging, and it cut our wandering short, so keep that in mind when you go! 

On our recent visit in June 2023, we had a chance to walk around the town of Kennebunkport. It’s mostly a place to meander, eat, and shop with beaches a short drive away from the main town.

Of course, we also got some fried seafood at The Clam Shack in what is now becoming a road trip tradition! We also tried the whole belly clams, harkening back to a debate sparked in 2018 wherein a lot of you told me that I had totally missed out by ordering strips over whole belly.

Long story short, I see both sides, but strips will always have my vote!

Freeport (L.L. Beantown, USA) 

Okay so nobody calls Freeport that, but for all intents and purposes it is! You can’t go to Maine without stopping into an L.L. Bean. I had gone with the family when we were younger, and the giant moose diorama features extremely prominently in my memories of Maine. I might go so far as to say I don’t remember much else! 

The L.L. Bean flagship isn’t just one store, but a mega complex of hunting, fishing, camping, and boating, plus clothes and home goods.

I picked up a warm fleece and windbreaker, which ended up being a godsend later in the trip. (Low to mid 50s in Maine is MUCH colder than it sounds!) Frolic in the craziness of it all!

There’s also a bunch of outlet stores in the vicinity if that’s your cuppa tea, with a heavy emphasis on outdoor clothing brands.

This was day 1 in Maine, and we left Freeport to drive the final 2-hour leg to Bar Harbor, landing late at our Airbnb. 

Shopping isn’t the only thing you can do in Freeport. It’s also home to Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park where you can hike and birdwatch osprey raising their young!! We haven’t yet had a chance to stop there, but rest assured, I will be back to see those osprey!

Bath

Bath was a bit far from where we were, but Sarah did scope out the Maine Maritime Museum which has a large interactive outdoor portion with some indoor exhibits.

Wiscasset

Since Sarah’s journey to Red’s back in 2020, we headed there again. This time, we happened to pass Red’s at 4:45PM—15 minutes before closing time. The line was minuscule compared to what it usually is, and we shouted for Justin to pull over and park for an impromptu snack.

In spite of the short line, we did still have to wait about 40 minutes to get our food, as once they closed the ordering window, they took orders and fulfilled them one at a time.

We did notice that the price of the lobster roll had shot up to $35 from $25. It’s understandable given the changing climate and conditions around lobster fishing, but it’s a little steep. The lobster was still perfectly cooked and sweet, with plenty of butter and smiles to go with it.

That said, if you’re waffling, locals said the quality of Sprague’s Lobster across the street is the same, with far less wait time. On the drive out though, we noticed that during peak lunchtime, both spots can get pretty busy.

Edgecomb

If you’re driving between Wiscasset and Southport, you’ll pass through Edgecomb, which has a few pottery shops for our ceramic lovers out there.

Edgecomb Potters makes for pretty memorable and iconic dinnerware—I bought a few plates on my first trip back in 2018 in their Portland gallery. The shop in Edgecomb sometimes has seconds for a steep discount! It’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of their style!

Another notable pottery shop was Sheepscot River Pottery, also in Edgecomb.

Southport / Boothbay Harbor

In June 2023, we stayed at a lovely VRBO in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The house was right on the water, with a private dock.

It was a little noisy, as we were right near the Southport Swing Bridge, but as Mike, owner of Cape Newagen Alpaca Farm said, that’s part of the symphony of sound in Maine, right alongside the lobster boats firing up at 5AM to collect their catch.

Boothbay Harbor was a fun home base, with plenty of opportunities for relaxed walking, shopping, boat tours, and the like.

Things to do in Boothbay Harbor/Southport

Cape Newagen Alpaca Farm and Gift Shop – This ended up being the ideal rainy day activity, as we were able to see some alpacas and have some long one-on-one chats with owners Mike and Anne, who moved to Maine to start an alpaca farm 15 years ago.

You can pre-book tours on their website, and in sunnier weather you can engage with them a bit more, but we were content to head inside after Mike’s tour (a fun mix of alpaca husbandry, introducing their herd and how they operate, local restaurant recommendations, and thoughts on what it’s like to live in the area and move to Maine from Connecticut) to chat with Anne about processing alpaca wool and how she gets from shorn wool to wool batting to finished yarn!

For the first time, I feel like I have the confidence to take more of this on myself rather than just ship it off somewhere in upstate New York to do everything for me. There’s really a lot of value in having someone to teach the next generation these things! It’s a fun stop if you love animals and woolen art / yarn crafts, or have little ones in tow.

FYI it’s pronounced “Noo-WAH-gen” with a hard “g” (e.g., “gravy”), an English interpretation of the name given to the area by the indigenous Abenaki people.

Next time I find myself in the area, I’ll contact Anne in advance to see about a proper class on spinning yarn, but I basically got a full class on how to pick through and card alpaca fiber this time around!

The yarn and gift shop was also great. You can pick up their yarn, labeled with which alpacas it came from or some pre-made crafts to enjoy or give as gifts.

Hendrick’s Head Beach – While we didn’t discover this on our June 2023 trip as we were rained out for a couple of days, this looks like a great spot to see some tide pools and stroll along a sandy beach.

Just relax!!! – The density of things to do in Boothbay area is a sweet spot. There’s enough to do to never really be bored, but not so much to see that you feel like you need to rush around.

We had plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company at the house we had rented for the long weekend, enjoying the dock, starting a bonfire to roast some weenies, and in general just taking in the atmosphere.

My dad lamented not bringing his fishing rod, as I spotted a striped bass right underneath the dock!

Birdwatch! – Okay, I will be the first to admit that I’m a total nerd, but the birdwatching down by the dock of our rental was truly enjoyable. There were herons, seagulls, terns, and an OSPREY, which are very exciting birds to watch.

At one point, the osprey nesting on top of the Southport Swing Bridge got into a fight with a heron, who was encroaching on its nest. There was a high speed chase down the bay—thrilling stuff for my bird watchers out there.

There was even a rare Steller’s Sea Eagle sighting in Boothbay Harbor that made it a hot spot for birdwatchers for about a month back in February!

Every morning, Barley and I woke up early and headed outside for her morning business and to go bird watching off the dock.

Barley seemed as interested by the gigantic kelp floating off the dock as I was!

Stay in and cook dinner! – If you’re lucky enough to have a kitchen where you’re staying, consider staying in and cooking. It’s a fun way to get your veggies in when you’ve otherwise been noshing on fried seafood, lobster rolls, fries, and cole slaw (yum…).

Our kitchen was pretty decently stocked, so we stayed in for several of our meals. It’s a good money-saving measure and helps avoid the “eating out” fatigue that can set in after one too many indulgent meals.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens – The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was a highlight of the trip for all of us. Talk about being chock full of garden inspiration for we fellow Zone 6’ers, and in general just a gorgeous place to walk around.

It was created by a group of local Mid-coast Mainers who decided to save this 148-acre parcel of land from development. They put up their own houses as collateral, and now the garden gets over 300,000 visitors a year from all over the world.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

It was also very kid-friendly, with fun nooks and crannies for kids (or…er kid-at-heart adults) to enjoy and read a children’s book by a local Maine author, have an impromptu tea party, or go on a pretend row-boat journey.

There’s a fun interactive exhibit of gigantic wooden trolls—Guardians of the Seeds by Thomas Dambo. We didn’t have a chance to see them all, but they were very fun and cool!

Beware of ticks in the area however, as one landed unceremoniously on me and my dad had to help me out with a quick extraction. Signs are posted at the start of the woodland walks to check yourself for ticks upon exiting, so be careful and consider packing some tweezers with you!

Boothbay Farmer’s Market – Held on Thursday mornings, the Boothbay Farmer’s Market makes for an enjoyable stroll to buy local produce, breads, and handcrafts like baskets and sweaters. Don’t sleep on the bread stand! We got excellent whole wheat and pumpkin sourdough loaves.

Walk Commercial Street – This is where you’ll find souvenir shops, galleries, and other boutiques. If you’re looking for your Boothbay t-shirt, this is where you’ll find it.

We stopped by Sherman’s bookstore, the oldest book store in Maine! They’ve got plenty of fun gifts, souvenirs, toys, and books of course—including one by yours truly! :)

There were also at least two galleries that I saw with works by local artists, so be sure to check those out if you don’t think you’ll make it to one of the art museums in Portland or Rockland!

Maine State Aquarium – The Maine State Aquarium has just undergone a renovation and is reopening as of late June 2023. Find more information here! It looks fairly lobster-focused, but I was still so sad to miss the opening by just a couple of weeks.

Monhegan Island Ferry – While we didn’t do this this time, it is a fairly popular tourist attraction to take the ferry to Monhegan Island, a small rocky island with an artists’ village with quaint shops, galleries, and walks.

Where to eat in Boothbay

There are a good number of spots to eat in Boothbay. Here are some of the places we went to:

Robinson’s Wharf – A no fuss seafood spot with a bar and friendly locals! Technically in Southport!

Shannon’s Unshelled – This place is a gem of a fried seafood spot, right next to the town green space where the farmer’s market is on Thursdays. Shannon, the founder, prides herself on having close ties with the local fishing community and on being the best spot in Boothbay Harbor area for a lobster roll.

The fried shrimp, lobster roll, haddock sandwich, and chicken tenders (!) were all excellent. They had this super creative Maine blueberry cole slaw which my parents loved also!

Downeast Ice Cream Factory – This ice cream spot has plenty of flavors to choose from! We’d stick with the chocolate-y, nutty, non-fruit flavors, though. They have a rule that you can only sample one! The cinnamon gingersnap, Hodgson’s Hodge Podge, and Moosetracks were particularly good.

Baker’s Way for donuts and Vietnamese food – Apparently a treasured spot by old-time Mainers for donuts and coffee, an immigrant Vietnamese family has found an unlikely following for Vietnamese home-cooking and great old-fashioned donuts.

Sadly, we don’t have pictures of the donuts as they were ushered from the bakery counter to the car right as the restaurant was closing between lunch and dinner…in the pouring rain…while we were rushing to get back and get ready for our reservation at The Lost Kitchen in Freedom!

Bristol

One spot Sarah found in her planning for this June 2023 trip was LaVerna Preserve Hiking Area in Bristol, Maine. It’s a 120-acre nature preserve, and it looks like a beautiful spot to go for a hike and see some of Maine’s woods and coastline.

FreedoM, MaiNE – Dinner at The Lost Kitchen!

Stay tuned for a special post on our experience eating at Erin French’s The Lost Kitchen in Freedom, Maine! We’ll link it here when it’s up and available!

Rockland

Okay, let’s go back in time to Sarah’s trip in October 2020…

On Kaitlin’s recommendation, we did hit the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland on the way to Portland. We highly recommend it!

The museum focuses on Maine artists and had timed entry with a one-way path through the museum to help maintain social distancing.

If you do stop there, be sure to also stop at Home Kitchen Cafe for some incredible breakfast/lunch food. Their reuben was DELICIOUS.

They’re only doing takeout at the moment, so we ate in the car down by the nearby boatyard/ferry stop!

Maine lobster

As soon as you start seeing clothing items and just about anything festooned in lobsters, you know you’re in Maine! One of the most fun aspects of heading to Maine is the prospect of well-priced, sweet lobster. Undoubtedly it’s some of, if not the best, lobster you’ll ever try.

As a family of cooks, we asked around on how to buy lobster in Maine and discovered Atlantic Edge in Boothbay Harbor, which sells wholesale and retail!

Here’s what their price list was on June 15, 2023. Cheaper lobster may be found elsewhere, but with nominal differences, and it’s pretty rare to find lobsterman who will sell right off their boat unless you’re friends with someone.

I think the lowest price we saw was $6.99/lb (a bit fuzzy on exactly where that was at the moment). At the local Hannaford grocery store, prices were pretty expensive at $10/lb. Overall we found prices were fairly consistently in the $7-9 range.

It’s best to get your lobster at a spot like this where fresh catch is coming in consistently. They said, that all lobsters were caught within the week and possibly as recently as the day prior. They’re kept in large tanks and you can make your selections at their retail counter.

We made Lobster Cantonese, but check also check out our Ginger Scallion Lobster, Lobster Fried Rice, Asian-inspired Lobster Rolls, and Baked Stuffed Lobster!

Wild Maine Blueberries

If you’re visiting during the shoulder seasons or early in summer, and there aren’t yet a bounty of wild Maine blueberries hitting markets, you can still head to a Hannaford (the most common grocery store in Maine), and find wild Maine blueberries in the frozen food aisle to bring home as a souvenir for pies, jams, and other baked treats.

We found a brand called Wyman’s recommended by a local fellow my parents struck up a conversation with at Robinson’s Wharf in Southport. Hannaford also had its own generic brand of frozen blueberries available as well for slightly cheaper.

Another Hannaford employee said that they could even be found sold on the side of the road during the height of the picking season (in August as the season runs from late July to early September).

Your best bet is probably to find a hike where known patches of wild blueberries are, as grocery stores don’t reliably stock them even during the season. You can also investigate pick-your-own farms, which we haven’t thoroughly researched but here’s a starting point!

Strawberry picking

Strawberry picking is also a fun activity in June. The season typically starts in mid-June, but with a wet season in 2023, the harvest was a bit later and pick-your-own farms weren’t yet open. You can monitor the website of farms like Fairwinds Farm in Bowdoinham, Maine for open-season notifications!

Antiques

Maine has no shortage of antiques. We found a good number of shops in Wiscasset. As for prices, we found that upstate New York was a bit more conservatively priced, but you can still find nice stuff that is fairly affordable.

If antiquing is on your list, check out the 2023 Maine Antiques Guide. I was given an extremely comprehensive printed guide to different antique types by Maine town/county by a gentleman at the Wiscasset Antiques Mall, so ask to see any brochures if you stop through shops.

The main reason people head to this part of Maine is to check out Acadia National Park and charming Bar Harbor, which is the main town just outside of the park.

It has all the cute, small coastal boutiques you could possibly imagine (why do towns like these always have an olive oil store?), which was a great way to wind down the day after tackling morning hikes in Acadia.

Here’s a wooden wares store that had a giant rocking horse. Why? Who cares! You’re on vacation!!! Read ahead for more detail on what we did in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Acadia National Park 

One of the biggest challenges of Acadia National Park was figuring out the best mix of easy/moderate/intermediate hikes. Acadia is a great park with lots of really rewarding rocky and coastal hikes for those looking for a challenge!

This website focused on Acadia National Park was incredibly helpful, as is this Joe’s Guide to Acadia National Park site, but share your favorite Acadia hikes in the comments if you’ve been, as I will definitely be going back! 

We ultimately landed on: 

Jordan Pond Path/Jordan Pond House

3.5 miles | flat/level | 1-2 hours | Loop

Jordan Pond Path is a finished path made of wood slats that circles around Jordan Pond. It was completely flat and makes for a good activity to kill time if you’re looking to have lunch at Jordan Pond House.

Pro-tip: make a reservation to have their excellent popovers, which are legend! We didn’t have the wherewithal to plan that far ahead, but about five people told me that the popovers were a must-have. 

Acadia Mountain

2.8 miles | 500 ft. elevation gain | 1.5 – 2.5 hours | Loop

This hike had incredible views and was a moderate climb to a great view of the valley below with surrounding foliage.

It was a satisfying trek, and just the right amount of exertion to be challenging for Niki as a national parks first-timer. 

Gorham Mountain

2 miles | 500 ft. elevation gain | 1-2 hours | Out & Back (or semi-loop with Cadillac Cliffs spur trail)

Climb to a lookout point on the cliffs for beautiful, unobstructed coastal sunrise views!

We woke up so early that it was almost completely dark outside when we arrived at the parking lot, and had to wait for enough sunlight to peek over the horizon to start the hike. (Bring headlamps to start the hike earlier!)

With that 4:30 AM wake-up call, by the time we got to the lookout, we had timed sunrise perfectly and were ready to head back down to town for pancakes!

The best part? We were completely alone when the sun came up (though it did make capturing the picture below a bit tricky—our photographer was a rock and an auto-timer).

Cadillac Mountain is the most popular sunrise destination in Acadia, but because it’s accessible by car, it’s a very crowded lookout spot that’s congested with traffic.

A friendly ranger tipped us off to this, and we couldn’t have been happier that we went with the Gorham Mountain Trail.

Ocean Path

2 miles from Sand Beach to Otter Point, 4 miles round trip | flat/level | 2-3 hours | Out & back

When we parked at the Gorham Mountain Trailhead, we noticed a clear path that ran along the road more at sea level. This was Ocean Path, which is a fairly easy walking path that also offered coastal views, following the Great Head Trail via Sand Beach. 

You can access it from the Sand Beach parking lot, but you can also hop onto it from parking lots at Thunder Hole, Gorham Mountain, and the other end at Otter Point.

Of course, these were just the hikes we picked. If you go, be sure to chat with a park ranger to get their tips and the latest information on the weather conditions and trail closures!

An important omission here is the Beehive Trail, on which my mom took a nasty tumble last summer, and expressly forbid me from attempting. 

But in another world, I definitely would have checked it out. It’s a bit dangerous, as the craggy “beehive” boulders are easy to lose your balance on, but it’s one of the most popular hikes in the whole park! As I say with any hike, no lazy steps! 

A note on tide pools: As a tide pool lover, I spent much of the trip chasing excellent tide pools. However, I was a bit underwhelmed by the ones accessible in Acadia and Bar Harbor. After asking around a bit, I discovered that many tide pool spots had actually been closed off to visitors and removed from maps and park guides to help the natural flora and fauna recover. So while I’m usually first in line for a good tide pool, it’s important to remember the importance of preservation! I’ll have to stop through aquariums in the future to get my fix of kelp, sea urchins, and crabs instead. 

Bar Harbor 

A few of our days in Bar Harbor were rainy, which made it tough to take on more hikes in Acadia. As it turns out though, one of the best parts of this vacation was being forced to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 

Earlier in our drive, we had stopped through an antique mall, where I’d picked up a hodgepodge of paintbrushes.

A quick stop in a craft store to grab watercolor supplies afforded a zen afternoon of painting and sipping horchata in a local cafe. 

Because we spent a handful of days in town, a lot of our shopping and relaxing was interspersed with the hikes I mentioned above. Here are some of the places we recommend checking out: 

Breakfast at Two Cats 

We had a delicious spread of Maine blueberry pancakes and a delicious smoked haddock and horseradish omelette with home fries and a biscuit. Endless coffee was perfect after waking up at 4:30am to catch sunrise on Gorham Mountain. 

Bar Island at Low Tide

When low tide hits, you can walk from the main street of Bar Harbor right across the inlet to Bar Island. It’s a fun way to stretch your legs in the morning. Just be careful not to get stranded by the tide!

Agamont Park

From Bar Island, we wound our way through Agamont Park, taking some of the walking paths on the Bar Harbor side of the inlet to check out shops tucked around and behind the main drag. 

Dinner at Cafe This Way

This was a cute spot tucked away on a side street serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had some great small plates and an improbably delicious lobster curry.

My eating philosophy in Maine was to eat lobster whenever I wanted, and in whatever I wanted. It did not disappoint—from lobster rolls to lobster curry to lobster linguine! Yum. 

Galyn’s was another spot we stopped into for lunch. They had a very solid lobster linguine and great service. Side Street Cafe was another great (and very kid-friendly) lunch spot! 

Where else to get lobster:

Some other popular lobster spots we didn’t hit are:

• Thurston’s Lobster Pound (near Bass Harbor Head Light)
• The Happy Clam Shack (a bit of a drive outside of Bar Harbor, but very no-frills, straight from the ocean)
• And Mama Dimatteo’s for Italian (lobster mac n’ cheese, anyone?). 

Orland

Portland 

By the time we got to Portland, we had relaxed HARD in Bar Harbor. Maybe too hard, given that we got rained out of more hiking and spent half the time in a very grandma-vibes inn with flowery wallpaper and velvet pincushion chairs. Getting to Portland was a welcome change of scenery! 

Things to Eat in Portland, ME

There are tons of great restaurants in Portland, with many calling it one of the hottest food scenes in the country. I wish we’d had had more meals during our stay! Here are some of the places we went to, and other recommendations I received from friends: 

We were able to score a table at Eventide for clean and briny oysters on the half shell. We also ordered a kelp salad, and of course, a Maine classic: whoopie pies! It’s normally crazy busy in the summer, but we were able to get a seat right away for an early-ish dinner time! 

Holy Donut for breakfast and coffee was an excellent stop, and some of the best donuts I’ve had. They’re made with sweet potatoes, yielding an incredibly moist, cakey donut with a dense but also light crumb.

There are tons of flavors, and the 194 Park Ave. location is usually a lot less crowded than the downtown spot in Old Port! 

Street and Co. is a lowkey standby of the Portland food scene. Other trendy places we stopped into were packed with diners who’d managed to score hard-to-get reservations, but Street and Co. keeps ⅓ of tables open for walk-ins, and we quickly got seats at the bar.

The staff was incredibly friendly, and the restaurant was cozy and not too loud. We had a great whole branzino with wild rice and saw lots of folks eating their classic breaded, fried, and buttered filet of sole with potatoes. If I lived in Portland, I’d definitely be a regular! 

Some other restaurant recommendations we got include: 

• Boda for Thai food (or their sister restaurant, Green Elephant, for a fully vegetarian menu)
• Izakaya Minato for Japanese food
• Central Provisions for trendy small plates
• Silly’s for brunch (brick and mortar closed recently; now it’s a food truck!)
• Hot Suppa for brunch
• Bayside Bowl for bowling, bar food, and craft beer
• Fisherman’s Catch (which is about a half hour outside of Portland in Wells, ME, but boasts great lobster rolls)

There’s also a vibrant brewery scene with plenty of choices for beer lovers.

Things to Do In Portland

In terms of things to do, we stopped by the Fort William Lighthouse, which was a beautiful spot with lots of plaques with free information, accessible without tickets. (Though there is paid parking, $4 for 2 hours).

We also spent lots of time in the Old Port and downtown area, pausing in antique and thrift shops like Flea For All. 

We also spent an afternoon at the Portland Museum of Art, which had a beautiful exhibit on works from the local Wyeth family.

If you want a bigger hit of American art, you could plan for the Farnsworth Art Museum, which is in Rockland, Maine.

If you’re looking for other spots to hit, the Eastern Promenade Trail and Peak’s Island are great spots to cover.

Victoria Mansion

Wadsworth Longfellow House

White Mountain National Forest

Portland is Maine’s most up-and-coming city and food scene, but it’s actually pretty small! This made it a perfect home base for a day trip into New Hampshire to check out White Mountain National Forest. 

We woke up early and set out on a 2.5 hour drive across state lines for a day of hiking. As with Acadia National Park, White Mountain National Forest is LARGE and for ardent and experienced hikers. 

It was a bit tough to find trails that weren’t advanced and wouldn’t take a whole day. I decided to go out on a limb and picked two hikes that ended up taking up most of our day, going at a pretty good clip.

They were almost an hour’s drive apart, but I can say after having spent the day there, I wouldn’t have changed anything we did.

Is it weird that one of my favorite Maine days was in New Hampshire? 

So first things first, White Mountain National Forest is REMOTE. So when you hit the small town on the drive in, make sure to get supplies for the day ahead. We stopped by the last restaurant before entering the forest.

It happened to be a bagel shop called Bagels Plus on White Mountain Highway. We grabbed a couple of bagels apiece—one for breakfast and some hearty bagel sandwiches for later in the day. As a bonafide Jersey bagel snob, I can say these bagels were excellent! 

The shop-owners checked if we were headed into the mountains, and packed pickles on the side to avoid soggy sandwiches. If that’s not a winning bagel shop, I don’t know what is. 

We also ran our hiking plan by them to make sure we wouldn’t end up as that evening’s news headline (“2 hapless New York girls air-lifted out of the White Mountains at significant local headache and expense!”).

On the way to the trail, we stopped by the Crawford Notch State Park visitor’s center alongside the Saco River to check out some of the local literature. 

From there, our first hike was the Mount Willard Trail Head, a great warm-up with a truly incredible payoff view. At about 3.2 miles, it’s considered a moderate hike and took about 3-4 hours to complete. 

There were a few steep portions, but the trail was easy to follow, and the final lookout point was truly amazing with panoramic views of Crawford Notch. Plus, we actually saw some of our best fall foliage at the lookout and at the foot of the mountains. 

When we came back down, we paused for lunch at the train station where the trail began.

Roast beef with horseradish on an oatmeal bagel? Yes, please. 

From there, we headed to the next trail, Welch-Dickey Loop Trail. This hike was rated as Moderate/Difficult, with an elevation change of 2650 feet. It took about 3-4 hours to finish, but promised great views of the southern White Mountains and Mad River Valley.

There were lots of contradictory descriptions of this hike: “family-friendly,” “out in the open,” “a joy to walk,” but also “it’s not easy” with “rock scrambling and ledges.” 

In short, all of the above ended up being true. This is why, looking back, I describe Mount Willard as a “warm up.”

Welch-Dickey Loop was probably one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done (and that includes some of the doozies from Yellowstone, Zion, and other national parks we’ve visited!), but it was truly incredible, and the rock scrambling was fun, as long as we were able to find the trail markers.

Niki and I nearly had tandem heart-attacks when I thought I found the bright yellow trail marker, and it ended up being a yellow leaf clinging to a rock! 

At points, the trail was incredibly narrow, or would give way to a vertical rock scramble, and a pretty sheer uphill climb on smooth granite, eliciting lots of, “This can’t be the trail! CAN IT?!!!”

The climb made it challenging at points to track down the trail markers, but our cooler heads prevailed, and we were able to find our way through with minimal backtracking. 

All in all, the views were spectacular, and we had the trail to ourselves. My word of caution would be to watch the weather radars closely, especially if you are visiting in the fall.

We finished just in the nick of time to avoid a light rain. Getting caught on those slick rocks in the rain would have been a recipe for disaster, and we picked up our pace towards the end to make it back safely. 

New Hampshire was an incredible highlight of the trip and a great way to kill two birds with one stone without needing to shuffle accommodations too much. 

Brewer

Our parents would like everyone to know, that on THEIR trip to Maine they had an incredible fried seafood platter at The Eagle’s Nest in Brewer, ME.

Though neither my sister nor I were able to make it up there, if you find yourself in the Bangor area, definitely check it out!

As we venture into this area on future trips, we’ll have updates to add here!

As our days wound down in Portland, we packed up the car and headed back home, and timing-wise, we ended up in Connecticut just in time for lunch. We paused for a quick bite of Indian buffet at Coromandel, a great restaurant where my aunt and uncle used to take us when they lived in the area. 

I could argue that me and Niki work so well as friends simply because we are both always down to eat Indian food. And she’ll let me drag her up and down a mountain with a rainstorm chasing our tails… 

But all kidding aside, I truly loved Maine. I’m already planning on a retirement cottage there—emphasis on ALL KIDDING ASIDE. 

Vacationland, we <3 you!