Are you planning your holiday trip to Maine? I have traveled through all six New England states and Maine occupies a category entirely its own. It is the largest of the New England states by area, covering 35,380 square miles, yet it has a population of only about 1.4 million people, which means there is more genuinely wild and unspoiled land per person here than almost anywhere else on the East Coast of the United States. Situated at the northeastern tip of the country, Maine offers a rocky coastline stretching over 3,500 miles when all its bays, peninsulas, and islands are measured, a boreal wilderness interior that blends seamlessly into the Canadian north, a lobster fishing culture that has sustained coastal communities for over 300 years, and a particular quality of light and air in summer that painters and writers have been trying to capture for two centuries.
Regardless of what your reason to visit is, be it a family vacation, a couple’s retreat, a solo adventure, or a weekend get-away, there are plenty of places and activities that await every kind of traveler in this state. Tourist attractions, charming harbor towns, remote island communities, ancient forests, working fishing wharves, and entertainment zones – there are lots of places where tourists will be able to have a blast and combine their interests in Maine.
One of my favorite pastimes in this destination was sitting on a granite ledge above the ocean at Acadia National Park watching the sunrise come up over Cadillac Mountain the first place in the continental United States to receive sunlight each morning from early October through early March cracking a fresh-cooked lobster at a picnic table on a working wharf in Trenton with butter dripping down my hands, and paddling a sea kayak through the fog between two uninhabited islands off the Deer Isle coast while harbor seals watched from the rocks. Those are not manufactured tourist experiences. They are what Maine actually is.
Why Travelers Visit Maine
Every time I tell someone I am planning another trip to Maine, they either nod immediately because they already know, or they ask me why. Here is the honest answer I give them:
Acadia National Park the only national park in New England, established in 1919, protecting 49,052 acres of granite mountains, ocean shoreline, and boreal forest on Mount Desert Island, drawing over 4 million visitors annually
The Maine lobster industry Maine accounts for roughly 80 percent of US lobster landings, with over 100 million pounds harvested annually by about 4,500 licensed lobster fishermen working traditional trap methods that have barely changed in 150 years
Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet, the highest point on the eastern seaboard north of Rio de Janeiro, and from early October through early March the first place in the continental US to receive sunrise
The 3,500-mile coastline with its working fishing harbors, lighthouse-topped headlands, tidal mud flats, and island-dotted bays that the photographer Eliot Porter called ‘the most intricate and beautiful coastline in North America’
Baxter State Park and the 100-Mile Wilderness Maine’s remotest interior, home to Katahdin, the northern terminus of the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, and one of the last genuinely wild landscapes in the eastern United States
Special events and festivals including the Yarmouth Clam Festival, the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland every August, and the Blue Hill Fair one of the oldest agricultural fairs in New England and the inspiration for E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web
Maine provides tourists with all sorts of experiences that can be enjoyed by families, couples, singles, and first-time tourists year-round. The state rewards patience and slow travel more than almost any other I have visited. The people who get the most out of Maine are the ones who stop rushing and let the place set its own pace.
Popular Attractions in Maine
Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island
Acadia National Park sits on Mount Desert Island off the coast of mid-coast Maine and is the only national park in New England. It was established in 1919 the first national park east of the Mississippi River and protects 49,052 acres of pink granite mountains, ocean shoreline, boreal forest, and freshwater lakes on an island that is itself only about 108 square miles. The park draws over 4 million visitors annually, making it one of the ten most visited national parks in the country, which means timing and planning matter considerably if you want to experience it properly.
I have been to Acadia four times and I find something new on every visit. The carriage road system 45 miles of broken-stone roads built between 1913 and 1940 by John D. Rockefeller Jr., who donated 11,000 acres to the park is open to hikers, cyclists, and horse-drawn carriages but closed to motor vehicles, and it represents one of the finest examples of designed landscape in American park history. The summit of Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet is reached by car, bike, or on foot via the Cadillac North Ridge Trail, and on clear mornings from early October through early March the sunrise view from the top is the first in the continental United States.
Why Visitors Explore This Place
Cadillac Mountain summit at 1,530 feet the highest point on the US eastern seaboard north of Rio de Janeiro, first to receive sunrise in the continental US from October through March
45 miles of motor-vehicle-free carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1913 and 1940, open to cycling, hiking, and horse-drawn carriages
Thunder Hole a narrow ocean chasm where incoming waves compress air and produce a dramatic boom and spray, best experienced two hours before high tide
Jordan Pond House a park institution since the 1870s, serving popovers and tea on the lawn with views of The Bubbles mountains reflected in the pond
More than 158 miles of maintained hiking trails ranging from easy pond-side walks to serious granite ridge scrambles
Visitor Information
Ideal visiting time: Late September and October for fall foliage and manageable crowds, or late May before summer peak
Targeted audience: Hikers, cyclists, photographers, families, and anyone who wants to understand why New England has inspired American landscape painting for 200 years
Optimal visit length: Three to five days minimum one day is genuinely not enough
Reserve timed entry permits for the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road in advance they sell out daily during peak summer season
Portland
Portland is Maine’s largest city with a population of about 68,000 in the city proper and roughly 550,000 in the greater metro area which means it is simultaneously a genuine urban center and small enough to walk across in forty minutes. It sits on a peninsula between Casco Bay and the Fore River and has one of the most disproportionately excellent food scenes of any small city I have visited in the United States. Bon Appétit named Portland the Restaurant City of the Year in 2018, and that recognition reflected something that had been building for a decade in the Old Port neighborhood and along Congress Street.
I spent four days in Portland on my most recent visit and ate exceptionally well at every meal without once going somewhere I had pre-planned. The Portland Fish Exchange on Commercial Street is one of the largest fresh fish auction operations on the East Coast, and the proximity of that quality of seafood to the city’s restaurant community explains a great deal about the food scene. The Portland Museum of Art on Congress Square holds the finest collection of Maine and American art in New England outside of Boston, including the largest public collection of Winslow Homer works in the world Homer spent the last 27 years of his life painting the Maine coast from his studio at Prouts Neck, just south of the city.
Popular Activities
The Old Port neighborhood a compact district of 19th-century brick warehouse buildings converted into restaurants, craft breweries, oyster bars, and independent shops along the working harbor
Portland Museum of Art the largest art museum in Maine, holding the world’s largest public collection of Winslow Homer paintings and drawings
Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park commissioned by George Washington in 1787 and first lit in 1791, the oldest lighthouse in Maine and one of the most photographed on the entire East Coast
The Eastern Promenade a 68-acre hilltop park above Casco Bay with sweeping views of the islands and one of the best sunset vantage points in the city
Casco Bay Lines ferry service year-round passenger ferries connecting Portland to six Casco Bay island communities, with the mail boat run being one of the finest three-hour boat trips on the East Coast
Portland is genuinely busy in July and August when the summer population swells dramatically. I prefer it in October when the tourists have thinned, the light is extraordinary, and the locals are visibly happier to have their city back.
I walked into a small oyster bar on a side street in Portland’s Old Port on a Tuesday evening in October without a reservation, sat at the bar, and ate a dozen Damariscotta River oysters that had been harvested that morning from waters about 50 miles up the coast. The shucker told me their names each oyster farm has its own named variety and explained what made each one taste different. I have eaten oysters in a lot of places. Those were the best I have ever had. Maine does things like that to you without warning.
Kennebunkport
Kennebunkport sits on the southern Maine coast about 25 miles south of Portland and is one of the most picturesque harbor towns in New England. It has been a summer destination since the 19th century, when artists and writers discovered its combination of tidal rivers, rocky coastline, and white clapboard architecture, and it carries that history gracefully without feeling frozen in it. The town is probably best known internationally as the location of the Bush family compound at Walker’s Point a headland property that has been in the family since 1903 and is visible from the public road but that is genuinely the least interesting thing about it.
I spent two days exploring Kennebunkport and the adjacent town of Kennebunk and found the Dock Square area the commercial heart of the harbor to be excellent for browsing independent galleries, buying fresh lobster rolls, and watching the working lobster boats come in and out of the river. The Kennebunk River at low tide, when the mud flats expose themselves and the great blue herons work the shallows, is one of the most quietly beautiful scenes I found on the southern Maine coast.
Highlights
Dock Square the historic commercial heart of the harbor with independent galleries, seafood restaurants, and views of the working lobster fleet
Walker’s Point the Bush family summer compound on a rocky headland, visible from Ocean Avenue and one of the most photographed private properties in Maine
Cape Porpoise a tiny working fishing village two miles east of Kennebunkport center that has barely changed in fifty years and serves some of the finest lobster stew on the coast
The Wedding Cake House on Summer Street in Kennebunk an 1826 Federal-style house with Gothic Revival wooden decorations added in the 1850s, one of the most distinctive private homes in New England
Goose Rocks Beach a three-mile barrier beach north of the harbor that draws far fewer crowds than the more famous beaches further south
Recommended For
Couples and families looking for a quintessential New England coastal experience
Food lovers the lobster roll options within a two-mile radius here are extraordinary
Cyclists the Ocean Avenue loop around Walker’s Point is one of the finest short coastal rides in Maine
Anyone who has ever wondered what a working New England harbor actually looks like up close
Baxter State Park and Katahdin
Baxter State Park in the remote interior of northern Maine is 209,644 acres of wilderness donated to the state of Maine by former Governor Percival Baxter between 1930 and 1962. Baxter spent over thirty years and much of his personal fortune acquiring land piece by piece and donating it to the state with a strict deed restriction that it be kept ‘forever wild.’ At the center of the park stands Katahdin, at 5,269 feet the highest mountain in Maine and the northern terminus of the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, which runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to this summit.
I climbed Katahdin via the Hunt Trail the Appalachian Trail route on a clear September morning that took about seven hours round trip from Katahdin Stream Campground. The upper section crosses the Tablelands, a vast arctic plateau above tree line, before the final scramble up the Knife Edge a narrow rocky ridge with steep drops on both sides to the summit. At the top, the wooden sign marking the northern end of the Appalachian Trail is surrounded by thru-hikers who have walked the entire 2,190 miles from Georgia, and standing near them while they touch the sign for the first time is one of the most moving things I have experienced in any national park or state park in the United States.
What Visitors Can Explore
Katahdin summit at 5,269 feet the highest point in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail
The Knife Edge a dramatic narrow ridge connecting Katahdin’s South Peak to Pamola Peak with sheer drops on both sides, one of the most exhilarating hiking routes in New England
The Tablelands a rare arctic-alpine plateau above tree line hosting plant species more commonly found in northern Canada
Katahdin Stream, Chimney Pond, and Daicey Pond campgrounds for multi-day wilderness camping within the park
Moose viewing along the park’s ponds and streams Maine has the largest moose population in the continental US at approximately 60,000 to 70,000 animals
Recommended For
Experienced hikers comfortable with exposed ridge terrain and all-day mountain routes
Appalachian Trail thru-hikers reaching the northern terminus
Wildlife watchers moose, black bear, loons, and bald eagles are regularly seen within the park
Anyone seeking genuine wilderness solitude in the eastern United States
Neighborhoods Worth Exploring in Maine
In addition to popular tourist spots, people can check out different neighborhoods and towns located across Maine. These are the places I kept returning to and that locals pointed me toward when I asked where the real character of the state lives.
Old Port, Portland
Known for:
A compact district of 19th-century brick warehouse buildings along the working harbor converted into some of the finest restaurants, craft breweries, oyster bars, and independent retailers in New England
Trendy independent coffee roasters, bakeries, and specialty food shops concentrated within a few walkable blocks of Commercial Street
Nightlife anchored by craft beer culture Portland has more craft breweries per capita than almost any other American city of its size
Downtown Bar Harbor
Popular because of:
The most convenient base for Acadia National Park, with the park’s visitor center and carriage road network accessible directly from town by bicycle
A concentration of whale-watching tours, sea kayaking outfitters, and sailing charters operating out of the town pier from May through October
Excellent independent restaurants, art galleries, and shops along Cottage Street and Main Street serving the town’s year-round community as much as its visitors
Historic Downtown Castine
Recommended for:
One of the most beautifully preserved small towns in New England, with Federal and Greek Revival architecture lining elm-shaded streets above a deep-water harbor
A history more layered than almost any other Maine town Castine has been under French, Dutch, British, and American flags at various points in its history going back to 1613
Live music and community events through the summer at the town bandstand overlooking the harbor
Penobscot Bay waterfront views across to the Camden Hills and Islesboro Island
Outdoor Places to Visit in Maine
Those who enjoy being outdoors have many options in Maine, and the variety of ecosystems from sandy southern beaches to boreal forest interior to rocky offshore islands is wider than most visitors expect from a single state.
Recommended Outdoor Destinations
Acadia National Park 49,052 acres of granite mountains, ocean shoreline, and carriage roads on Mount Desert Island, the only national park in New England
Baxter State Park 209,644 acres of ‘forever wild’ wilderness in the northern interior, home to Katahdin and Maine’s highest moose density
Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec the easternmost point of land in the continental United States, with dramatic clifftop trails above the Bay of Fundy where tidal ranges exceed 20 feet
Rangeley Lakes Region a chain of large lakes and forested mountains in western Maine with exceptional fly fishing, canoe tripping, and snowmobiling in winter
Such places tend to attract the largest number of visitors during the peak summer months of July and August, and during the extraordinary fall foliage season in late September and October when the combination of hardwood color and low-angle light makes Maine’s landscape almost unreasonably beautiful.
Hidden Gems in Maine
In addition to the popular tourist attractions in Maine, there are several other places that people should visit when they go to this state. I found most of these by deliberately driving the smaller roads and stopping when something looked interesting, which is the only reliable method that works in Maine.
Some of those places include:
Monhegan Island a tiny island 12 miles offshore accessible only by ferry, with no cars, 17 miles of hiking trails, and an artist colony that has attracted painters including Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper, and Jamie Wyeth since the 1850s
Deer Isle and Stonington a remote granite island connected to the mainland by a suspension bridge, home to a working fishing harbor at Stonington that still operates largely as it did a century ago and a landscape that has inspired some of the finest landscape painting in American art
Grafton Notch State Park a narrow mountain pass in western Maine with extraordinary waterfalls, natural pothole formations, and the most dramatic mountain scenery outside of Acadia
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse built in 1835 on a headland of dramatically folded metamorphic rock that looks like a geology textbook illustration, with a small but excellent fishermen’s museum on site
Burnham Tavern, Machias the oldest surviving building in Maine east of the Penobscot River, built in 1770, where the planning for the first naval battle of the American Revolution took place in June 1775
I took the ferry to Monhegan Island on a Tuesday in late September with a day pack and no particular plan. There are no cars on the island, the trails go through forest and cliff edge and open meadow, and by ten in the morning I had not seen another person for two hours. I sat on White Head cliff above the Atlantic for forty-five minutes watching gannets dive into the ocean below me. I missed the afternoon ferry on purpose and took the evening one back instead. That is the kind of thing Maine makes you do.
The above places provide a good opportunity for tourists to explore the local area instead of the crowded tourist destinations, and in Maine that often means arriving somewhere genuinely remote and genuinely undisturbed that makes every other destination feel slightly overproduced by comparison.
Best Time to Visit Maine
Several options are available for visiting Maine, and I want to give you an honest seasonal breakdown because the climate here is more extreme than most visitors from warmer states anticipate:
Summer season July and August are peak season when the coast is warm, the lobster is abundant, and every harbor town is fully open. Water temperatures in Casco Bay reach about 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit in August swimmable for the determined. Expect crowds at Acadia, fully booked accommodation if you have not planned ahead, and the particular energy of a Maine summer that locals and returning visitors spend all winter waiting for.
Fall season My personal favorite and my honest recommendation for first-time visitors. Late September through mid-October brings the finest fall foliage in New England, manageable crowds, available accommodation at lower rates, and a quality of light that is simply extraordinary. The lobster season is still running. The hiking trails are at their most beautiful.
Winter season November through March is cold, quiet, and genuinely beautiful in its own way. Acadia is open year-round and almost entirely empty. Cross-country skiing is excellent. But the coast battens down considerably and many restaurants and attractions in smaller towns close until May.
During these seasons, one may experience:
Comfortable temperatures for coastal hiking, island kayaking, and lobster wharf dining in summer and fall
Lobster boat and whale-watching excursions running daily from May through October out of Acadia-area harbors
Outdoor experiences across Acadia, Baxter, and the western lake region that represent some of the finest wilderness recreation remaining on the East Coast
Travel Tips for Visiting Maine
Stay Close to Popular Places
One should stay in hotels near popular tourist spots to avoid traveling long distances to reach attractions. Maine is a large state the driving distance from Kittery on the southern border to Fort Kent on the Canadian border is over 300 miles and concentrating your base makes an enormous difference. Bar Harbor for Acadia, Portland for the mid-coast food and art scene, and Greenville for the northern wilderness and Baxter State Park are the three bases I have found most effective.
Use Local Public Transportation
Rental cars and rideshare vehicles are common among tourists who visit Maine. A car is essentially required for anything beyond Portland and Bar Harbor. The island ferry services from Portland, Rockland, and Bar Harbor are excellent and I strongly recommend building at least one island day into any Maine itinerary Monhegan, Vinalhaven, and the Cranberry Isles off Acadia are all worth the crossing.
Go to Tourist Spots Early
Popular attractions and trailheads have many visitors throughout the day, especially on weekends and holidays in July and August. Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain Summit Road requires timed entry reservations that sell out daily in summer. The Precipice Trail Acadia’s most dramatic iron-rung cliff climb closes during peregrine falcon nesting season from April through August, so check before you go. At Jordan Pond House, arrive for the 11am opening if you want a table without a significant wait.
Explore Places Outside Tourist Locations
Some tourists discover extraordinary coastal fishing villages, exceptional seafood at working wharves where lobstermen sell directly to the public, remote island communities reached only by ferry, and inland wilderness areas while exploring Maine. The single best piece of advice I can give is to buy a pound of picked lobster meat at a dockside co-op, drive to a headland with a view, and eat it there. That costs less than almost any restaurant meal in Maine and is better than almost all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maine
How many days do tourists need to stay in Maine?
The majority of tourists stay from 5 to 10 days in Maine, where they can visit Acadia National Park, Portland, the mid-coast harbor towns, and other places. Five days covers Acadia and Portland adequately. Ten days allows you to add the mid-coast, a day on an island, and possibly a push north toward Baxter. I have spent three separate weeks in Maine and still have a list of places I have not reached.
Is Maine a good choice for a family vacation?
Yes, and across a wider range of ages and interests than most people expect. Families can explore Acadia’s carriage roads by bicycle, take whale-watching cruises out of Bar Harbor that reliably spot humpback and finback whales from June through October, dig for clams on tidal mud flats at low tide, visit the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay Harbor, and eat lobster at picnic tables on working wharves. The outdoor activity options are exceptional for children who like being outside, which in Maine is not optional it is the whole point.
What kind of cuisine do tourists eat in Maine?
Tourists usually try the Maine lobster roll either the Connecticut style with warm lobster in drawn butter or the Maine style with cold lobster in a light mayonnaise dressing, served in a split-top hot dog bun. Beyond the lobster roll, I ate extraordinary fried whole-belly clams, blueberry pie made from wild Maine lowbush blueberries which are smaller and more intensely flavored than cultivated varieties, Needhams a Maine-specific chocolate-covered potato candy that sounds strange and tastes wonderful and Gifford’s ice cream, a Maine dairy institution since 1945.
Where do tourists prefer to stay when traveling to Maine?
Many tourists like to stay close to Bar Harbor for Acadia, Portland for the food and art scene, Kennebunkport for the southern coast, and Camden for the mid-coast harbor experience. Bar Harbor accommodations book out months in advance for July and August I learned that the hard way on my first visit. Portland has the widest range of accommodation options at the most varied price points and works as a strong base for day trips in multiple directions.
Conclusion
Maine is a diverse state where tourists can see genuinely world-class attractions the only national park in New England, the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard north of Rio de Janeiro, the longest cave-free coastline in the continental US, and a lobster fishery that supplies most of the country while also discovering interesting local places that barely appear on any standard tourist itinerary.
From sunrise on Cadillac Mountain when the light hits the granite before anywhere else in the country, afternoon cycling on Acadia’s Rockefeller carriage roads, oyster bar evenings in Portland’s Old Port, ferry crossings to car-free island communities, and lobster wharf lunches eaten at picnic tables with the boats coming in behind you, there are many interesting things travelers can enjoy while exploring Maine.
Tourists visiting Maine often enjoy a combination of extraordinary coastal scenery, some of the finest seafood in the world eaten in its most direct and honest form, serious wilderness hiking in Acadia and Baxter, and a quality of quiet and space that the northeastern corner of the country protects more carefully than almost anywhere else on the eastern seaboard.
Whether it is a holiday, vacation, special event, or anything else, there are always people who choose to visit Maine looking for memorable experiences and attractions and Maine has a particular way of giving them those experiences and then making them slightly reluctant to leave, which is perhaps the highest compliment you can pay any place.
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