Justin Smulski Exploring Maine—taking in its farmland vistas, lowtide hikes, and scenic mountaintops—takes a whole lot of driving. That often means that the cities and towns you’re driving through feel like just that: somewhere you’re sorta-kinda passing through temporarily. Yet Maine’s meteoric rise in tourism over the last ten years hasn’t just been about outdoor adventure and …
It takes just under three hundred miles of driving to make your way up the Maine coast from the New Hampshire state line in Kittery all the way to the Canadian border. That slow meander up the shoreline takes you through countless towns and fishing villages filled with fry shacks, lobster pounds, and stunning scenery …
Portland’s food scene is having kind of a moment right now. Actually, at this point it’s fair to call it a hot streak more than anything else. While some of the city’s well-established restaurants and bars that helped put Portland on the map are always worth writing about—Fore Street, Local 188, Duckfat, Eventide, Mikaye, and …
So you want to go camping in Acadia National Park, huh? Good. You should. It’s beautiful and we’ve got some great suggestions. But, to start, let’s set some expectations. Acadia draws enormous crowds to the small and rugged coastal paradise of Mount Desert Island on the quiet Downeast coast of northeastern Maine. In fact, the …
The call for exploration on Maine’s Downeast coast is understandable: rugged cliffs limned in salty mist and yet somehow, miraculously, sprinkled with sand beaches and chilly swimming holes. It’s the perfect place for summer coastal adventures, and Acadia is the true crown jewel of Downeast outdoorsmanship. Where else, it’s worth asking, can you venture from …
There are 3,166 islands on the Maine coast. Some are large enough to accommodate multiple towns and a national park (we’re looking at you Mount Desert Island and Acadia), and others are small enough that they’re reduced to a diminutive spire of rock with a few trees at high tide. Many are bridged and easily …
Fun fact: often credited as the most photographed lighthouse in the world, Portland Head Light isn’t actually in Portland. Indeed, there are exactly zero lighthouses in Portland Maine proper. The gorgeous shots of lighthouses on the front of every tourism brochure for the area sure don’t make that obvious, but the 20-minute drive from Portland …
At the eastern extremity of the continental United States, Maine’s more than 3000 miles of coastal frontage lends itself to an endless array of beautiful destinations to watch the day’s early light race across the horizon. The sun’s rays hit Maine’s coast first before anywhere else in the country. The region’s relationship with the sunrise …
A touch of the winter blues isn’t exactly unreasonable as we head into January with frigid temperatures and less snow throughout Maine than usual. Though we’re all eagerly awaiting fresh powder and frozen lakes for outdoor winter fun and gorgeous winter landscapes frosted in white, thoughts of sunny summer days are an understandable sliver of …
Maine’s natural landscapes—coastal granite cliffs, mountaintop rock spires, rolling farmland, crystal clear lakes, and everything in between—position the state as a touristic haven for outdoor adventure and long road trips on the hunt for scenic splendor. The lakes and mountains of western and northern Maine are a clear crown jewel of exploration, and the combination …