Maine?

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
I'm thinking about a trip to Maine. Sept/Oct timeframe. Couple, maybe 3 weeks. Either in RV or motels.

Who's been? Tips, places to see?
 
We’ve been a few times and really liked following the “old Canada road national scenic byway.” I recommend stopping at every pull off where there’s an information sign. Benedict Arnold was a great commanding officer then and to see what they pulled their boats through doesn’t seem realistic. It’s stunning that time of year of course. The seafood is the best in the world and you can buy lobsters right off the boats. You can pick up one of the four corners of the US while you’re there. Oh, the best advice I got at the car rental place was “it’s mating season and the moose will breed with any large thing like you or this new jeep.” The hair on the back of my neck raised up a few times like I was back in prison!
 
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Following. We are looking to go to Bar Harbor in 2026.
 
Here’s a few pictures. One is Acadia national park.
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Been there a few times but haven’t explored a whole lot. Been to Acadia twice. The first time we were in a truck camper and spent more time in VT/NH. The last time we flew in and jumped on a Schooner in Rockland for 4 days. Amazing experience. We got lucky and it was when they were having the GAM. One night they tied 9 boats together in a bay, had live music on every boat, and you could walk between boats. It was an epic evening. Then we rented a car and went to Bar Harbour and Acadia since our friends hadn’t been. From there we hiked up Katahdin and stayed in Millinocket. The saw mill bar and grill had good food and the Blue Ox Saloon is a great stop for some history memorabilia and drinks.
We’ve eaten at Geddy’s twice in Bar Harbour. @StretchASU our wives and myself flew into Portland once to go snowmobiling in NH. For the hiking and mountain biking we do it’s hard to go past NH/VT.
 

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You've got the right idea going in September. This is what summer in Acadia looks like:

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Lots of cool via ferrata style hikes, though:
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Bar Harbor is all right. Schedule your visit around the tides, do the Bar Island hike, grab a bite to eat and walk around for an hour or so.

Lots of places to explore further north if you have 4wd. Good campsite here:

maps.app.goo.gl

45°13'22.1"N 69°46'09.4"W

maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl

Share the pond with some mooses:

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Stretching your intent, but if you're willing to cross the border into Monty territory, go visit the Bay of Fundy area. There's an area where the geography is such that there are massive swings between high and low tide, so much so that at high tide the river runs backwards and you can take tubing trips that start in the bay and go upstream.
There are beaches that have something like 10 to 12 ft swings in depth, and the Park service has places where you can go down and play in the mud during low tide and see all of the ocean life that gets stranded, then pulled back in later. But then you got to be out by a certain time to avoid getting you washed away!
 
GONOVRIT said:
@kaiser715 if you’re going for 2 wks I highly suggest spending time in VT/NH as well. Given that time period being close to fall foliage it could still be very busy.
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I’ll second everything @GONOVRIT has said on ME/VT/NH.

Maine - the waterfront in Portland has some of the best hole in the wall seafood shacks. You walk in the front and the boat they caught it all off of is sitting out back. There is some cool political history in the Kennebunk area, the bush compound etc.

NH - I’m partial to the Lake Winnipesaukee area since I spent so much time there growing up. Conway is more touristy with the outlet mall and whatnot in the summer but it’s got a lot of good food/beer options. That’s where @GONOVRIT and I stayed with the wives on the sled trip. Head through Franconia notch and over to the Mount Washington area. Lots of good hikes in that area. The Tuckermans ravine trail in the summer is one of my favorites. September it shouldn’t have much snow on it at the lower elevation but the bowl likely will up top.

I’ve only spent a time in VT during the winter so I can’t speak to much on your targeted time of the year.

If you’re going up that way I wouldn’t rule out a day or two on Cape Cod. Don’t be in a hurry anywhere but the people watching all the way out in Provincetown is hysterical. It’s a big…progressive crowd if you will…but for people watching and booze it’s fun. You can also get there by parking in Boston and taking the ferry out to PTown. After Labor Day weekend, MA goes back to school so the crowds aren’t AS bad on the cape as earlier in the month or the summer. We typically will stay somewhere around Chatham/Orleans/Truro area. New Bedford at the mouth of the cape is a great little town too. Walking the docks to see all the commercial boats is pretty cool.
 
I have been wanting to go for a few years. Eventually I’m going to make it happen, and I’m gonna eat myself sick on lobster while I enjoy the views.
 
Machias to Campobello Island is my favorite part of the Maine Coast although Campobello is in Canada. All the beauty and very light crowds.
 
we went to Acadia and bar harbor in June two years ago. I wouldnt recommend staying in that area for 3 weeks. we did and saw everything we wanted to do in about 5 days.
 
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