3 days in Maine

[iknowthismuchistrue]

We are hoping to spend 3 days in Maine as part of New England Road Trip next summer. Maine is overwhelming me a bit. Anyone have any advice/recommendations on where to go? We will have our 2 elementary aged kids with us. Is Portland a must stay? Other cities? We would like a balance of city and outdoors but we are not super adventurous hikers but a couple hike would be good.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[underwaterrhymes]

Bar Harbor and Acadia are among my favorite places on earth.

[pierogigirl]

Ogunquit is a nice beach. I much prefer it to York beaches.

[imojoebunny]

Portland is a city. My good friend spent 7 weeks there this summer, and wished she had chosen a more charming, smaller town for their stay. Bar Harbor and Acadia are amazing and one of our top vacation spots. Our kids loved the Lobster Boat tour, and the carriage ride, when we went, they were in Elementary school. We, also, did a lot of hiking. We went to a former cranberry bog in Bangor that was pretty cool, too. Boothbay might be an option, that is closer to Portland. I haven't been there, but it looked neat in the pictures my friend sent me.

[jayhawkbecca]

We loved Kennebunkport!

[lessel]

What part of the summer? I love Bar Harbor and Acadia (you can do walks on the carriage roads or actual hikes). But it gets a bit crowded for me in the busiest parts of summer.

[cattledogkisses]

I live in Maine and like to hike, so once you narrow down where you're going I can probably give you some suggestions.

Aislinn Sarnacki at the Bangor Daily News does a "1-Minute Adventures" series of hikes around the state, and there's an interactive map that's a good resource for finding trails. www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1zAqMNi9NNdPsgno9rTxTwrmciX4&msa=0&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=44.53763193521322%2C-69.0985106328125&spn=4.634924%2C6.580811&z=8&output=embed

[mbcdefg]

I would spend a night or two in Portland, and one in Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park. Portland had a lot of cool shops and restaurants, and ANP is lovely.

The LL Bean flagship store in Freeport is cool.

I like going to Reny’s, a small department store, because there was one in the town where my relatives lived when I was growing up and we’d drive up to visit them, and it’s a nice memory. There are a few stores around the state.

[snowflurry]

We just did a 2 week road trip of New England this summer. We loved Kennebunkport but spent most of our time in Portland. We had a great time in the city but would choose somewhere more scenic next time.

[jaycee]

Definitely do Acadia National Park. We stayed in Bar Harbor and I'll never forget the lobster dinners and blueberry pancakes.

[RockNVoll]

Bar Harbor/Acadia are great, but it's a long drive to get up there so depends on where else you're going and how much time you want to spend in the car.

Boothbay Harbor is cute, but smaller. If you go, look up the alpaca farm where you can take the alpacas for a walk or just visit with them

Freeport is worth a stopover if you want to stretch your legs and do some outlet shopping

People love Portland but as others said it's a city and, personally, I didn't think it was all that great.

[mcppalmbeach]

I’ve only been to Maine once, but it was glorious during the summer. One of my favorite places ever. We did almost a week and went to the Forks which is more interior of Maine and was absolutely amazing (hiking, white water and Moose sighting), then we spent time in Camden walking around and did a sailboat tour and finished off with Acadia national park which I think is a must see. We hiked, did some scenic drives, saw sunrise at Cadillac mountain, had tons of lobster, went whale watching, had popovers at Jordan tea house. If we go back I’d like to go to Portland and my in-laws spent time kayaking in boothbay which sounded lovely as well:

[basilosaurus]

lobster lobster lobster. I know it's cliche, but I don't care. I'd eat a lobster roll every day.

My grandparents had a condo in booth bay for years which is now my parents', and they stayed in a few different towns on the coast for the summers before settling on that (is there a more Floridian statement than that?!)

I don't know how you are about boats, but having one wherever you are really increases the enjoyment IMO. You can rent them fairly easily.

I haven't been to Portland in years. I usually flew into Boston or Manchester and drove or took the bus (with wifi!) since it was much cheaper that way. It's apparently a pretty great food destination now. But it's not worth the whole trip.

[shauni27]

Bar harbor and Acadia are very far…so be prepared for that. For southern Maine, Ogunquit is my favorite. We usually go multiple times a year. You can keep it more economical and stay in moody or wells and be a few minute drive from foot bridge beach (the best!!!) or down town.

You are also within 20 minutes from York and kennebunk and an easy drive (within 45 minutes) to Old Orchard and an hour from Portland (both of which are your kids will love)

[tommygirl03]

I’d make a stop in Freeport for shopping, and try mid-coast Maine. We love Sebasco Harbor Resort (Phippsburg), Harpswell or Boothbay Harbor area. Phippsburg and Harpswell are not very touristy, but have great outdoor things to do.

[stemmie]

Acadia is magical but quite a distance.

I love Portland and while I've done touristy stuff with DS when he was little, today I like to hit the breweries which are generally kid friendly. I often hit LLBean- especially the outlet where there's always some random item I can't live without. Plus it's near Maine Beer Company.

Brunswick is a cute little town that's a little more authentic Downeast than some more touristy places. They have a couple quirky museums, interesting shopping, good food, a beach and large public green to stroll around. With kids, I might be inclined to rent a AirBnB in a place like Harpswell or Orr's Island and day trip to Portland, visit Brunswick for dinner and small town charm and stare out at Casco Bay (my favorite things to do in Maine). If you do make it to Harpswell, The Dolphin is wonderful for lunch or dinner. I like the Harpswell Inn but haven't stayed since the new owners took over.

[jaylea]

Maine is a big state, so you’ll probably want to narrow down what you want to do, and that will help with region.

Do you want small town oceanfront? Coastal towns like Camden, Boothbay, Ogunquit, Kennebunk/port Etc are your best bet then.

Do you want lakes and moose? Rangeley is an absolutely beautiful area, as is the Moosehead Lake region.

If you want Acadia, you’re doing all three days there. Stay in Bar Harbor, day trips into the park for hiking and views. But be warned, it’s VERY crowded.

The there’s Portland. If you want a city vibe, that’s where you stay - tons of delicious food, craft breweries, distilleries and wine tasting rooms. You can get to Portland Head Light and beaches easily for more scenic stuff. You can also take a boat out to the islands in Casco Bay and walk around. Or a day trip to Freeport for shopping. You could fill 3 days around here too. Brand new Children’s Museum, no shortage of things to do in the summer.

While Portland is a city, it has only 66,000 people. So, it’s quite small. Easy to get around and in and out of to see other areas.

[wildrice]

Not sure where you live, but Portland to Bar Harbor is at most about a 4 hour drive, so it's not next door but IMO not crazy far. I find midwesterners (like myself) have a higher tolerance for driving a few hours than east coasters, for example, so your perspective may be that it's too far or not

We did Portland and Bar Harbor/Acadia 2 years ago. I would either spend the whole time in Acadia if you like national parks, or do 1 night in Portland and 2 in Acadia. I loved Portland and would not recommend skipping it if you had more time, but there is less sightseeing there. They do have a ton of good breweries and restaurants and it's a cute city, though, so if you wanted to just relax and eat/drink you could find stuff to do. We arrive late in the evening and then spent two full days there, and we definitely were running out of things to do by the middle of the 2nd day though.

Acadia has tons to see and do so if you like the outdoors I think you could more easily fill your time. We had 3 full days there and did one day of whale watching, one day of driving/hiking/beach in the park, and one day of biking the carriage roads (we rented bikes). It was beautiful and fun and we easily could have spent a few more days in the park. Bar Harbor was cute but very crowded when we were there (July) so we didn't really even spend much time in the actual town.

[cattledogkisses]

Sept 13, 2021 10:06:57 GMT -5 jaylea said:

Maine is a big state, so you’ll probably want to narrow down what you want to do, and that will help with region.

Do you want small town oceanfront? Coastal towns like Camden, Boothbay, Ogunquit, Kennebunk/port Etc are your best bet then.

Do you want lakes and moose? Rangeley is an absolutely beautiful area, as is the Moosehead Lake region.

If you want Acadia, you’re doing all three days there. Stay in Bar Harbor, day trips into the park for hiking and views. But be warned, it’s VERY crowded.

The there’s Portland. If you want a city vibe, that’s where you stay - tons of delicious food, craft breweries, distilleries and wine tasting rooms. You can get to Portland Head Light and beaches easily for more scenic stuff. You can also take a boat out to the islands in Casco Bay and walk around. Or a day trip to Freeport for shopping. You could fill 3 days around here too. Brand new Children’s Museum, no shortage of things to do in the summer.

While Portland is a city, it has only 66,000 people. So, it’s quite small. Easy to get around and in and out of to see other areas.

Also, be aware that some parts of the park like Cadillac Mountain and Sand Beach now require advance reservations as of last year.

[lizlemon19]

With only three days and elementary age kids, I would do the beach areas of Southern Maine. I like Ogunquit beach area. From there you can explore york, marginal way, old orchard if the kids would like that. Could do a day in Portland if it is rainy or Kittery for shopping.

Bar Harbor is a long drive but beautiful and I would prefer to do it as an adults trips.

[iknowthismuchistrue]

Wow. Thank you all so much! We drive a lot with the kids so I’m not worried about the gaps between places. One night in a hotel in one part and 2 nights somewhere else within 5 hours would be manageable for us. This is part of a 12ish day trip. We are coming from the Midwest but flying into the southern part of New England (tbd) and working our way up and then flying out of there.

This was really helpful for me to focus in on certain parts. Thanks!

[Gato]

I think, if you don’t mind the drive, Acadia is not to be missed. The southern Maine beaches are fine, but Acadia really is the showstopper. I’d stay in that area for two overnights. If you want to go to a beach on Mount Desert Island and don’t want to deal with Sand Beach, the beach at Echo Lake is much less crowded, and has cool cliffs on either side. Not a lot of people go to Schoodic point, but I think it’s worth a side trip as you’re heading toward MDI. Classic Maine scenery. Also, as a kid, I really loved the polished rock beach that’s somewhere along the park loop. All of Acadia is a kid’s playground.

In Portland, the new children’s museum is nice for a 2-3 hour visit. You can pick up some excellent coffee and eats right next door at the Rosemont and Rwanda Bean. The whale watching tour on the waterfront is excellent. A ferry to Peaks Island is fun, and you can walk, bike, or golf cart around it. The playground at the Eastern Prom has a pretty spectacular view, and there’s a scruffy little beach and a kids’ train ride at the base of the hill, too. My kids love Flatbread pizza.

[memenee]

Bar Harbor / Acadia is the star of the show. I would definitely go there!

I had a strong dislike for Portland and I love beer and good food, so my rec would be to pass on that. Especially with kids, I didn’t think there was anything there for kids. The only thing we liked in Portland was that park/lighthouse in neighboring Cape Elizabeth about 15 mins away - absolutely beautiful. Just googled - it was Fort Williams.