Best Places to Visit in Maine

Have you ever wondered what are the best places to visit in Maine? Well, I’m not an expert but I can definitely give you some ideas. Maine is known for the many lighthouses that dot their coastline. And I have this odd obsession with lighthouses for some reason. Maybe I was a lighthouse attendant in a previous life, who knows. But besides lighthouses, what else does Maine have to offer besides Lobster Rolls?

Just to name a couple of the best places to visit in Maine, I highly recommend the city of Portland and the Acadia National Park. And everything in between these two cities.

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. Thanks Wikipedia!

Day 1 – Portland Maine

Our decision to visit Maine was because of my love for Lighthouses, so this post may be a tad long. We did a lot in just a short amount of time, driving drove from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to Portland Maine. We had spent a couple of days in NH first, which you can read about on a separate post here: VISITING NEW HAMPSHIRE’S WHITE MOUNTAINS.

The drive took about 3-4 hours from NH and we arrived at our hotel at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Portland. It’s located slightly out of the main city center but still very close to everything worth visiting, plus they have a delicious free breakfast. We only stayed for one night. After we got settled in our room and freshened up, we ventured out to our first stop, the famous Portland Head Lighthouse of Portland. You can’t visit Maine and NOT visit this famous Lighthouse. It’s like blasphemy and you can get arrested! Just kidding!

Portland Head Lighthouse

The best advice I have for visiting Portland Head lighthouse is….avoid the TOURISTS! They are ushered in by the bus loads and it gets crowded and the lighthouse is surrounded by people.

There is a cute little food truck located right in the parking area of the Portland Head. Bite into Maine was our first experience of a Maine Lobster Roll. My husband and I shared one at one of the picnic tables that dotted the coast line surrounding the lighthouse. It was delicious.

During low tide, you can venture down the cliff through some brush, and climb down to an area that’s littered with rocks. I highly recommend hiking along this area, just take care on the rocks and watch where you step. It will avoid the crowds. You’ll have a beautiful view of the Portland Head Light from this vantage point and you can hike towards it. Eventually there is an area where you can climb back up to the parking level again.

After our hike, we worked up an appetite and drove down to Two Lights in Elizabeth, MN which is about 10-minutes away. We grabbed a late lunch at the famous Lobster Shack which was featured on an episode of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Yummmm!

Portland Waterfront Historic District

After a quick rest back at our hotel, we headed out for the evening for dinner and a night out in Portland Waterfront Historic District aka Old Port.

The Old Port of Portland Maine is lined with cobblestone streets and a mix of 19th-century brick architecture. The fishing piers and hilly streets leading to the water create an authentic port atmosphere. With shops, galleries, boutiques, restaurants and bars which lend travel appeal that ranks among the best in New England. But the fooooood! THE FOOOOOOD! The SEAFOOD!!! Omigod, don’t even get me started! I mean Lobster Rolls are pretty much around every corner, but if you want amazing seafood that dance in your mouth, you have come to the right place! You can’t miss out on the seafood cuisine in all the best places to visit in Maine.

We walked around and window shopped, marveled at the architecture, strolled the pier and watched the sunset. We also came across a cute little alley paved with old uneven cobblestones. It looked like it was straight out of the 18th century. For all I know, it may have been the oldest street in Old Port.

Eventide Oyster Company

Dinner was at a restaurant highly recommended by a friend, the Eventide Oyster Company. They were full to the brim and the wait was over an hour! But we got super lucky with the host, who was super friendly and helpful. He said if we could order and eat within 45min., he has a reserved table that we could take before the reservation time. Heck yeah!
We never ordered and ate so fast in our life! BUT holy mackerel, the food was amazing! And I threw a pun in there, one of the dishes I ordered was a pickled mackerel dish that absolutely melted in my mouth like briny butter. I was tempted to order a second one but we didn’t have time. Insert sad face.

Dobra Tea House

After dinner, we strolled about some more and came across a delightful little tea house that my husband was enamored with. Dobra Tea is not just your average tea house. It doesn’t serve Asian style boba tea, or United Kingdom tea with sandwiches. It’s a “Cafe with a mellow, Eastern vibe offering global specialty teas and vegetarian & vegan light bites.” The atmosphere is quiet, strewn with lush pillows, hanging tapestries, and gauzy drapes on canopies.

I ordered something called Memories of Prague from their Special-Teas menu. “A favorite among our American visitors in the Czech Republic. The infusion has a seductive sweet aroma. Served with milk, local honey, and two Bohemian spicy nuggets on the side.” It was served in a cute brass tea kettle on a lovely wooden tray. This was a great night cap to our first night in Maine. Voted by my husband as one of his favorite best places to visit in Maine.

Day 2 – Road Trip to Bar Harbor

The next day, we checked out of our La Quinta Inn and started our road trip towards Bar Harbor in Acadia National Park. And of course, no road trip in Maine is without stops at the many lighthouses that dot the shoreline.

Doubling Point Light

Our first stop was at the Doubling Point Light. It is a lighthouse on the Kennebec River in Arrowsic, Maine. It was established in 1898, fifteen years after the founding of the Bath Iron Works, a major shipbuilder, 1.5 miles upriver. It’s pretty tiny and super cute. With a short little walkway plank to reach it.

It’s surrounded by lush trees and can be easily missed if you don’t follow your google maps exactly.

Pemiquid Point Light

Next we made a quick stop for an early lunch at Sprague’s Lobster Rolls. This would be the last and final lobster roll we had on our trip. We totally have had enough! All the mayo and the bread just kind of made us feel a bit too heavy.

So off we went to the Pemiquid which I would have to say is THE BEST lighthouse location I have ever, ever visited!!! My absolute favorite by far compared to any other. The property was absolutely adorable and you can spend hours there! And it’s not crowded with tourists. You can tour the keeper’s house and trek all the way up to the actual light and the guide was so friendly and helpful giving us the history of the lighthouse. Voted by me as one of my favorite best places to visit in Maine!

The lighthouse was commissioned in 1827 by President John Quincy Adams and built that year. Because of poor workmanship (salt water was used in the mortar mix), the lighthouse began to crumble and was replaced in 1835. The second contract for the construction stipulated that only fresh water be used. Keeper Isaac Dunham oversaw the construction and wrote in a letter to the US Lighthouse Establishment that the agreement was upheld and the work went well.

The rocks along the shoreline of Pemiquid are stunning and an easy climb, but be careful of any wet slippery areas. The views were also incredible. I would have stayed there all day if I could. This place gets a #1 high score for the best Instagramable Lighthouse location.

Rockland Harbor Breakwater Point

Our next stop was to Rockland Harbor Breakwater Point Light. It is a historic lighthouse complex at the end of the Rockland Breakwater in the harbor of Rockland, Maine. Replacing a light station at Jameson Point (the northern end of the breakwater), the light was established in 1902, about two years after completion of the breakwater. Now automated, it continues to serve as an active aid to navigation. The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse on March 20, 1981.

Dark clouds were rolling in and the weather was getting chilly by the time we arrived. If you like long walks on top of large rocks that are placed strategically to form a 1-mile stretch out into open sea water, then you will enjoy the hike to Rockland Harbor Breakwater Point. I was a nervous wreck making this trek. The waves crashing onto the rocks gave me anxiety and the walk to the light seemed like it took forever and a day! AND it was getting colder and colder by the minute.

By the time we made it out to the lighthouse, there wasn’t much to see. You couldn’t go inside or climb up to a higher point. THEN we had to make the walk BACK!!! Let’s just say I became a sour puss. HA! This was NOT one of the best places to visit in Maine. HAHA

Made it into Acadia National Park

We made our final drive into Acadia National Park and stopped for a quick seafood dinner. Then we headed towards our B&B in the dark. Maine is not known for their street lights. And because of this, the highway was pretty dark and……..we ended up running over a dead deer. Yep, you read that right. We were following the vehicle in front of us too closely. They braked ahead of us and we slowed down but we didn’t have a chance to see why they braked and then *bump bump*, it was too late. Someone had hit and killed a deer on the highway and the body was left there and we had to drive over it. It was awful!!! We felt so bad!!! We didn’t realize the ramifications of this ordeal though, until we arrived at our B&B destination.

Upon parking at our B&B, I got out of the car and noticed an odd smell. It kind of made me want to gag. Every time we were near our car, I could smell it! I realized with horror, that it must have been the dead deer! Something must have clung to the underside of our vehicle and the heat from the car’s engine was creating the awful smell!!! This basically resulted in the following ritual for the next day and a half. “Park our car, gather our stuff, hold our breath, open the car door, and run as fast as we could a few yards away from the car before we could breathe again.” Thankfully the smell was only after driving and the engine was heated. And eventually it dissipated after a day.

Day 3 – Hiking around Acadia National Park

Birch Harbor & Little Moose Island

We got up in the morning and was served a lovely home cooked breakfast at the B&B. We decided to do some easy hiking around some of the recommended local spots in Acadia National Park.

I was desperate to see some moose but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. So I settled for a hike on a little peninsula island called Little Moose Island. Close enough, right?

We also went hiking a bit higher up at a location I cannot recall the name of. But it overlooked Birch Harbor from above and it gave some magnificent views.

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch at a local joint that was famous for something called the Pickled Wrinkle. We had no idea what that was but we were soon to find out. Pickled Sea Snails! And yes, we ordered some and I ate them. The husband had maybe one. It was briny and salty and had a texture similar to calamari, but just without the fried breading. I liked them.

Jordan Pond and Cadillac Mountain

After a short rest, we headed back out for a Sunset hike at Jordan Pond and the incredible view up on Cadillac Mountain.
The Jordan Pond House Restaurant is situated right along the shores of the pond. Providing diners with a great view of the glistening water and tree-lined shores. It’s a great place to visit and dine. But if you want to skip the restaurant, you’re also welcome to hike into the trees and around the pond. There are a series of beautiful hiking trails in the area. Do note that tourists get bused into this spot so it can get pretty crowded. But most don’t venture far or hike into the woods.

If you drive past Jordan Pond and keep going up the road, it will start to wind up into the Mountain. There are several amazing view points along the drive. And at the very top, it’s pretty much a 360-degree view, so whether you go at Sunrise or Sunset, it will be amazing no matter what! You can see all the little islands that dot the coast of Maine. And Fall foliage was just beginning to change. It was pretty incredible.

We ended our night with a quick dinner and tour of Bar Harbor. The town is cute but very touristy. It’s full of tourist shops and restaurants. You can definitely spend a couple of hours there browsing all the shops if you are looking for just the right souvenir. Eventually, we made our way back to our B&B and called it a night.

Day 4 – Acadia National Park

Raven’s Nest & Schoodic Institute

The next day was our last day. We had to fly home that evening. So we checked out of our B&B but wanted to fit in a couple more sites.
I was really interested in visiting the Schoodic Research Institute and the husband wanted to check out a small hiking trail off the coast that he found online, called Raven’s Nest.

This location was a bit difficult to find. You can map it on your GPS map, but it basically gives you just an “idea” of where it is. But you kind of still has to find it. It’s literally off the side of the road. You have to find a slight trail opening among the trees, and just trek downwards for a bit, until it opens up. And you see this little cove. It was worth it.

We also visited the Schoodic Institute but didn’t take any photos. I wanted to visit it because it was the site for the Earthwatch.org Volunteer Program that the organization offers to study the effects of Climate Change with actual scientists. I find these type of programs intriguing but haven’t had a chance to actually participate in one yet, maybe once I am retired? Or maybe sooner. Who knows.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. This is just a tiny snippet of all the best places to visit in Maine. I highly recommend visiting around late September or early October to catch the Fall foliage colors. We went in the middle of September 2018 and we were too early, but it was still absolutely beautiful!

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