Hi All,
I put together a list of suggestions and campground information for some friends who are going this year. Hubby and I were there September of 2018. I thought it might be of interest so some in this forum too, so I am posting it.
Maine - Trip Ideas and Suggestions
If possible, go when the high tides are during daylight hours – photos will be better and waves will be more spectacular with more water. When we were there it was always low tides. High tides were at night.
US 1 is slow. We averaged about 30-40 mph when driving it. We took I-95 (Maine Turnpike) and a toll road, from about Scarborough, ME south into N.H. when we were leaving. It wasn’t too expensive and much less stressful than driving US-1 down the coast.
Contact the chamber of commerce and/or Maine tourism websites to get information or have them send you maps and town information. Do this far ahead, because sometimes they are slow to respond.
We were there after Labor Day, so there were some places that were already closed for the season. Weather was good, and the crowds weren’t too bad in most places. Leaves hadn’t really started changing yet.
Take an Oyster knife and gloves if you like raw oysters and want to shuck them – Bob got some really good ones up there. And of course, if you like lobster; bring claw crackers, butter warmers, etc. a pair of kitchen shears help cut the tails too. When we bought lobster and wanted to freeze it, we boiled water, dropped the tails in the boiling salted water for 1 minute, and then immediately put them in ice water to stop the cooking, then froze them in plastic a container (Ziploc bags don’t work well)
We started our trip down the coast at the Bar Harbor area.
ACADIA PARK REGION
We stayed near Ellsworth, in Trenton, ME at
Timberland Acres Campground. There were a lot of seasonal sites where people keep their (mostly trailers) year round. It was quiet and less expensive than in Bar Harbor and made it easier to do the day trips we had planned. Ellsworth has good shopping including grocery stores and Walmart. We went to the LL Bean Outlet, but were not impressed. There was a good ice cream shop downtown.
From here we took day trips in the car – one day on the Schoodic Peninsula loop, one day taking in the main Acadia Park and one taking the Bass Harbor loop.
There was HEAVY fog along the coast every morning we were there. Check the marine forecast and plan accordingly.
On the way to the Schoodic Peninsula there is a called Tracey’s Seafood where we got 2 lobster rolls for $15.00. Only the take-out window was opened when we were there. There was also a seafood market that we went to in Winter Harbor that was nice (Winter Harbor Lobster Co-Op)
On the road to Bar Harbor, just after the campground there is the “Maines Own Treats” store - a nice shop of Maine jams, jellies, etc. where the prices were reasonable. In Acadia be sure to go up Cadillac Mountain for the beautiful views of the area.
Our next camping spot was Damascotta, ME –
Pemaquid Campground. It was VERY rustic, wooded and the interior roads were rough and rutted. It was NOT what we expected. I should say that it was rainy overcast weather when we got there, so that didn’t help. One reason I booked it was that there was a big fishing lake and docks at the campsites. Unfortunately the weeds were taking over the shoreline and it was not conducive to fishing. The rustic-ness of the place reminded me of the scenes of the workers cabins in the movie Dirty Dancing. We wouldn’t really recommend it.
Bob got the best oysters he’s had from a stand in the area. We took River Rd. off Bus.1 in NewCastle toward BoothBay Harbor. There was a sign on the road, but it was a building at a guy’s house on the left side of the street. I think the house was yellow. Further down the road is Glidden Oysters (we didn’t try them). They were rather expensive, but Bob said they were worth it! BoothBay Harbor was a very nice example of the quaint fishing villages in the area. They have tours to see whales, puffins, etc. from the dock there, but we walked around and did some shopping.
Another day trip from there was back up the coast to Camden, Rockport and Rockland. We went to the Owl’s head Lighthouse in Rockland and got fresh-off- the- boat whole lobsters from a place just before you get to the lighthouse (cash only) There was also a good seafood market there – Jess’s Seafood118 S Main St, Rockland, ME
Go to the Camden Hills State Park and up to the tower there. You can get a good view of the shoreline and look down onto Camden. There are hikes in the area too, but we didn’t do them. Camden is a nice town with cute shops, and the main road has a lot of old Sea Captains’ homes. Rockport is a small town, but the harbor is picturesque.
Tower at Camden Hills State Park and looking down onto Camden
Our final camping spot in Maine was
Bayley’s Camping Resort in Scarborough, ME just south of Portland. This was a very nice campground with 2 pools, hot tubs, restaurants (in season). It is HUGE and if you want a more quiet experience ask for the “Adult section” in the back of the resort. It has its own pool/hot tub/restaurant and laundry facilities. I can imagine that the resort is quite active and noisy during the summers. There were a lot of golf carts on the roads.
From Scarborough we went north to Freeport, home of LL Bean, where they have a HUGE complex of stores along with other outlets. We read a lot of good things about the Harreseeket Lunch and Lobster Company, so we went there for lunch. We thought it was more of a tourist trap than anything.
We also went to Cape Elizabeth where we had a good meal at the Lobster Shack Restaurant at Two Lights. THE best clam chowder we had on the trip! There is a take-out building, but we ate in the restaurant.
Old Orchard Beach was a disappointment, because it was pretty much closed up when we were there. I was so looking forward to seeing it because it sounded like the classic coastal NE town with a boardwalk, carnival, etc.
Another day drive was to Kennebunkport where we drove past the Bush compound and the Bush Museum. We didn’t tour the museum. We continued down to Ogunquit (but weren’t impressed).
We didn’t drive into Bar Harbor or Portland because we had been there before.
When we were in Portland on a cruise trip, we took a tour of the Casco Bay to see the lighthouses, fort, etc. It was very worthwhile, and we would recommend it. I am sure you can get one from the docks in old Portland.
We drove over the bridge at the Penobscot Narrows, and looked down to the Fort Knox Historic Site, but we were in the RV and were afraid there wouldn’t be parking once we got down to the building. I wish we had been able to tour it.
I bought the “Explorer’s Guide, Maine Including the coast and Islands” book and it had a lot of good information.
Naturally there are a lot of lighthouses along the coast. Some are in state parks that require a fee. Portland Head, Nubble Light, Owl Light, Bass Harbor, Cape Elizabeth were all ones we went to and enjoyed.