First Time to ME - Need Advice

[2cyber71]

I’ve done over 15 trips to Maine in summer since 1999
I would recommend I 81 to 88 to 90 to 495 to 95
Campgrounds I like
Kennebunkport- Red Apple.
BoothBay Harbor - Shore Hills
Belfast - The Moorings
Bar Harbor / Acadia - Narrows Too or KOA
Pemiquid Campground
I’ve been to all these campgrounds several times with a gas and diesel motorhome.

Things to see
LL Bean in Freeport
Portland Head Lighthouse
Trolley Museum - Kennebunkport
Gooches Beach - Kennebunkport
Downtown Portland
BoothBay Harbor the whole town, it’s small quaint
Roomer's Bowling ally - Boothbay
The Harbor in Camden
A ferry ride to Isleboro Island
Young’s Lobster Pound in Belfast
Pemiquid Lighthouse
Acadia in the morning, afternoon and sunset.
Hike Gorham Mountain Trail, easy
Hike Bee Hive, hard and scary
Cadillac Mountain at sunset and sunrise
Downtown Bar Harbor. Many great restaurants
Whale watch from Bar Harbor.
Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound
Do the auto tour of Acadia, daytime and evening.
Gotta get ice cream at CJs in Bar Harbor.
Much to do and see
If you have time get up to Eastport, Maine and go to the Canadian side to visit FDR's summer home. It’s a long drive from Bar Harbor but worth a trip if you have time.

[spuds]

Originally Posted by High Road Travelers

Don't get a lobster roll; get the real thing. Someone had a good suggestion about a grocery store that will cook them.
Thanks,

Most Shaw's and Hannaford's do.

[High Road Travelers]

2cyber71, that was a very good guide to visiting Maine. I'll use it next time we go. I'm sure the Op will appreciate it.
Thanks,

[GuyG]

Originally Posted by High Road Travelers

From there we took back roads through Vermont and New Hampshire to Maine and really enjoyed the trip.

You're exactly right, High Road Travelers. While the coast of Maine is ruggedly beautiful, there is also much to see inland. And New Hampshire and Vermont, too. You do need to be watchful, however, on non-U.S. highways in Vermont for low clearances. Other than that, the small towns in all three of those New England states offer so much for a visitor to see and experience.

(Born and raised in central Maine. Go back there every year that we can.)

Good luck and enjoy your travels.

Guy

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

I’ve done over 15 trips to Maine in summer since 1999
I would recommend I 81 to 88 to 90 to 495 to 95
Campgrounds I like
Kennebunkport- Red Apple.
BoothBay Harbor - Shore Hills
Belfast - The Moorings
Bar Harbor / Acadia - Narrows Too or KOA
Pemiquid Campground
I’ve been to all these campgrounds several times with a gas and diesel motorhome.

Things to see
LL Bean in Freeport
Portland Head Lighthouse
Trolley Museum - Kennebunkport
Gooches Beach - Kennebunkport
Downtown Portland
BoothBay Harbor the whole town, it’s small quaint
Roomer's Bowling ally - Boothbay
The Harbor in Camden
A ferry ride to Isleboro Island
Young’s Lobster Pound in Belfast
Pemiquid Lighthouse
Acadia in the morning, afternoon and sunset.
Hike Gorham Mountain Trail, easy
Hike Bee Hive, hard and scary
Cadillac Mountain at sunset and sunrise
Downtown Bar Harbor. Many great restaurants
Whale watch from Bar Harbor.
Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound
Do the auto tour of Acadia, daytime and evening.
Gotta get ice cream at CJs in Bar Harbor.
Much to do and see
If you have time get up to Eastport, Maine and go to the Canadian side to visit FDR's summer home. It’s a long drive from Bar Harbor but worth a trip if you have time.

Unfortunately, they knocked down the bowling alley--- I think about 5 yrs ago. Now it''s just an empty lot.

[2cyber71]

Originally Posted by PanJH

Unfortunately, they knocked down the bowling alley--- I think about 5 yrs ago. Now it''s just an empty lot.

Darn, that was a cool place. One of a kind.
I have a video of it on YouTube. Gets lots of views.
Search for Romar Bowling, I think it’s the only video of it on YouTube

[DuaneMiller]

Following along with this thread… We have friends here in Raleigh whose family owns and operates Old Orchard Beach Campground. A bunch of us are headed up that way in September for the week, and I am the only one out of the group who has a motorhome. The majority of the group will be flying up and staying in the cabins, but I wanted no part of that so I will make the drive up from Raleigh.

I’ve been looking at routes, and think I would be better off heading north to Richmond, taking I-64 over to I-81 and head up through the Shenandoah Valley, bypassing DC, Baltimore, and NYC. At some point, I’ll make my way back toward an easterly direction and head into ME.

What are some of the better routes to take from a “veterans” perspective? I have driven the I-95 route from Raleigh to Boston in a pickup pulling a uhaul when my daughter moved up there. 495 around DC, the tunnels of Baltimore, and the drive around NYC/Newark area in a 40’ MH pulling a truck doesn’t really appeal to me. Not afraid of it, just looking for a much more stress free route.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Duane-

Here is a link to a detailed post I made for driving from Maine to Florida. If you reverse the directions in that post it will provide route options for Washington, D.C. area to Maine (more correctly, to the Massachusetts Turnpike).

Here is a link to a detailed post I made more recently, for running south to north, starting on Maryland's Eastern Shore and ending in southern Maine.

There are some overlaps between the two posts.

[JMynes]

Originally Posted by DuaneMiller

I’ve been looking at routes, and think I would be better off heading north to Richmond, taking I-64 over to I-81 and head up through the Shenandoah Valley, bypassing DC, Baltimore, and NYC. At some point, I’ll make my way back toward an easterly direction and head into ME.

Your route is a good one. An alternative, the way I like to go, is further north on I95 to Fredericksburg, then 17 to I66 to I81.
North of Wilkes-Barre, PA you pick up I84 which will take you all the way to I90, the Mass Pike. Hartford is the only big city, but it’s usually a quick pass through.
On I90 you have two choices. Get off at Worcester/I290 to I495 or pay a little more and go to I495. Both will work, I recommend avoiding Worcester, it can be congested.
I495 takes you back to I95 and into Maine. All the way to Houlton if you want to go that far.

[DuaneMiller]

First of all... Don, I'm sorry to jump in and hijack your thread... But who knows, you may get some additional routing information out of it...

Thanks for the routing suggestions so far... I'll map them out and see what looks good, and give it a try.

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

Darn, that was a cool place. One of a kind.
I have a video of it on YouTube. Gets lots of views.
Search for Romar Bowling, I think it’s the only video of it on YouTube

Yes, it was really cool.... I was really disappointed when we went there and found it gone.

[whitingd]

Thank you everyone for all of this information. Special thank you to PanJH for the list. We're hitting the road Thursday!