BurntNorton

My wife and I plan on spending six days on the Maine coast this late June or late July for our 20th anniversary. She likes shopping and people; I like natural beauty, non-touristy areas, and biking. We'd like to have some of it her way and some of it mine. (We both like art, hiking, and eating, fortunately.) I've been pouring over Fodor's excellent Maine Coast, but I thought I'd solicit other opinions.

Where would you go, stay, and eat?

dfrostnh

You can do a Fodors search on Maine. We like to camp in Wiscasset which makes explorations north to Camden and south to Brunswick easy. Once you are north past Brunswick things start to get less built up. Boothbay and Camden are very busy tourist areas but other places not so much. I've read posts that say to avoid Maine in July because it's too crowded. We've been there for 4th of July and sure, there are crowded areas but drive a little further and the crowds disappear. Bath Heritage Days was great fun (craft fair plus church ladies selling slices of wonderful pie and a great parade) but drive out on the peninsula toward lobster places and places like S Harpswell seem a step back in time. We have yet to stand in the long line at Red's for a lobster roll. There are plenty of other places. It's not too hard to find a small, public beach/wildlife area that is almost empty of people.
Boothbay is crowded but step on the boat to Monahegan Island and you have incredible hiking. Rockland has the wonderful Farnsworth art museum which features Maine artists.
A lot of people don't venture far off Rt 1.

We tend to eat lobster for lunch preferably as lobster shack type places. Since we camp, it's great fun to go to a great farmers market like the one on Fridays in Brunswick to get something for dinner. If you want fancier restaurants and more upscale dining you can check recommendations on chowhound.

If you choose mid-late June you have a chance of seeing fields of lupines in bloom (check lupine festival + stonington). Late July will have trucks along Rt 1 selling blueberries.

Ackislander

Good advice, nothing really to add except that all the good stuff in Maine is off the major highways. You have to get a good map (someone makes a highly detailed Maine atlas but I am having a senior moment)and get onto all those badly marked little roads near the water (Cundy's Harbor or Friendship to pick two) to see what you are looking for.

A lobster pound is a place where they buy and sell lobsters, live and cooked. They will boil them up for you, and you eat them at a picnic table, usually on a dock, with a cup of chowder and an ear of corn. I agree with dhfrost NH that they are the way to eat lobster!

I don't know where you are coming from, but if you are coming from the Boston area, you should drive out to Gloucester and view the Dry Salvages.

dfrostnh

Ackislander might mean the Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer for each state. We have one for each state: ME, NH, and VT. Even seasonal roads are listed as well as covered bridges, waterfalls, etc. I think Delorme is located in Maine.

clarkgriswold

Boothbay Harbor.

And definitely late June, not overcrowded late July.

Ackislander

Yes, DeLorme! Thank you dfrost, I too have them unless I have loaned them to friends. They are terrific.

Ackislander

Yes, DeLorme! Thank you dfrost, I too have them unless I have loaned them to friends. They are terrific.

katahdin25

Freeport is great for shopping. Freeport is also home to DeLorme, the mapmaker others are speaking of. They have a huge globe located in the store that rotates as the Earth does. The LL Bean flagship store is in town as well. It is a very busy area in the summer.

If you want to have a quaint, quiet visit to the Maine coast where there aren't many tourists, I recommend the Downeast coast of Maine, such as Machias, Calais, and Eastport areas. In Cutler, (a cute, quaint coastal village in its own right), you can take a puffin tour to Machias Seal Island. My husband and I did this a few years back, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

It is also a quick trip to Campobello Island, located in New Brunswick, from this area. Campobello was the summer residence of Roosevelt, and is quite picturesque.

The Old Sow Whirlpool, the largest natural whirlpool in the western hemisphere, is located off the shore of Eastport. Quoddy Head State Park/Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec are also sites to see.

Of course, you can also stop at Acadia National Park on your way up to the Downeast coast as well.