Brutforce

I promise I won't tell anyone but we are seeking off the beaten track isles/towns/spots in Maine for this Summer. Know any ?

bnbtraveler

Port Clyde is great, quaint and a fishing village. There is a nice b&b there - Seaside Inn.

dfnh

When you get north of Portland, everyone goes to Boothbay, Camden or Bar Harbor. There's actually quite a bit in between. Our favorite lobster shack is near the Owl's Head Transportation Museum, just a few picnic tables next to the water. They've expanded since we first went there and now have some picnic tables in a covered porch area. We roamed around the Blue Hill Peninsula one June during the Lupine Festival time. Not very crowded at all. Maine is right next door to us but we haven't explored the interior much. Stayed in Bangor a couple of nights, ate at Dysart's truck stop, visited the Cole Transportation Museum and nearby Leonard's Mills Logging Museum. Very small but very interesting during a weekend competition of college logging teams when the guys who restored the saw mill are there making sure everything is perfect. Fun to visit with 'dad' who used to use some of those old chain saws. If you are interested in old equipment, search out antique engines and steam equipment. The meets are usually on some farm and some of the stories are very interesting if you get someone talking. Although it was kind of crowded, I really enjoyed Bath's Heritage Days held on or around July 4. Great parade. FANTASTIC homemade pies sold by the church ladies at the craft fair. Comment by someone standing next to us that the parade was so big she was surprised there was anyone left over to watch it. We spent a week in Wiscasset searching out best lobster dinners etc. There's quite a few small towns out on the points. Thought Harpswell was beautiful, very rural with not much going on. Everybody seems to go to one particular lobster place although there are others that are much less crowded and better. The farmers market in Brunswick is fabulous. One of the more unusual places to visit is H.O.M.E. right on Rt 1. It's an organization to help women in rural Maine sell their handmade items. (I might have the initials wrong.) Some things aren't very "stylish" but I thought there were some small treasures, well-made potholders, catnip mice, jams etc. The Maine Dept of Agriculture has a list of farmstands if you are interested in PYO places although during blueberry season trucks will be parked along Rt 1 selling fresh berries. Half the fun of visiting Maine is searching out places. Get a DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for the state of Maine to help you from getting lost.

Brutforce

Thx dfnh, exactly what we are looking for....any other Maine 'explorers'....??

Brutforce

ttt

aucho53

Hi Brutforce,

They may not be a secret but many people love to visit the Casco bay islands. You can take a ferry to most of them from Portland and each island has it's own "thing", be it a great view, nice rocky shore, good biking etc etc.

Enjoy, Maine is so beautiful!

Layla

bennnie

The Schoodic Pennisula portion of Acadia is magnificent.

shoefly

Check out these National Wildlife Refuges in Maine. They all have WONDERFUL birding. Bring your binoculars. There are charter trips to many of them, and they are generally very under-traveled.

http://www.mainebirding.net/birdsites/nwr

shoefly

^ By the way, that link opens best with Internet Explorer, not Firefox...

Brutforce

Thx to all, more ?

LJ

Check out the area beyond Ellesworth. Blue Hill is wonderful as another poster has noted. Then there is Stonington and Castine...and then there are the Conservancy Islands off Blake's Point on Cape Rosier (past the wildlife sanctuary)...but you need a boat off of Bakeman's Beach to get to them!

Brutforce

Any need for anything more rugged than a plain old car. I expect we will be traveling in June or July, any reason for a 4WD ?

LJ

Not sure if you meant me with regard to the 4 wheel drive question, Brutforce? But if so then the answer is no if you want to explore the Cape Rosier/Brooksville area. Here is a link to info on the Holbrook Island Wildlife Sanctuary, arguably one of the last of the 'secret' area of Maine.
http://www.wildernet.com/pages/area....MESPHI&CU_ID=1

dfnh

As a frequent visitor to Maine and a resident of NH, we really don't use 4 wheel drive in the summer. You can explore plenty of places with a regular car. The rugged trails that really require 4 wheel drive are generally on private property and require permission, usually set up by an off-road club. Non-maintained roads may be off limits because of hazardous conditions. Such roads may be posted as closed and subject to fines if you are caught on them. We used to live on a dirt road that changed to a class 6 road. The non-maintained section was closed and a barrier put in place because of the number of people who were getting stuck in mud and bothering the neighboring farmer. Although summer roads conditions can be dry compared to muddy spring roads make sure you know where you are and where you are headed. The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer published by DeLorme will list seasonal roads that are open in summer. This guide will help prevent you from getting lost. Seasonal roads in our area are usually graded and put into decent condition for summer travel. We have a DeLorme guide for NH, ME and VT. It's fun to travel unpaved but public roads esp if you have a particular destination in mind.

Brutforce

Brutforce ( a name I use on ESPN) my SAnParis name was not recovered when I departed my job. Thx to all.

Brutforce

ttt for me.

sharondi

From Stonington, you can catch a mailboat to Isle au Haut for a day trip to this beautiful island. We also enjoyed a trip out to Monhegan Island out of Boothbay.

Brutforce

Thx shar, we were looking at Isle au Haut. Would we need reservations, you think ? (For the boat)

sharondi

Brutforce -
It has been a long time since we've been out to Isle au Haut but it was really gorgeous and a great little adventure. I believe it is part of Acadia NP so you might try looking it up that way to see about reservations. (I'd be happy to do it but I have to head to work in the snow!)

I know that there are some very limited camp sites on the island which I always thought would be a lot of fun though now we have access to a wonderful house in Belfast, Maine that we use when headed there (forget camping!) The mailboat that we took over to the island was pretty small but I know I read somewhere that they still take people over the same way. And Stonington is a cute little town with outrageously good ginger ice cream at the little stand right near the dock - sooo good.

Brutforce

Thx. Shar, the little Isle does intrigue.