Maine

We’ve compiled the best of the best in Maine - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

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  • 1. Abbe Museum

    This important museum dedicated to Maine's Indigenous tribes—collectively known as the Wabanaki—is the state's only Smithsonian-affiliated facility and one of the few places in Maine to experience Native culture as interpreted by Native peoples themselves. Spanning 12,000 years, the "core" exhibit, People of the First Light, features items such as birch bark canoes, basketry, and bone tools as well as photos and interactive displays. Changing exhibits often showcase contemporary Native American art. A birchbark canoe made at the Abbe anchors the free Orientation Gallery beside the gift shop at the entrance. Check the website for events, from basket weaving and boatbuilding demonstrations to author talks and family-friendly pop-up rainy days activities. Opened in 1928, the Abbe's Acadia National Park location at Sieur de Monts is its original home. Longtime exhibits in the small eight-sided building include artifacts from early digs on Mount Desert Island and dioramas of Native American life here before European settlement.

    26 Mount Desert St., Maine, 04609, USA
    207-288–3519

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $10, Closed Nov.–early May; Fri. and Sat. mid-May–Oct.
  • 2. Abbe Museum

    Museum/Gallery

    This important museum dedicated to Maine's indigenous tribes—collectively known as the Wabanaki—is the state's only Smithsonian-affiliated facility and one of the few places in Maine to experience Native culture as interpreted by Native peoples themselves. The year-round archaeology exhibit displays spear points, bone tools, and other artifacts found around Mount Desert Island and exhibits often feature contemporary Native American art, and there are frequent demonstrations of everything from boatbuilding to basket weaving. Call on rainy days for impromptu children's activities. A second location, inside the park at Sieur de Monts Spring, open only during the summer, features artifacts from the earliest digs around the island.

    26 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609, USA
    207-288–3519

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $10
  • 3. Back Cove Trail

    Back Cove

    One of the city's most relaxing outdoor spaces, Back Cove Trail is a 3.6-mile paved loop with gorgeous views of the Cove, harbor, and downtown. It's a favorite route for walking, running, biking, and dog walking. Several benches and seasonal water fountains can be found along the trail.

    Maine, USA
  • 4. Barred Island Preserve

    Famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted once owned Barred Island Preserve. His grandniece, Carolyn Olmsted, donated it to the Nature Conservancy in 1969. The island is accessible only at low tide. The mile-long trail leading to the island offers great views of Penobscot Bay. Pick up a brochure at the Deer Isle–Stonington Chamber of Commerce for a map of the islands you can see from the area. The parking area fills quickly, so arrive early.

    Goose Cove Rd., Deer Isle, Maine, USA

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 5. Bass Harbor Head Light

    Built in 1858, this is one of Maine’s most photographed lighthouses; it's been a part of Acadia National Park since 2020. Now automated, it marks the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay at the island’s southernmost point nearly 2 miles below Bass Harbor village. You can't go inside, but a walkway brings you to a seaside viewing area with placards about its history. The small parking lot typically fills for sunset viewing in high season and parking isn’t allowed on the entrance road or on Route 102A. The free Island Explorer bus doesn’t serve the lighthouse.

    116 Lighthouse Rd., Maine, 04653, USA
    207-288–3338

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: A National Parks pass is required
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  • 6. Baxter State Park

    A gift from Governor Percival Baxter, this is the jewel in the crown of northern Maine: a 210,000-acre wilderness area that surrounds Mt. Katahdin, Maine's highest mountain and the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Every year, the 5,267-foot Katahdin draws thousands of hikers to make the daylong summit, rewarding them with stunning views of forests, mountains, and lakes. There are three parking-lot trailheads for Katahdin. If you're not an expert hiker, skip the hair-raising Knife Edge Trail. Reserve a day-use parking space at the trailheads June 1–October 15. The crowds climbing Katahdin can be formidable on clear summer days and fall weekends, so if it's solitude you crave, head for one of the many other park mountains accessible from the extensive trail network, including 11 peaks exceeding an elevation of 3,000 feet. The Brothers and Doubletop Mountain are challenging daylong hikes; the Owl takes about six hours; and South Turner can be climbed in a morning—its summit has a great view across the valley. A trek around Daicey Pond, or from the pond to Big and Little Niagara Falls, are good options for families with young kids. Another option if you only have a couple of hours is renting a canoe at Daicey or Togue Pond (bring cash for this honor system); many of the park's ponds, including some of the most remote ones, have rental canoes. Roads are unpaved, narrow, winding, and not plowed in winter; there are no pay phones, gas stations, or stores; and cell phone service is unreliable. Dogs are not allowed. Camping is primitive and reservations are required; there are 10 campgrounds plus backcountry sites. The park has a visitor center at its southern entrance, but you can get information and make parking and camping reservations at park headquarters in Millinocket (64 Balsam Drive).

    Baxter State Park Rd., Maine, 04462, USA
    207-723–5140

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $16 per vehicle; Maine residents free, Mt. Katahdin trails are closed and park access is limited in Nov. and Apr.–mid-May
  • 7. Bowdoin College Museum of Art

    This small museum housed in a stately building on Bowdoin's main quad features one of the oldest permanent collections of art in the United States. The more than 20,000 objects include paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and works on paper. They range from Ancient, European, Asian, and Indigenous works to modern and contemporary art. The museum often mounts well-curated, rotating exhibitions and has programs for getting children excited about art.

    245 Maine St., Brunswick, Maine, 04011, USA
    207-725–3275

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon.
  • 8. Cadillac Mountain

    One of Acadia’s premier attractions, 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain is the Eastern Seaboard's tallest mountain. Stunning panoramic views sweep across bays, islands, and mountains on and off Mount Desert Island. You can see Bar Harbor below on the northeast side and Eagle Lake to the west. Low-lying vegetation like pitch pine and wild blueberry plants accent granite slabs in the "subalpine-like" environment. There’s a paved summit loop trail and several hiking trails up Cadillac, named for a Frenchman who explored here in the late 1600s and later founded Detroit. From mid-May–mid-October, a vehicle reservation (done through  www.recreation.gov) is needed to drive to the summit. Sunrise slots are in high demand, as this is one of the first places in the country to see first light, not to mention the perfect spot to watch the sunset or stargaze in the spring and fall—Bar Harbor’s light ordinance helps with that. 

    Cadillac Summit Rd., Maine, 04660, USA
    207-288–3338

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $6 per car in addition to park entrance fee (via www.recreation.gov), Access road closes at 10 pm in season and Dec.--mid-Apr.
  • 9. Castine Historical Society

    This local museum digs into Castine's rich history with exhibitions and live reenactments that showcase important artifacts and ephemera from the past. It's newest exhibit features the work of world-renowned sculptor and Castine resident, Clark Fitz-Gerald. In addition, the society offers guided walking tours of the town on most Mondays during the summer. It's also a good place to get your bearings, find out what's going on in town, and maybe pick up a self-guided walking tour booklet.  

    13 and 17 School St., Castine, Maine, 04421, USA
    207-326–4118

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues.–Thurs. in fall and mid-Oct.–early June
  • 10. Cellardoor Winery

    The beautiful 5-mile drive on Route 52 from downtown Camden alongside Megunticook Lake to Cellardoor Winery is itself a good reason to visit, but the winery is fun, too. To discover which wine is your favorite, sip a glass ($12) or a flight of four ($15) in the magnificent barn or on the porch with views to Levenseller Mountain. Reservations for self-guided tastings are not required but are prioritized; reservations for hosted tastings ($20) are required. Buy a bottle of wine, or choose some wine glasses or other accouterments from the shop. A cheese board and other nibbles are also available.

    367 Youngtown Rd., Maine, 04849, USA
    207-763--4478

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed.
  • 11. Center for Maine Contemporary Art

    The impressive Center for Maine Contemporary Art sprang from a 50-year legacy that originated in makeshift exhibitions in barns and a potato-barrel storage loft before settling into a small, antique fire house in Rockport. Since 2016, this striking, light-filled building designed by Toshiko Mori has allowed the museum to showcase modern works by accomplished artists with a Maine connection in a space that befits the quality of the art. Expect envelope-pushing, changing exhibitions and public programs. Visitors are invited to drop into the museum's ArtLab to gain greater insight into current exhibitions by trying their own hand at making art inspired by the works on display. ArtLab is open weekends in summer; daily the rest of the year.

    21 Winter St., Maine, 04841, USA
    207-701–5005

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $8
  • 12. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

    Reserve your admission tickets in advance online (required), and set aside a couple of hours to explore New England's largest botanical garden, where, depending on the time of year, you can stroll amid the lupines, rhododendrons, or roses. Regardless of the season, you'll encounter the site's biggest (literally and figuratively) draws: the five gigantic and utterly irresistible trolls constructed by Danish artist Thomas Danbo using scrap wood and other found materials that are placed in wooded areas throughout the 323-acre grounds. The children's garden is a wonderland of stone sculptures, rope bridges, small teahouse-like structures with grass roofs, and even a hedge maze. Children and adults alike adore the separate woodland fairy area. The Garden of the Five Senses lets you experience flora through much more than just sight. Inside the main building are a café, grab-and-go market, shop, and resource library. During the holiday season, the gardens mount a dazzling, nighttime Gardens Aglow show, with 650,000 LED bulbs lighting up the darkness. Comfortable walking shoes are a must, but, if you'd prefer not to walk everywhere, there's free shuttle service to several key locales. In addition, free, hour-long, docent-led tours of the central gardens leave from the visitor center at 11 each day from May through October. There's also a one-hour golf cart tour ($10; free on Wednesday).

    132 Botanical Gardens Dr., Boothbay, Maine, 04537, USA
    207-633–8000

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $22, Closed late Oct.–May 1, except for holiday season Gardens Aglow extravaganza, Reservations required
  • 13. Cutler Coast Public Land

    Views from this 12,234-acre state preserve above Cutler Harbor are likely to take your breath away, including 4½ miles of undeveloped Bold Coast between Cutler and Lubec. Here a wall of steep cliffs—some 150 feet tall—juts below ledges partially forested with spruce and fir; look for whales, seals, and porpoises while taking in views of cliff-ringed Grand Manan Island and the Bay of Fundy. One of the East Coast's premier hiking destinations, the preserve's nearly 10 miles of interconnected trails offer hikes of about 3–10 miles, including loops. From the parking lot, the Coastal Trail runs 1.4 miles through woods to an ocean promontory, then follows the glorious Bold Coast for 3.4 miles. Revealing the area’s unusual terrain inland from the coast, the 4½-mile Inland Trail passes by raised peat bogs, salt marshes, and swamps, and traverses meadows and forest. There are several primitive campsites.

    Rte. 191, Cutler, Maine, 04626, USA
  • 14. Dock Square

    Restaurants, art galleries, clothing boutiques, and other shops—both trendy and touristy—line this bustling square and nearby streets and alleys. Walk onto the drawbridge to admire the tidal Kennebunk River; cross to the other side and you are in the Lower Village of neighboring Kennebunk.

    Dock Sq., Kennebunkport, Maine, 04046, USA
  • 15. Farnsworth Art Museum

    One of the most highly regarded small museums in the country, the Farnsworth's collection is largely devoted to works by three generations of the famous Wyeth family, who have spent summers on the Maine Coast for a century. N.C. Wyeth was an accomplished illustrator whose works were featured in many turn-of-the-20th-century adventure books; his son Andrew was one of the country's best-known and -loved painters; and Andrew's son Jamie is an accomplished painter in his own right. Galleries in the main building always display some of Andrew Wyeth's works, such as The Patriot, Witchcraft, and Turkey Pond. Across the street, the Wyeth Center, in a former church, exhibits art by Andrew's father and son. The museum's collection also includes works by such lauded, Maine-connected artists as Fitz Henry Lane, George Bellows, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Louise Nevelson, and Rockwell Kent. Changing exhibits are shown in the Jamien Morehouse Wing. Just across the garden from the museum, the Farnsworth Homestead, the handsome, circa-1850 Greek Revival home of the museum's original benefactor, retains its original lavish Victorian furnishings and is open late June–mid-October. In Cushing, a village on the St. George River about 10 miles south of Thomaston (a half-hour drive from Rockland), the museum operates the Olson House. The large, weathered-shingle structure was the home of Christina Olson and her brother, Alvarez, who were good friends of Andrew Wyeth. He depicted them and their home in numerous works, including his famous painting Christina's World. It is open spring through fall.

    16 Museum St., Maine, 04841, USA
    207-596–6457

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $15, Closed Tues. Nov.--Dec.; closed Mon. and Tues. Jan.--May; Wyeth Center closed Jan.--May
  • 16. Goose Rocks Beach

    Three-mile-long Goose Rocks, a 10-minute drive north of Kennebunkport, has a good long stretch of smooth sand and plenty of shallow pools for exploring. It's a favorite of families with small children. Pick up a $25 daily parking permit at one of two kiosks along the beach: one outside of Goose Rocks Beach General Store at 3 Dyke Road and the other at the Proctor Avenue beach path. Dogs are allowed (on a leash), but only before 9 and after 5 during the summer season. There is one porta potty behind the General Store, but otherwise no facilities are available at the beach. Amenities: parking (fee). Best for: walking; swimming.

    Dyke Rd., Kennebunkport, Maine, 04046, USA
  • 17. Height of Land

    Height of Land is the highlight of Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway, with unforgettable views of mountains and lakes. One of Maine's best overlooks, it hugs Route 17 atop Spruce Mountain several miles south of Rangeley's Oquossoc village. On a clear day, you can look west to mountains on the New Hampshire border. There's off-road parking, interpretive panels, stone seating, and a short path to the Appalachian Trail. Rangeley Lake unfolds at a nearby overlook on the opposite side of the road.

    Rte. 17, Maine, 04970, USA
  • 18. Jasper Beach

    Sea-polished stones fascinate with glistening tones—many reddish but also heather, bluish, and creamy white—at this mesmerizing rock beach; removing stones from the beach is illegal. Banked in unusual geologic fashion, you must walk up and over a rock dune to get to the beach. When you do, you know you have arrived at a special place. Stones graduate from gravel at the shore to palm-size further back. Reddish volcanic rhyolite stones were mistaken for jasper, hence the name. Stretching a half mile across the end the rectangular-ish Howard Cove, bedrock at both ends deems this a pocket beach, but it's not your typical small one. A saltmarsh and fresh and saltwater lagoons intrigue visitors, and there are sea caves in the bedrock (be careful if you tread that way—the rocks are slippery). Tucked between the hamlets of Bucks Harbor and Starboard, Jasper Beach has long been a place of respite for folks in these parts. Amenities: parking (free). Best for: walking; solitude.

    Jasper Beach, Machiasport, Maine, USA
  • 19. Jordan Pond

    Soak up the mountain scenery, listen for the call of loons, and watch for cliff-nesting peregrine falcons along the 3.3-mile trail around this 187-acre tarn—a mountain lake formed by retreating glaciers—on Park Loop Road’s two-way portion. Several carriage roads converge here, one marked by a fanciful gatehouse, one of two on the road network. Visitors kayak and canoe on the deep water (no swimming) and gaze down on Great Pond after hiking up nearby mountains. A popular choice is The Bubbles, with twin peaks whose distinct shape makes up for what they lack in size. They rise across the water from Jordan Pond House Restaurant, where folks come for popovers served with strawberry jam and tea, hoping for a table on the expansive lawn—a tradition started in the 1890s in the original Jordan Pond House, which burned in 1979. The rebuild has a two-story gift shop and, on the upper level, an observation deck and Carriage Road Carry Out, with to-go items like sandwiches and salads—or try the popover sundae. Parking lots here fill fast in high season; consider biking or taking the free Island Explorer bus.

    2928 Park Loop Rd. Seal Harbor, Maine, 04675, USA
    207-288–3338
  • 20. L.L. Bean

    Founded in 1912 after its namesake invented the iconic hunting boot, L.L. Bean began as a mail-order merchandiser with a creaky old retail store. Today, the giant flagship store attracts more than 3 million visitors annually. Open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, it is the anchor in the heart of Freeport's outlet-shopping district. You can still find the original hunting boots, along with cotton and wool sweaters; outerwear of all kinds; casual clothing, boots, and shoes for men, women, and kids; and camping equipment. Nearby are the company's home furnishings store and its bike, boat, and ski store. Don't miss the chance to snap a photo with the 16½-foot-tall statue of its signature rubber boot outside the main entrance, or visit its discount outlet, across the street in the Freeport Village Station mall.

    95 Main St., Freeport, Maine, 04032, USA
    877-755–2326

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