Advice on Maine itinerary 12-13 days
 

Hello,

A couple of us are doing a road trip to coastal Maine from Philadelphia area in early October. Our main interests are scenery, picturesque towns, hitting a couple of great used book stores, and seeing just a few interesting shops in nice towns. Don't plan on hanging out on the beach or water for the day but would like easy, scenic hikes and drives. Crossing our fingers that we'll catch the fall foliage, which is at the top of our list. We have about 12-13 days, not including the day of driving to get there. I did a little bit of research and have come up with a draft of an itinerary.

Arrive in Kennebunk - stay 2 nights and have a full day in the area
Portland area - 2 nights
Camden area - 3 nights
Bar Harbor/ Acadia - 5 nights

Not sure if I need more time in Bar Harbor/Acadia or if we should head to Lubec. If so, how long in Lubec - 1 night? Is a visit to Campobello in Canada highly recommended? I guess one of our debates is whether to add Lubec or do something else. Are there any suggestions for seeing great scenery in inland Maine instead of Lubec? Also need advice on what to see as we travel back to the Philadelphia area. I know many people stop in Bangor. Any other suggestions for itinerary are welcome. We plan to hit the Big Chicken Barn to check out the used books there (we like rare finds, classic lit, sci-fi, folklore and are less interested in looking for contemporary fiction at this time).

Thanks in advance.

If you want to see fall foliage, on day one head for Bennington, VT. Then head east through New Hampshire for a couple of nights in Kennebunkport and on to Bar Harbor.

The Chicken Barn is a great place. Don't forget to admire the structure. It's well built. We also like the used bookstore in Wells. It's right on Rt 1, west side. Probably Harding's Books.

Answering the easiest first, from the Bar Harbor area you could aim for NH's White Mountains although by the end of your trip foliage will be past peak. Be aware that if you take the direct route to the northern area, it's going to be scenic but remote. (i.e. figure out where to have lunch because restaurants are few and far between). Two summers ago we did that route (goes past Sunday River Ski Area in Maine) and then connected with I93 south to home. But, if you aim for Conway NH and go south on Rt 16 then head for Tamworth and Center Sandwich, it's nice scenery and not so remote. There's a new distillery in Tamworth, the Remick Museum and even Squam Lake. But you can drop down to Moultonborough and head west to Meredith which is a pretty little town on Lake Winnipesaukee. Then connect with I93 to Concord NH.

From downtown Concord, go west on Pleasant St heading toward the hospital. Keep driving thru Hopkinton and Contoocook. You can make a slight detour up to Gould Hill Farm if you are interested in heirloom apples and/or hard cider. (they are making their own) Nice view from there, too. In downtown Contoocook, take a left at the fountain to take Rt 127 west. You'll cross over a flood control dam and connect with Rt 202. Continue west. There's the Old Book Farm in Henniker (very small but neat and clean) and the Book Depot (get directions, it's a huge barn) both not far off the hwy. Return to Rt 202 and head for Keene NH. Nice college town and some good restaurants. Toadstool bookstore has a small number of used books and it's a part of a 3 store local chain. Continue west to I90. From there you can go south thru western MA. There's a couple of used bookstores in western MA but I'm not very familiar with them. Your choice about how to continue. We would continue south toward Hartford CT and pickup I84 cross over the Tappanzee bridge and continue south. You also have the option of going thru southern VT to Albany NY and then south.

I would aim to be heading home by 10/15 because weather in late October is usually rainy. There's usually some rain near the end of peak foliage that makes most of the leaves drop and we realize good weather if over. I don't think Maine lodging and traffic will be as crowded except for southern Maine. You should have reservations for Kennebunk made soon if not already if you arrive on a weekend. It's still big weekend getaway time.

My husband and I have also been thinking we might spend some time in Maine in early October. I am not sure what dates you are thinking of but agree with dfrost that visiting before October 15 makes sense as does going through some of VT/NH to catch foliage there. Western MA could also have some nice late foliage.

I found this website with lots of info on fall foliage in Maine. The dates are later than peak foliage in NH/VT
MaineFoliage.com - Maine's Official Fall Foliage Website

Campobello is on our list of to-see places but I don't think October is a great time to visit. The visitor Center and Roosevelt cottage in the park close Columbus Day. This would obviously add a lot of driving on to your trip

dfrostnh - your post intrigues me. Now wondering if we should mix things up and add the White Mountains to our trip, although I know nothing about the area. We plan on driving home no later than Oct 13, so if we do hit White Mountains it would be between Oct 10-13. I need to do more research, but does the itinerary below seem too rushed?

Kennebunk - 2 nights, one day
Portland - 2 nights
Camden - 2 or 3 nights?
Bar Harbor/Acadia - 4 or 5 nights?
White Mountains - 2 or 3 nights?

What do you think? We want a variety, with good mix of scenery and strolling around town stuff.

Vttraveller - thanks so much for the info in your post.
emalloy - So if we drive through Bennington on day 1, that is about 4.5 hours from where we are starting and then another 3.5 to Kennebunk, adding at least 1.5 hours to our drive over taking a more direct route from Philadelphia area to Kennebunk. Are you saying that the drive from Bennington to Kennebunk is very scenic? Just trying to gauge if we should consider this longer drive.

Thanks to all.

nimadder, From Bennington you will b going through the Green Mountains of Vermont and the foliage should be lovely.

EMalloy makes a good suggestion. Bennington VT to Brattleboro VT/Keene NH takes you over Hogback Mountain. Lots of switchbacks.
Yes, Oct 10-13 is too late for good color in the White Mountains. Foliage tends to peak around Columbus Day in the Concord NH area. I would put the mountains at the beginning of your trip and head to Bar Harbor from there. The Maine coast is a warmer zone than NH so color should last longer but the rule of thumb is to start north and head south. I95 in Maine is very boring. You would miss most of it if you go from the White Mountains to Bar Harbor via Rt 2. Rt 2 is very rural but follows the historic Androscoggin River for a ways. Gorham NH to Bar Harbor is almost 4 hours so you have to figure out whether you have time to stop in Bangor or do it later. You're going to be doing a lot of driving and since I'm not a big fan of the White Mountains I'd only figure 1 or 2 nights. The other thing to think about is by heading north to the mountains they are going to get bigger and bigger as you drive along. If you go from Maine to Conway and then south on I93, the best view is behind you. Well, not exactly but I hope you understand what I mean. If you drive north on North Conway's Main Street you are driving toward the view of Mt. Washington but it's behind you as you drive south.

Color should be decent on the coast for second week of October.

I have never gone straight I95 but then we live between VT and the coast so the Bennington route has been one of our choices as well as going north from Hartford CT to I91 up to Brattleboro VT and then east into NH. That was also our son's preferred route when he came north from NC. You'll have to dodge commuting traffic if you go I95 and you also don't want to be going north on I95 on a Friday during foliage season (or north on I93) when the weekenders are heading north, too.

Thanks for all of this advice. I did brief research on the White Mountains. I think I'm more in the mood for Vermont rather than a stop in White Mountains. I like the idea of driving through Bennington -- that would get us there on Sept 29th. Do you have input whether it is worth a one night stay in the area near Bennington or a small town like Dorset to have more time to do scenic drives with fall foliage and see unique small towns in the area? Or will we see enough by driving through and getting to Kennebunk on day 1?

VT - ?1 night
Kennebunk - 2 nights
Portland - 2
Camden - 3 (not only Camden but surrounding towns)
Bar Harbor - 5 (knowing that one day will likely be spent in the big bookstore in Ellsworth)
Last day or 2 - keep flexible to get from Bar Harbor back home -- maybe go through Concord or Worcester and spend a night if we want to visit one of the bookstores in the area.

I've never done an overnight in Bennington and really haven't spent much time there. DH likes to stop at Hemmings Motor News. Brattleboro on the eastern end of the road is a little gritty with a great farmers market but I haven't explored the town. We've been debating a southern VT trip because we tend to visit much farther north.

Most people recommend Woodstock which is further north on I91 but I prefer Norwich because of their farmers market and King Arthur Flour. It's a nice little town that is more Vermont and less New Yorker than Woodstock. But, Simon Pierce in Quechee and the gorge that's also nearby might entice you. Fascinating building and glass blowing as well as a great restaurant.

An option to see VT might be to go from Bennington north to Brandon (artsy pretty town) to Middlebury (college town) to Bristol (go east out of town to see the falls but you will probably have to park by the side of the road and walk a very short ways. This is a popular swimming hole in summer. Then to Warren and a late lunch (LOL) at the Warren Country Store. Make sure to sit on the deck and then walk out back to see the small gorge. The route up the west side of VT is thru farming country so you'll see green farmland with a backdrop of foliage. Then south to overnight at Norwich Inn or somewhere between Norwich and tourist popular Woodstock. From there you can go I89 to Concord and then east to the seacoast. The interstate is actually scenic. Take I393 to Rt 4 to the coast. Google will recommend Rt 101 which is a boring limited access highway. Rt 4 goes thru Northwood NH's Antique Alley and eventually Rt 16 and the bridges over Great Bay. Then lots of traffic and the big traffic circle that gives you access to I95. You could go route 1 to Kennebunk but it might be slow. You probably should stay on I95 over the bridge to Maine and then get over to Rt 1 but not right away since you would have to go thru Kittery ME outlet mess.

Total driving time non-stop from Bennington with the long loop thru VT to Kennebunk is 6 1/2 hours so you could make it in a long day or you could cut out any section including sticking with the original plan to go Bennington to Brattleboro to Keene. From Keene if you take Rt 101 thru NH's quiet southwest corner you'll go thru Dublin (home of Yankee Magazine) and might want to stop in Peterborough, a cute town with a great independent bookstore (some used books as well as new). Then you'll get too close to Nashua and would be tempted to continue Rt 101 to the coast but you can also do a diagonal route to Concord which will be mostly small towns.

Good luck choosing.

dfrostnh , I just want to thank you for your time and thoughtful advice. We have decided to spend one night in southern Vermont and to drive a couple of the scenic bypasses in that area, maybe a part of the Shires, lower part of route 100 byway, and then the Molly Stark. We'll hit a bookstore in NH the next day and then head to Kennebunk. Thanks again.

nomadder--it looks from your references to the Shires, the Molly Stark, etc. that you have been consulting tourist information on Vermont's "scenic byways."
https://www.vermontvacation.com/byways

You might want to consider stopping at the Scott Farm in Dummerston, VT north of Brattleboro. It is a beautiful orchard with lots of heirloom apples
https://scottfarmvermont.com/
Apple picking is a classic New England fall pastime.