Hi All,

I will be spending about a week in Maine this summer (Mid July) with my wife and our 5 and 2 year old children. We are looking for advice on a town to stay in. I generally am happy near quaint towns with nice walks, restaurants (nothing fancy necessary due to kids) and am a big beer geek. My wife would like to be surrounded by nature. For this reason we were thinking about trying to find something along the coast within driving distance to Portland. We would like to be somewhere that our children can run around so we are likely to seek out a rental property.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

July is high season so it's a good idea to start looking early. Unfortunately even quaint areas are pretty touristy in mid July.

If you want to be near Portland you might look at Higgins Beach, Pine Point or Cape Elizabeth. Cape Elizabeth is probably the only one where you'll be anything close to "surrounded by nature" as Portland is the major city in Maine and surrounded by the Portland Metro area. You could also look in the Naples/Sebago Lake area which is a 45 min drive from Portland. Nearby you can enjoy the Wildlife Center in Gray.

Further north the Camden/Rockport area has plenty of dining and good beer, with lake rentals within a short drive, or seaside rentals nearby that would be more rocky coast/pebble beach as opposed to the sandy beach areas you'll find south nearer Portland.

The "surrounded by nature" combined with "lots of good beer nearby" is a tough one.

There are 4 brewpubs in the Freeport area. Also in the town is the flagship store of L.L. Bean. Brickyard Brewery and LL Bean are within walking distance of the Freeport Amtrak station if you wanted to take a Downeaster train into town. There are 3 or 4 trains per day coming out of Boston North Station

I dislike the southern coast of Maine due to all the traffic congestion but I did like the Dunes of Ogunquit which felt secluded and offers various types of acommodations including cottages. They might be booked already. We had a small unit with LR and bedroom, lounge chairs outside where there was wonderful grassy areas, pool, etc.
We stayed at two different airb&b's last summer. One near Rockland that was out on a dirt road. Very secluded cottage, no wifi but on the water. The second was just over the line in Brunswick on the river with hosts next door but I don't think either place was safe for young children. When you look at air b&bs and VRBOs, if on the water, take a look at the water access which might be steep stairs. Oakland Seashore cottages and motel in Rockland might be something to check. Again, there was a steep drop in front of our ocean front cottage. Cottages are very basic which we like. There's a large grassy area by the motel but there's enough room by the little cottages for supervised children's play and you would also have some ocean to explore.
We avoid places like Boothbay Harbor that are crowded. We love the Rockland/Rockport area. Our most favorite lobster shack is outdoor picnic tables and great spot on a working harbor - McLoon's Lobster. It's getting more popular but usually we get there when there isn't any line at the cook shack window.
When you visit Portland, be sure to visit either the Eastern Promenade (there's a children's playground in one area) and Fort Williams Park (also see children's play area). I like Fort Williams best for terrific view of Casco Bay. Bring some bag chairs, toys and picnic (great lobster rolls at Bite Into ME food truck that parks there) and let the children play while you enjoy the view.
The Brunswick area would be closer to Portland and next door Harpswells are pretty much overlooked even in summer. Last summer we sat on one of the public conservation area beaches with hardly anyone else around. You can download their list and map of conservation areas. Brunswick is a great college town with a wonderful farmers market on a beautiful shady park.
I don't think you'll have any trouble finding beer in Maine. There are lots of micro and nano breweries in Maine, NH and VT.

When our kids were that age (26 years ago), we stayed in North Edgecomb, across from Wiscasset,
Most of the time we would end up at either Reid State Park, Popham Beach and Morse Mountain. All of those are near Bath.

In Freeport, Wolf Neck Woods isa nice to walk, explore and picnic.

Beer places in Freeport: Gritty McDuff's Brew Pub and Maine Beer Company.

July is going to be busy, especially the causeway between Edgecomb and Wiscasset.

Higgins Beach, is my fav one... beauitful

Hello WorminRome,
I'll suggest York, Maine. 45 minute south of Portland. There are 4 beaches, and Short Sands has a large playground at the beach, Funorama for games and such, Yorks Wild Kingdom and Amusement Park is right there (though I'm not a fan of it), and a new brewery right in York Beach. York also has a mountain, Mt. Agamenticus (about 800') with 360 views from the White Mountains to the ocean. Easy hiking IMO. (You can drive up if you feel the need, but honestly it's pretty easy) So when you need to be surrounded by nature, you can go up there.
York is also about a 10 minute drive from Ogunquit, or "beautiful place by the sea". Walk the gorgeous Marginal Way.
To the south, is Portsmouth about 10 minutes for historic Strawbery Banke and such.

BTW...breweries are everywhere these days.

The bad news: July is peak season in Maine. There will be thick traffic from south to north, especially on weekends (which starts Thursday). And all of the places I mentioned will be full of vacationers. Same with north of Portland.

All - I definitely appreciate the advice. I think we are going to push our Maine trip to September to avoid the mass influx of tourists. I get the impression that part of what makes Maine so great is the relaxation that comes with the beaches, lakes, coves, towns, etc. and this seems to be lost during the high months. We are going to book a place in Burke VT instead and do a long day trip into Portland to break up the week.

Thank you all!

Why Vermont? New Hampshire is much closer. If you pick one of the towns in NH that has a station for the Downeaster, you would not have to drive to Portland or Freeport.
Just before Memorial Day 2017 my wife and I drove from upstate NY through southern VT and NH and spent the night in York ME. The main objective was to find geocaches in the 6 NE states. After finds in VT and NH we found 1 or 2 in Maine. The next day we found caches in MA, RI and CT. We also took the self guided tour of the US submarine museum in New London CT. I took the time to walk through the Nautilus.
We spent the next night in western CT. From there we went to Wellsboro PA for my 50th HS reunion.

There is noticeably less traffic and congestion once you get north of Portland except for places like Boothbay Harbor. There is hardly any traffic at all in the Harpswells area east of Brunswick. Don't try to go to Red's Eats in Wiscasset because it's a tiny place and always has a long line. Whereas McLoons which is becoming more and more popular is still a place where if you go at a slightly off time, there's no line at the cook shack window to order and the view is wonderful. Downtown Camden is another crowded area much of the time but if you drive up Mt Battie for the view overlooking the harbor, it probably isn't crowded unless you hit the late spring day like we did when the model T club was there.

South of Portland is still going to be busy on September weekend and even early October. Expect crowds when they do the pre Christmas activities. It's less crowded than July but still very busy. This area is only an hour or 2 from Boston so popular for weekenders.

Burke to Portland is a 3.5 hr drive one way, and it is a too nice of a drive not to stop and explore.
As suggested, somewhere in NH would be better, North Conway, Jackson or Lincoln.

I haven't read all the replies, but with kids your kids ages a long day trip from Burke to Portland would be tough. Maybe a day trip to Burlington instead?

Regarding southern Maine traffic, etc. Yes, it is pretty bad but it depends on your perspective. If you're planning to rent a house and just drive locally it shouldn't be a problem; getting up and down 95 on the weekends just takes longer. And September is not off season anymore. Especially in Portland and Bar Harbor, the cruise ships are here everyday. Another thought: beer and nature are not mutually exclusive. Yes, Portland is packed with wonderful breweries, but almost anywhere in Maine you're not far from one. Last summer we discovered Waterman's Beach Brewery in South Thomaston. Right on a secluded beach, beautiful! There are nice beaches for little ones in Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth, and these are more residential towns than York, Ogunquit, etc. But definitely look for a rental early!