I'm in the research stage of planning a trip to Maine. I was wondering if it gets really crowded in the summer months and what would be the best month to visit there. Thanks.

Summer months are the busiest, because well lets face it, winters in Maine are LONG. That said, you will still enjoy it immensly. I would avoid Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day weekends if possible. This is the time EVERYONE comes at the 2 hrs it takes to get through toll booths can put a damper on your trip. That said, any other time is just great. If your worried about traffic, avoid driving long distances from 11-1 when people are traveling for lunch. A favorite place of ours is Boothbay Harbor, but there are so many great towns. Enjoy.

My family used to go to this quaint little town on the coast every July 4th, Camden. It's a great little town with fishing boats and Windjammers.

God the memories just came rushing back.

Maine is wonderful in the summer and a great time to visit. Southern Maine roads along the coast can be very conjested in July and August (York to Kennebunk area on route 1). It's still fun, but you must be a patient driver, preferably someone from a large city who is used to traffic and conjestion. Central and northern Maine is a little easier. If you want to be alone on the beach, then you need to go in Spring or Fall, but some hotels and restaurants may be closed very early or lake in the seasons. Foliage in the fall is beautiful! Maine also has several lake regions that are very nice and not as conjested as the coast. When to go...it depends one what type of vacation you want.

The coast of Maine is one of my favorite places to visit. My wife and I honeymooned there and have returned several times over the years. Each time we've gone it's been the end of August. It will certainly be more crowded in the summer, but if you time things right, you should be okay. (i.e. try to get to the town you're staying in on a weekday and try not to leave Sunday afternoon with the rest of the crowds.)

In terms of towns to consider, I would second the recommendation of Camden, though I haven't been there since 1991.

I would also consider Boothbay Harbor and Kennebunkport -- both have a very nice selection of shops and restaurants, as well as multiple purveyors of inexpensive lobster. If you go to Boothbay, among the activities I'd recommend are a day trip to Monhegan Island and the Cabbage Island clambake (be sure to make advance reservations). We enjoyed our stay at the Spruce Point Inn -- just up the road from the center of town with a great sunsets.

Kennebunkport has one of the top Inns and restaurants -- The White Barn Inn. We didn't stay there, but did have an anniversary dinner there one night. While it was expensive (and I had to borrow a jacket), the meal and service were among the best I've ever had. And Nunan's Lobster Hut in nearby Cape Porpoise is a place I'd go back to. There are also plenty of activities such as sunset sails and whale watch cruise (and, yes, we did actually see whales).

While it's not a "town," the city of Portland is very quaint and also has great restaurants and shopping in the historic Port area. If you're going to be nearby and need to do some shopping, the outlets in Freeport are worth a stop. I personally wouldn't go too far out of my way for them, though.

Lastly, Acadia National Park is a great location (we stayed in Bar Harbor but didn't have time to explore the town since we spent all our time in the Park.

We stayed in the Damariscotta area which made it easy to explore south to Brunswick and Bath, and north to Camden etc. This section wasn't crowded at all in August. Just time yourself to avoid the popular places at the busiest times. Go extra early for lunch in Camden for example. In August, the weather is great, fresh wild blueberries are sold by the side of the road, and there are a lot of events going on. We enjoyed attending the Scottish Highland Games in Brunswick. I remember one day when it was very crowded in Boothbay Harbor. We still had a pleasant lunch and walked around. We drove further out and found a beach that was almost empty. Restaurants will be crowded at supper time unless you are staying in an out of the way area. We are going in June this year which means that there might be less things open, such as daytime cruises, and it will probably be too cool for swimming which we don't really do. Gardens are usually at their peak in June however.