I am planning an 11 day trip through New England in early summer. I keep reading how everything is very crowded on weekends in the summer. We will be in Boston the last weekend in May and along the Maine coast and Acadia NP the first weekend in June. In between we will be seeing portions of RI, Ct, Vt and NH.

Is this considered "summer" in New England? Should we try and schedule these portions of the trip for weekdays to avoid crowds? (this would entail taking more vacation days.) I have checked the Boston area colleges and we should miss the major graduations while we are there.

Thanks

No, you'll be ahead of the summer crowds. Bring a jacket.

This is a nice time to visit although there may still be some black flies in the woods in early June in the north. We have enjoyed Maine in mid-June. Some areas of NH and ME have festivals when the lupines are blooming. You might find Boothbay Harbor very busy on the weekend but not mid-week. Just avoid being on Rt 95 on a late Friday afternoon since a lot of people will be doing weekends in Maine plus the regular commuters. You might find that it's a little before the tourist season starts so don't be surprised to see "gone fishing" sign in a shop window. Motorcycle week/weekend is around Father's Day in NH but I think there's a NASCAR race the first week of June in the Concord NH area (check there schedule). This will cause traffic congestion southbound on Rt 93 when everyone is going home on Sunday. I find northbound traffic on Rt 93/89 is always heavy late Friday afternoons and early evenings due to regular commuters and people going away for the weekend. Keep in mind that most places in New England are popular for weekend trips most of the year. In summer, people head to the lakes. In winter they head to ski areas. We vacationed in the Bar Harbor area one early June weekend before school got out. It wasn't busy at all and I don't remember any problem with blackflies. Our son bicycled up Cadillac while DH and I enjoyed visiting a garden. Keep in mind that the Rt 495 and 95 areas around Boston and all major routes in southern NH have heavy traffic every day during commuting hours.

I'd call it late spring, not early summer I guess. I don't think you need to worry about avoiding crowds in the places you mentioned. Especially Vermont and New Hampshire, accept for fall foliage, or maybe a particularly popular lake mid-summer, it's rarely crowded by tourists in those two states.

As others have said, weather can be a tossup at that time of year -- anything from cool and rainy, to hot and humid (and it will likely vary quite a bit between, say, Maine and CT as well). Bring layers (and at least one waterproof/windproof jacket) and you'll be fine.

As for the crowds, if you've already confirmed there are no college graduations around that time in Boston/Providence, then the only other thing to plan for is Memorial Day weekend. You'll definitely want to book accommodations well in advance, and also be prepared for especially slow going on the highways around that weekend (i.e. routes 93 or 95 between Boston and VT/NH/ME as the previous poster mentioned, or anything to/from Cape Cod).

The "season" in Maine does not really get started until the beginning of July so you won't have to worry about crowds there. For a milder NE coastal experience you might consider Cape Cod in early June. The roads are not clogged at that time of year and the weather is a bit warmer than you will find in Maine.

I thought Harvard & MIT's commencements are both held during the first week of June, no?

Note that the original post is from January. Not sure why yellowbyrd topped it. The OP plans to be in Maine in June.

Excuse me. Just had a suggestion. Sorry if I confused you anonymous.