Exploring Maine

The University of Maine Museum of Art has a permanent collection with more than 3,800 artworks from the 20th century. There are also traveling exhibits and workshops. The museum provides classroom resources and visits to schools in Bangor.

The Hudson Museum also a part of the University of Maine has found its home in the Collins Center of the Arts. It offers a large collection of historical artifacts and items from different cultures around the world. The permanent exhibits include over 2,000 pre-Columbian ceramics, Northwest Coast art, 900 objects from the Maine Indians, and ceramics from other Native American cultures.

Acadia National Park is a rugged wilderness just off the coast of Maine. The park consists of Mount Desert Island and several smaller islands. It is the oldest national park east of the Mississippi River.

Acadia is home to Isle au Haut, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, the Schoodic Peninsula, and Cadillac Mountain the tallest peak along the eastern seaboard. Visitors can enjoy a variety of activities like hiking, biking, boating, fishing, picnicking, camping, or horseback riding. In the wintertime, there is skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing.

Mount Desert Island is known locally as MDI. The island is home to 10,000 people. Tourists flock here in the summertime. The highest point on the island is Cadillac Mountain. You can hike, camp, shop, or visit local attractions.

Jordan Pond is a lovely body of water inside Acadia and was formed by a glacier. It has clear and clean water. No swimming is allowed but visitors can go on the water in kayaks, canoes, or other small watercraft. The pond is surrounded by rolling hills and open fields. You can hike around the pond and go biking on the trails.

The only full-service restaurant in Acadia is the Jordan Pond House.

Mount Hope is the second oldest garden cemetery in the U.S. located in Bangor, Maine. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dating from 1836 the cemetery covers 300 partially-wooded acres that overlook the Penobscot River. The landscaped grounds include trees, shrubs, flowers, and monuments. Paved roads make it easy to walk about or drive.

There are many tales of the legendary folk hero Paul Bunyan all across America. Everyone knows he’s a towering lumberjack with a large axe and has a blue ox named Babe. He cleared huge amounts of forest to make way for settlements and farms. The city of Bangor has put claim to him as their own and shows it by this statue which is the tallest ever. The fiberglass-over-metal statue stands at 31 feet and weighs 3700 pounds. It stands in Bass Park in front of the Bangor Civic Center.

The Penobscot River Walkway is a paved, half-mile stretch along the Penobscot River. The trail can be used for walking, biking, in-line skating, and fishing. It is part of the Waterfront Park with picnic tables, boat slips, and restrooms. All year long different events are held in the park like open-air concerts in the summertime.

A sight to see is the Stephen King House. You cannot go in because it is the famous horror author’s house but you have to see the iron gates decorated with spiders, bat-winged creatures, and a three-headed reptile. All of it to get your imagination dancing and perhaps if you are imaginative enough you might think that at any moment the scary clown from IT might come to open the gates for you.

Kennebunkport is a little coastal town which is very popular in the summertime. You can see stately homes of former ship captains some of which have been restored and become bed-and-breakfasts.

There are restored dockside buildings around Dock Square that are filled with galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. Parsons Way a scenic path begins at the square and goes along the shore to Walker’s Point.

Among the highlights are the Brick Store Museum and the Wedding Cake House.

In Kennebunkport, you’ll also find the summer home of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush. The Bush Compound is located on Walker’s Point and is home to a city park known as Damon Park. It has been a family retreat for over a century.

Two miles east of Dock Square you’ll find the still active fishing village of Cape Porpoise with shops, galleries, and working lobster boats. The highlights include the Seashore Trolley Museum.

Once a shipping port, Boothbay Harbor is now a summer resort. It is the largest boating harbor north of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the home port to working lobster boats and cruise vessels. From here visitors can choose to go deep-sea fishing, take river and ocean cruises, go whale watching, or join a local lobsterman hauling traps.

The downtown area has seafood restaurants, antique shops, and art galleries that host over 200 artists and craftspeople who live and summer in the area. It has been a haven for artists since the early 1800s.

Take a look at the Opera House and the Carousel Music Theater as well as the Maine State Aquarium and the Boothbay Railway Village.

Coastal Main Botanical Gardens in Boothbay is a lovely 270-acre garden with paths winding through themed gardens with native and exotic plants. The kitchen garden and a garden for the five senses offer plants with heady fragrances, flavors, and textures.

Children of all ages enjoy the children’s garden with a woodland village of fairy houses. Walking trails lead to the shore. There are daily tours.

A large collection of original sculptures by regional artists highlight the gardens and art exhibitions are held in the visitor center.

Monhegan is a small island ten miles off the coast of Maine. It has a long history of being an artists’ colony. The island has no paved roads or cars. All of the 75 year-round residents are in the fishing and lobstering business. Monhegan has rugged granite cliffs which are the highest ocean cliffs in Maine. Along with the artists who create artwork here there are many studios and galleries.

Old Orchard Beach is an old-fashioned beach resort. It has a pier and thrill rides. The full-scale amusement park on the beach is the only remaining one in New England. At Palace Playland you can expect all the usual rides including a Ferris Wheel that will take you right over the waves, a roller coaster, and an old-fashioned carousel among others. On the pier, you’ll find fries, soft ice cream, saltwater taffy, and fried dough.

The highlight here is the golden sand beach with a barrier of grassy dunes. It is the only beach in Maine where you can arrive by train since the Amtrak station is opposite the pier and amusement park.

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland has collections that include some of America’s most prominent late 19th and 20th-century landscape artists. In a separate building which was once a church, you can see the artwork of James Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth.

The museum also arranges tours of the Olson House which was made famous in several works by Andrew Wyeth, the best-known being his 1948 painting Christina’s World.

The museum is in Rockland’s historic downtown with 19th-century mercantile buildings. Other highlights include the Owl’s Head Light and the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum. The city is also home port to the Maine Windjammer Fleet and you can see the historic sailing ships moored here.

Nubble Light is most likely New England’s most photographed lighthouse. It sits on its own islet just off the rocky point of Cape Neddick. Usually, you can see waves breaking against the rocks.

The city of Bath is popular with tourists because of its unique 19th-century architecture. It is referred to as the “City of Ships” due to its long history in the shipbuilding and ironworking industries. Some of the highlights here include the Maine Eastern Railroad, the Chocolate Church Arts Center, the Bath Skate Park, and the Marine Maritime Museum. A popular spot for hiking is The Whiskeag Trail.

The Bay of Fundy is shared between the U.S. and Canada. It has the highest tide range in the world and can recede up to 55 feet at certain times of the year. Tourists love this destination since it has dense forests, lovely islands and islets, and beautiful parks. A popular area is the Hopewell Rocks. You can go sea kayaking, take a whale-watching trip, or go hiking. The Canadian city of Saint John is easily accessible.

Marginal Way is one of the most beautiful walking paths in Maine. It offers views of the Atlantic Ocean and starts at Perkins Cove stretching 1.25 miles to the middle of Shore Road. You can have amazing views of the ocean and Ogunquit Town all along the path. There are places to stop and relax on the way.

Camden Hills State Park is home to Mount Battie, a peak that offers incredible views of the surrounding area. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the town of Camden, Penobscot Bay, Acadia National Park, and Mount Megunticook from the top of Mount Battie.

In the town of Camden, you can enjoy harbor tours, whale-watching trips, and puffin-spotting adventures. The town has a long history from 1768 and was originally inhabited by Native Americans. Its economy centers on shipbuilding. Visitors enjoy the surrounding rugged mountains, lovely lakes, and rivers.

The Norumbega Inn is an amazing place to stay in Camden. It was built for Joseph Barker Stearns the president of Franklin Telegraph Company. He chose to have a European-style castle built in 1886 and called it the Norumbega Castle. It is now a landmark along Penobscato Bay.

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a popular destination for migratory birds. It has thick boreal forests, a tidal salt marsh, and a stretch of wooded uplands. There are unique species of birds and planes not found in other parts of Maine. Walking paths extend throughout the refuge for bird watching.