<p>We want to spend 5-7 days in Maine (on the coast) in early/mid September (just after the summer crowd but before the weather turns or the leaf lookers head to New England). We could stay one place and do day excursions or we could move from place to place. We have never been to Maine, no idea where are the good walk on the beach, explore the town locations. Any suggestions? Thank you!</p>
<p>Bar Harbor is a nice spot.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on Maine, but have gone to a few areas that were really lovely…
Popham Beach is near Brunswick (where Bowdoin college is located), and very nice areas are also Camden and Rockland. We’ve also been to Boothbay Harbor, which is beautiful and I believe it’s not as far up the cost as Bar Harbor. Another town…Darimiscotta. Unfortunately it’s been @4-5 years since I was there, so I’m not sure where to recommend to stay…</p>
<p>If you are going to go to Mt. Desert, which is indeed beautiful and especially wonderful for hikers, I urge you to look beyond Bar Harbor, which is very touristy. (Although I highly recommend breakfast at Jordan’s in town.) Acadia National Park is my single favorite place in the state to date. Make sure to stop at the Jordan Pond house and have tea and popovers on the lawn, particularly satisfying after hiking. 
You can also do things like go out of a schooner, take a ferry to other islands, one of which–Aylesford–has a very interesting little museum. </p>
<p>Portland is by far the best town in Maine, with great galleries, music, shopping, and a vibrant foodie scene, amongst other delights, but it is not the remote beach experience you may be looking for. You might want to start out on Mt. Desert for a few days, then perhaps a day or two in Camden/Boothbay Harbor or the like, ending with one or more days in Portland. If you are flying in, you can then fly out of Portland airport. If you like art, I suggest trying to hit Portland on First Friday for the evening open gallery/museum event, which is lots of fun. And of course can be followed up with a great restaurant meal.</p>
<p>It really depends on what you like to do.</p>
<p>There are SO many great places to visit! My first recommendation would be Bar Harbor, since you have a decent amount of time to spend in Maine. The town has lots of cute shops and excellent restaurants, and Acadia National Park is one of the prettiest parks in the country. If you like to bike or hike, there is a network of 40 miles of carriage roads that have lots of great views (John Rockefeller built the roads in the early 1900s so that he and his friends could go for rides - the stone bridges are amazing!). I have lived in Maine since 1986 and have still not scratched the surface of things to do in Bar Harbor and on Mount Desert Island.</p>
<p>Camden would be my second choice. Not as many shops as BH, but still a good variety. You can drive or hike up Mount Battie and get some wonderful views of the harbor.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have more questions!</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn and I live within a few miles of each other in Maine, so we are eager to share our expertise! :D</p>
<p>Just came back from Bar Harbor - it is wonderful. Highly recommend the brand new West Street Hotel on the harbor. Bar Harbor is a wonderful place because you have everything - nature at Arcadia, a quaint town in Bar Harbor proper, and access to the water for boating. You can walk, bike, kayak, etc. - you can nature watch or people watch - the possibilities are endless. If you drive up along 95/295 then I recommend stopping at Portsmouth NH (another quaint town) and Freeport is a must (LL Bean and a million outlet stores). If you want to golf at a resort type place - you can do the Samorset in Camden/Rockport.</p>
<p>Consolation makes a good point. My trips to Bar Harbor with my husband consist of hiking, biking, etc. - we set foot in BH very little if at all. With my mom and sister, though, we got a B&B right in town (Ivy Manor Inn) and shopped a ton! We also did the Park Loop Road, which I have always called Tourist Loop, because that’s the extent of what most people see when they visit the island.</p>
<p>I asked a similar question here in 2009–the thread name was Maine trip: recommendations?–and I don’t know how to link to the thread. However, I got lots of great suggestions. We were in Maine in late September and had a fabulous trip. We stayed on Mount Desert and made a couple of day trips south. Have fun–you’ll love it!</p>
<p>My massage therapist is heading up to Bar Harbor. She plans to eat as many lobster rolls as humanly possible!</p>
<p>Ken’s Place in Scarborough, Maine is good - they use the meat from an entire lobster in each lobster roll!</p>
<p>Just got back from my first trip to Maine - ate Lobster rolls multiple times… Highly recommend the Waterman’s Beach Lobster - won a James Beard award a few years back and deservedly so. Also had awesome blueberry pie. :)</p>
<p>I love lobster and hate lobster rolls. A fresh boiled or steamed lobster with butter: that’s the way to go! There’s a good lobster pound in Southwest Harbor, on the island.</p>
<p>While we were in Maine, we went to “Red Eats” for Lobster (in Wiscasett? Not sure of location)…stood in a long line and then ate at picnic tables…it was featured on one of those food network shows and didn’t disappoint, it was yummy! Although I’m sure these Maine posters can tell you the best places to go! :)</p>
<p>Maine’s license plate touts the state as Vacationland, and you should be prepared for heavy traffic and the need to make some effort to get away from it all – just want to set your expectations as the state is not as remote and quiet as one might think.</p>
<p>Well, it won’t be as crowded in September! It clears out a lot after Labor Day.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend driving up Route One to get to Bar Harbor, because it IS crowded. We take I-95 up to Bangor and then cut over on Route 3.</p>
<p>And if you really want QUIET places in Maine, believe me, there are many, many of them. Flagstaff Lake is heaven on earth. A couple of weeks ago, we drove for over an hour near there and did not see a single car. We did see two moose and a deer during that time, though.</p>
<p>If you stay further south than Bar Harbor, one of my favorite walking beaches is Biddeford Pool in Biddeford (right by Saco and Old Orchard Beach). It’s a gorgeous rocky beach where you can climb around on the rocks and collect sea glass and find tidal pools full of snails. The waves just crash against the rocks. You can go in the water (not very far, though) but it’s more fun to climb up and sit on the rocks and watch the water – which is also a lot of fun when it’s September and cooler than beach weather. It’s never very crowded, either.</p>
<p>Saco is about 40 minutes south of Portland and a small town with a few great small local places to get “Italians,” lobster rolls, and homemade ice cream. Not too far from the outlets at Kittery, either.</p>
<p>If you want to go offshore a little, Monhegan Island is wonderful.</p>
<p>Bethievt,</p>
<p>Did you go to Monhegan Island as a day trip or stay overnight? If the latter, any recommendations? My sister and I are thinking of early October.</p>
<p>You can go as a day trip, but we always stay overnight. The more nights, the better. You can rent houses through Shining Sails, stay at Shining Sails, a nice B&B, the Monhegan House, the Island Inn or the Trailing Yew. I’ve stayed at all except the Yew; many different houses too. Rustic and wonderful. Actually, I’ve never stayed at the Island Inn, just eaten there a lot. It is one of my favorite places on earth.</p>