<p>DH and I will be going to Maine next week. (He has a conference; I’m tagging along for my first ever trip to Maine.) We’ll be staying on Mt. Desert Island. What are the must-see sights along the coast of Maine? (I’m an artist and plan to do some painting.) I also really enjoy reading a good book that’s set in the place I’m traveling to–any favorites? Thanks!</p>
<p>Bar Harbor for sure. You could spend the whole week exploring the island that you will be visiting.</p>
<p>I think that it would be nice to visit Portland and some of the beaches in Southern Maine but that would be a moderate amount of driving.</p>
<p>I love Northeast Harbor and the drive along Sargeant Drive. I also love driving through the Park Loop, there are so many picturesque places to park and just set up camp on one of the huge rocks that overlook the water. Oh, I could go on and on.</p>
<p>We especially enjoyed the Asticou Terraces, which lead up to the Thuya garden. The parking lot is off Route 3 near Northeast Harbor on Mt Desert Island. Very peaceful and beautiful garden at the top of the walk.</p>
<p>Get a guide to Acadia National Park. There are paved trails along the coast with outstanding views. One of the stops is Thunder Hole, which is usually fun, but turned tragic a couple of weeks ago when a rogue wave (hurricane linked) swept a bunch of people off the walk and a little girl drowned. The hike around Jordan Pond is easy and lovely. The carriage roads can be walked or biked–I don’t remember exactly where we rented the bikes last summer, but it was near the town square in Bar Harbor.</p>
<p>You can hike up Cadillac Mountain for more views, from above.</p>
<p>If you can, take a tour on a working lobster boat. You can choose from several at the harbor in Bar Harbor. Very entertaining, not to mention educational.</p>
<p>Will you have a car? Drive to Bass Harbor Head lighthouse and climb down the rocks to the shore. Wear good shoes.</p>
<p>The town of Southwest Harbor has a few nice shops, is much more laid back than Bar Harbor.</p>
<p>I agree with BCEagle that the beaches in southern Maine are fantastic, but they are a considerable drive if there is any traffic. I’d probably recommend staying on Mt. Desert and enjoying the beautiful rocky beaches and the trails.</p>
<p>Acadia National Park is one of my family’s favorite places. We left the east coast a long time ago, but we still miss Maine. My daughter is trying to talk us into going there in March for her last spring break of high school–the weather in March will be questionable, at best, but she loves it there and doesn’t care if it is wet and cold, or so she says.</p>
<p>Enjoy your trip.</p>
<p>I went to Maine for the first time this summer. Some CC posters really helped me a lot and I did a lot of planning with books and the Internet. We started in Portland and went North from there. Mt. Desert Island was fabulous. If you don’t have lodging, PM me - I was very happy with where we stayed. Hiking in Acadia National Park was wonderful and so was strolling along carriage paths and you can easily spend two or three days there. We went whale watching but it was pretty foggy when we went. We were there for the fourth of July which had its own festivities. We really liked Cape Elizabeth near Portland but that’s a few hours south of where you will be. We also went to Rockport/Camden. If you have the time, try to get out to Monhegan Island which is well worth a day trip. If I could do one thing differently, it would be to invest in good hiking boots. I don’t really understand how to search for old threads but the title of it had the words Maine and Vermont in it and I probably posted around last April or May. There was a lot of really great information given.</p>
<p>Books about Maine: Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, The Midwife’s Tale (about an 18th century midwife who practiced in Hallowell and Augusta, not exactly close to Bar Harbor and Mt Desert Island, but a wonderful read. The book got the Pulitzer prize and several others).
Get a hold of Yankee magazine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions so far! And, mimk6, thanks for letting me know about the previous thread–great info!</p>
<p>There’s more than enough to see in Bar Harbor to keep you busy. However, if you are going to drive the coast of Maine, stop at Prout’s Neck. It’s the home of Winslow Homer and you can see his studio and walk along the Cliff Walk, which is right there too. There’s a book about Homer’s life/work at Prout’s Neck (don’t know the name). Another town that’s really fun to visit is Oqunquit. Very picturesque–it also has a fair number of art galleries. Both Prout’s Neck and Oqunquit aren’t too far from Portland. Great place to stop and eat is the Black Point Inn (it’s in Prout’s Neck).</p>
<p>Young’s Lobster Pound a little south of Acadia National Park. Eat your lobster dinner out on picnic tables on the water.
3 generations of Wyeths at the Farnsworth art museum in Rockland (about an hour south of Acadia NP). You can also visit the “Christina’s World” house. Atlantic bakery in Rockland is great.
Another great Maine book: Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett.</p>
<p>You can take the Cat to Yarmouth. The Cat only takes 3 hours so you can go over and back in one day.
If you get really bored (you won’t - LOL) drive down to LL Bean but go in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>If you want to read a novel, check out Anita Shreve. Most of her novels take place along the New England coast. “Strange Fits of Passion” is set on a Maine island.</p>
<p>We live just north of Portland. To be honest, if I were you, I would just stay on Mt. Desert Island! There is more than enough to do there. We’ve lived here over 20 years, and been to the Island so many times I’ve lost count. We feel as if we’ve only barely scratched the surface of things to do on the Island! There are over 40 miles of carriage roads, and we haven’t even done half of them yet. I ran around Witch Hole Pond the last time we were there. Afterwards, I told DH, “OK, I’m moving here! I hope you and the kids will be OK!” LOL.</p>
<p>If you like Mexican food, there’s a little restaurant at the end of Cottage Street that’s really good.</p>
<p>If you like to hike, Acadia Mountain is a good place to go. We did it when I was 7 months pregnant - not smart! Beautiful views of Sommes Sound.</p>
<p>There’s a guy named Patrick Reilly who has a boat called the Maggie. He sails out of Southwest Harbor. We went on a 4-hour cruise with him a few weeks ago. Fascinating young guy - he’s sailed across the Atlantic solo 5 times, once without any radio or electronic navigational aids! Very unassuming - we had to pry the info out of him.</p>
<p>If the weather is kind of iffy, and it clears up at all, head to the top of Cadillac Mountain IMMEDIATELY!!! You’ll think you have plenty of time, and then all of a sudden it gets socked in. You don’t want to miss the views from up there.</p>
<p>I’m warning you, you may not want to leave once you visit! That’s what happened to me. I’m 2,500 miles away from my home town!</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, I’d be glad to try to answer them. 
Have a great trip!</p>
<p>Another vote for the Farnsworth (Wyeths) in Rockland. Much closer to Mount Desert Island than Prouts Neck (Winslow Homer). If you are flying in to Portland, though, Prouts Neck is close. There was a recent article about Winslow Homer and Prouts Neck in the NYTimes.
[Prouts</a> Neck - Winslow Homers Window on the Rugged Sea off Maine - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/travel/06culture.html?scp=2&sq=winslow%20homer&st=cse]Prouts”>http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/travel/06culture.html?scp=2&sq=winslow%20homer&st=cse)</p>
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<p>Okay. I’ll bite. Why drive down to LL Bean in the middle of the night?</p>
<p>Lots of good advice already but I’ll add my two cents. If you’ll have a kitchen, you can buy your lobsters at the Southwest Lobster in Southwest Harbor (good to call ahead to make sure they’re there). If not, Thurston’s in Bass Harbor is where locals go fora lobster dinner. Also in Southwest, possibly the best restaurant on the Island: Red Sky. While on the topic of food, you must have popovers and tea one afternoon at the Jordan Pond House in the Park. You’re lucky it’s September as it’s hard to book and harder to park during the summer. </p>
<p>One really good place to both visit and paint was mentioned above. Thuya Garden won’t be at its peak in September but I was there this time last year and it was still lovely. The same is true of the Azalea Garden at the intersection of Highways 198 and 3 (Peabody Drive). ([Asticou</a> Azalea Garden | Thuya Garden & Thuya Lodge | Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve](<a href=“http://www.gardenpreserve.org/index.html]Asticou”>http://www.gardenpreserve.org/index.html))</p>
<p>Another nice outing is to take the mail boat from the dock at Northwest Harbor out to Cranberry Island. You can walk around Islesford and at the little museum there you can buy a copy of the book John Gilley of Baker’s Island. Gilley was born on Great Cranberry in 1822 and the book, by the president of Harvard, who was a summer resident, paints a remarkable picture of Maine island life. </p>
<p>Back on the island our favorite mountain to climb is Sargent which is the second highest in Acadia. The views from the top are amazing and you can definitely earn your popovers on the hike back down.</p>
<p>If you want to get off the island, you can drive up to the Schoodic Peninsula which is actually part of Acadia. The rocky coast is gorgeous and dangerous so don’t go way down to the water as people are regularly swept away.</p>
<p>If by chance you are driving up from either Boston or Portland, two of my favorite quirky stops along the way are the Maine State Prison Showroom in Thomaston ([Maine</a> DOC Industries](<a href=“http://www.state.me.us/corrections/industries/page7.html]Maine”>http://www.state.me.us/corrections/industries/page7.html)) and a jam shop called Colleen’s in Searsport ([The</a> World’s Best Jams - Review of Colleen’s A Touch of Country, Searsport, ME - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g40865-d659451-r7899278-Colleen_s_A_Touch_of_Country-Searsport_Maine.html]The”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g40865-d659451-r7899278-Colleen_s_A_Touch_of_Country-Searsport_Maine.html)).</p>
<p>LL Bean is crazy crowded during summer days. The whole town is a madhouse and parking is a zoo. It’s really not as bad in September though so I don’t think she has to go at midnight.</p>
<p>No trip along the mid-Maine coast is complete without a stop at Perry’s Nut House in Belfast.
[Perry’s</a> Nut House, Belfast, Maine - Nuts, fudge, and curiosities since 1927](<a href=“http://www.perrysnuthouse.com/]Perry’s”>http://www.perrysnuthouse.com/)</p>
<p>LL Bean is most fun in the middle of the night though, just because they are open. ;)</p>
<p>Yes but the monogram while you wait desk closes in the early evening. Very important to monogram your preppy purchases.</p>
<p>^
good point! In that case you would have to keep shopping until it opened in the morning!</p>