1 week family vacation in Maine - looking for suggestions

My wife and I are leaning toward Maine for our summer vacation next year, with our daughter who turns 6 in July. We would be spending about a week there. My general thought is to get a decent sample of some different areas without trying to squeeze too much into 1 week, so maybe split the trip into halves, with lodging in one part of the state for a few days and then visit another part of the state, using the 2 lodging places (hotel/motel/cottage) as a base of operations to explore the surrounding area. Maybe spend some time driving along the coast but also see some of the inland areas. I%26#39;d also like to keep our costs within reason so if it means staying in less expensive/touristy areas and driving a little each day to that day%26#39;s destination, OK (e.g. sleeping inland a little bit and driving to the coast in the morning). I know that%26#39;s a tall order and pretty open-ended but if anybody has any suggested itineraries, I%26#39;d be grateful.

1 week family vacation in Maine - looking for suggestions

I%26#39;d definitely spend at least half of the week in the Acadia National Park area. The small towns on Mount Desert Island, where the Park is located, have a wide, wide range of accommodations. It wouldn%26#39;t really be necessary to stay inland to find something you could afford. The Bar Harbor Motel, for example, is very family-friendly (with bikes and a pool and grounds) and is affordable. It gets high praise from many people on this forum who have stayed there.

Edenbrook and Highbrook motels, just outside of the village of Bar Harbor, are also quite affordable. They are nice, clean, independently run, older motels.

1 week family vacation in Maine - looking for suggestions

That%26#39;s good to hear. I haven%26#39;t priced anything yet but I was fearing that it would be impossible to find anything around Bar Harbor that was both affordable and decent. Thanks.

We live in Michigan and have done exactly what you are talking about (splitting a week in Maine to sample different areas). We%26#39;ve stayed in Bar Harbor and then moved to Boothbay Harbor. We%26#39;ve stayed in Kennebunk and then gone to Bar Harbor. This year we are staying in Millinocket and then going to Bar Harbor. Notice Bar Harbor/Acadia is always on the list!

Boothbay area was ';artsy';. Lots of shops with local art and antiques. It has a old-fashioned seashore resort town feel. You can take sail excursions in the bay and you can even take a side trip to Monhegan Island. There%26#39;s lots of info about that island on these threads. Also from Boothbay you can go to Ocean Point or Ocean View (the locals can clarify). It%26#39;s a beautiful ocean lookout where you can ramble the rocks and enjoy a picnic.

Kennebunk is VERY expensive! The draw there is the sandy beach areas, swimming, seeing the Bush compound, fancy shopping and old, beautiful mansions. There are definately other towns with these sandy beaches that are probably cheaper ie: wells, Orchard lake. I%26#39;ve not been there though. I do love Kennebunk and just save my pennies:)

From either KB or BB you can take a day trip to Freeport (discount shopping and LL Bean Meca!) or Portland (see the Portland Lighthouse - very cool park with trails and views).

This year we are going north to Millinocket and checking out Moosehead Lake and Baxter State Park (hiking, moose watching, hardcore nature)

Now in Bar Harbor/Acadia you have your whale watching, hiking (easy to hard), horse drawn carriage rides through park, Jordan Pond House for ice cream, popovers, lemonade with a view of the pond (lake) and mountains, biking, kayaking, sailing, awesome restaraunts, silly Diver Ed Tour (kids love him!), Lumberjack Show, put put with pirates and on and on.....

The first year when we ';split'; our visit we were sad we did. After visiting Bar Harbor/Acadia a few times on it%26#39;s own and doing all that it offered we then felt like we could split trip. So I don%26#39;t know, if it%26#39;s your first time that could be a problem for you too. But if you do, hopefully the above info helps:)

Oh, and one more totally fun Bar Harbor thing for kids is to go to their local theater. Its called Pizza and Reels or something like that. You order pizza and sit in recliners or sofas or benches to watch the movie. It%26#39;s like being in someones basement. It%26#39;s a riot! But go early!!!!

Elise

Would strongly recommend Bar Harbor as one destination....if lodging in the Mt Desert Island area (where the park is located)is more than you%26#39;d like to pay, you may want to investigate possibilities in Ellsworth (about a half-hour off-island) or even Bangor-Brewer (about a hour and fifteen minutes) away. But, for my money, somewhere on Mt Desert Island (Bar Harbor, Seal Cove, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor) is the way to go.

If you want a real coastal experience, talk to the park rangers in the Acadia National Park visitors center about the Schoodic Point section of the park. It%26#39;s about an hour away from the main section of the park, but offers some stunning rocky coastline in a much more relaxed, less crowded environment than the main park. Worth the ride in our book.

Depending on how you come to Maine (riding, flying, etc) and the rest of your itinerary, you might want to consider the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory and Fort Knox in Bucksport for a day%26#39;s outing. See the website www.fortknox.maineguide.com for details -- and be sure to scroll down to the Observatory section. Both are worth the 45 minutes or so you%26#39;ll need to get there from Ellsworth.

For the inland Maine experience, I recommend staying somewhere like Farmington or Augusta -- not in the heart of the inland tourist region, but more reasonably priced. Or, if you want to spend a bit more, check out the Rangeley Lakes region. See www.rangeleymaine.com for photos and details. From Farmington you%26#39;re a half hour or so from both Rangeley and Carrabasset Valley -- two great inland destinations for seeing the woods-and-waters of Maine....from Augusta, add another half hour driving time. If you%26#39;re the driving type, consider a day trip from Farmington or Augusta, up Rt 27 through Carrabasset Valley to Stratten, across Rt 16 to Rangeley, and back down Rt 4 to Farmington -- but be sure to take the time for the side trip (half hour or so round trip) from Rangeley to Oquossoc and south on Rt 17 to the Height of Land overlook for a fantastic view of the lakes and mountains of western Maine.

Other inland possibilities would include the Moosehead Lake region (already recommended by other TA writers), or the Oxford Hills region (Bethel, Norway, Bridgton areas), but after over fifty years of living in Maine, my personal favorite is still the Rangeley/Carrabasset Valley area.

If you have only a week I would suggest two locations in close to the middle of things otherwise you will lose a couple of days just in driving.Maine is a Big state and summer traffic can be deadly slow therfore I think the Bootbay Harbor suggestion would be good ,closer than Acadia,plenty of Inns, Motels,cottages will want a weeks rental.Town beach small acquairium,variety of casual restaurants.That is the beach part of the trip.Switch gears and head for the woods.A liitle over an hour away near waterville is the Belgrade Lakes area .Wooded,fresh water lakes.A more adventurous choice would be Baxter State park .As close to Alaska as you will find on the east coast. They have some cabins but they go fast.Now after saying all that everyone might have a better time if you concentrate on 1 area and then do what the rest of us do,go back rear after year carry on

You%26#39;ve had a lot of good suggestions. You also have a 6-year-old. What does she like to do? Swim? Play arcade games? Hike?

I%26#39;m really glad you asked about the inland areas. A lot of people just think of the coast, but the woods and lakes have a lot to offer.

A great ';jumping off point'; is the following site, which gives you a chance to look at accommodations and area attractions:

http://www.visitmaine.com/

Thanks for all the advice! As to the last post, my daughter loves the water, so any suggestions on good swimming spots are appreciated, esp. beaches that are relatively protected from the surf since 6-year-old daughter + pounding waves = very nervous dad. (How are water temps in summer, btw?) I%26#39;m more of a hiker myself but I don%26#39;t want to try dragging my wife and daughter through miles of forest. But if anybody knows of parks with short/easy trails, picnic areas, and/or swimming, I%26#39;d appreciate that too. Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming.

You had a suggestion earlier for the Boothbay area. There is a town beach, although we haven%26#39;t used it. (We camp and use their water access.) If you%26#39;re in that area, your daughter would enjoy the Botanical Gardens. They have a section just for children, plus another section near the water where people can build fairy houses. You can check them out at:

http://www.mainegardens.org/

If you end up in the midcoast area, a great beach would be at Reid State Park in Georgetown. There is a big beach, but there is also a lagoon, where there are no waves and the water temp. is quite a bit warmer. Water temps in the summer vary greatly, but the ocean will feel cold and the lakes should warm up nicely!

Would agree with CB that Reid State Park would make a great destination for your six year old swimmer... Lots of sandy beach, a rocky outcrop or two, swimming in the ocean or lagoon....great place!

On the inland leg of your trip, I%26#39;d also recommend you check out Maine%26#39;s state parks. Several have good swimming areas and pleasant, easy family-friendly hikes within the same park. If you decide to go toward Rangeley, Rangeley Lakes State Park is definitely a possibility. Would also suggest checking out Mt Blue State Park in Weld (near Farmington), Damariscotta State Park (closer to the mid-coast and Boothbay), Lily Bay State Park if you end up near Greenville, or Peaks Kenney State Park near Dover Foxcroft.

Information on the individual parks can be found at:

maine.gov/doc/…index.html Just use the Find By Name drop-down to check out parks of interest.

A previous note mentioned Baxter State Park... while it has some great scenery and some wonderful wilderness, it sounds a bit rugged for some of what you%26#39;ve said you%26#39;re looking for...and can get rather crowded during the summer. I%26#39;d suggest saving that one for a future visit when your daughter is a bit older.

I can%26#39;t thank everybody enough for the great suggestions. Here%26#39;s what I%26#39;m thinking at this point ...

Bar Harbor/Acadia N.P. seems to be universally recommended. So assuming I can find reasonably priced accommodations in that area (which seems doable), that%26#39;s one leg of the trip. So maybe 3 or 4 nights in or near Bar Harbor.

Reid State Park sounds like a great destination for us too, but I also want to see some of the interior. Looking at the map, the Augusta area seems like it might be central enough that from there we could check out both. So the balance of the trip around Augusta, with day trips to Reid and some state parks in the interior. It means saving the north of the state for another day but since we can%26#39;t see everything in one week this seems reasonable. Sound like a plan?