Are there mountains close to Portland? (Lewiston, Standish: employment, to live in, moving to)

[trekker]

Hi, I am a new member. I have enjoyed reading all of the posts so far and have learned alot about maine. I am thinking about moving to Maine, but I am looking for a town that is close to Portland (30-40min) with mountains/hiking close by. I am an outdoor enthusiast who wants to be able to walk out my back door and see mountains and go for a hike, but live close enough to commute to Portland for work. Any info would be much appreciated.

[Mark S.]

That depends upon your definition of "close" and "mountains."

New England definitely has mountains, but folks from Colorado and the Pacific Northwest would probably look at them and see "hills."

Vermont has the Green Mountains, and New Hampshire the White. I'm not sure what Maine's range is called. Anyone...?

[bentron]

If you want to do "mountain" hiking 30-40 minutes from Portland, you're out of luck. There are great hikes in the western mountains of Maine, so a recommendation would be perhaps Windham, Standish, or Waterboro, which are 30-40 mins southwest of Portland, and would be another 30 minute drive for some good hiking in either Maine or New Hampshire.

However, my personal favorite hikes are in northern Maine - Baxter State Park, Moosehead Lake area, etc. This is a 3 hour drive from Portland though, but is well worth it.

[trekker]

Thanks for the useful info. I figured I was asking too much, to be close to the mountains and Portland. Are there any large towns that are close to the white mountains (for employment opportunities)?

[tkx7]

Conway, NH, Berlin, NH something north of Lewiston, ME or around Skohegan, ME maybe

[JaimeMarie]

How close to the mt do you want to be? If you lived in Naples Maine, You would have a 45 min drive to portland and a 45 min drive to the White Mts. in NH.

[trekker]

A 45 min drive to the White Mts is not too bad. I would prefer to live in the White Mts area, the closer the better, but I need to live close to a city like Portland for work. I've been to Conway and some other towns in NH, but they don't offer the employment opportunities that a bigger city like Portland does. If I can't live in the White Mts, I would like to live in a mountainous or hilly area, not a flat landscape. Does Naples have rolling hills or is it pretty flat? I tried to find some photos on the internet but couldn't get a good feel for the area. My husband and I are will be in the area for 5 days next weekend and are looking at different towns. Does anyone know of a quaint little hilly/mountainous town within 45min drive to Portland?

[Acadianlion]

Bridgeton, I think. When I lived in Cumberland we used to ski at the ski area in Bridgeton, and it seems to me the drive then was about 45 minutes or so.