Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It can easily be done in 3 days. I've done these kinds of things in much, much bigger states like Montana, for example. I am NOT looking to spend hours hiking and stopping and seeing every single little thing. My hikes will be limited to 1 hour round trip for the most part and quick visits to places here and there to take photos and do things.
Please update us while you are on the trip and/or when you get back home. Personally, I think Cape Neddick is worth it. Fox's restaurant is a bit pricey but a nice place to eat lunch right by the lighthouse.... having read your post again, you'll probably be back on the road traveling at summer lightning speed headed for Camden Hills state park possibly passing many cars before it's time for lunch possibly stuck in Wiscasset traffic.
To answer your original post title... yes, Maine appeals to many young people. I haven't taken an official survey but I pay attention to what's going on around me.
Here's my take; for younger folks into hiking, winter sports, etc. it is feasible. But for older folks on fixed or pensions it offers low cost living, relative safety & a decent environ to spend golden yrs. Thus, does it offer younger things? Yes, but if income or jobs are needed to make alot of $, don't count on it unless in Potland (no, not a mistake) as it is Boston-to-be & going to hell in a bucket -- & it ain't enjoyin' the ride.
I designed my itinerary to allow for up to 2 hours of unexpected traffic each day, as well as the possibility of doing things that are unplanned or doing things longer than expected.
With that said, I decided NOT to head up to Aroostook County and see Fort Kent and Madawaska, etc. It's just way too much driving for very little gain.
So, my itinerary now is as follows:
Day 1 (Sun) - Cape Neddick, Camden Park / Mount Battie, Acadia National Park (just driving around and sightseeing, no hiking), then staying in a hotel in Ellsworth for the night.
Day 2 (Mon) - Wild Blueberry Land, Cutler Coast, West Quoddy Lighthouse, Calais (for lunch), then head to a hotel in Millinocket for the night.
Day 3 (Tue) - Baxter Park - we will probably just do the South Turner trail, since it's only 2.2 miles round trip and still offers stunning views of Mt. Katahdin. I came to realize that even the Chimney Pond trail round trip will amount close to 6 hours, which is excessive for me and my friend (unfortunately). I have already reserved a parking space at the Roaring Brook Campground and will arrive by 7:00 am at the Touge Gatehouse. After this, we will leave the park and start heading south or southwest and get lunch somewhere. But after that, nothing is planned, so we will just play it by ear, maybe randomly drive places, visit town centers, random parks, etc. But generally heading in a southwest direction. Then pick a random hotel out for Tue night.
Day 4 (Wed) - We will head back home to CT.
I'm going with a friend and we will split the costs, since we are both unemployed, so it makes better financial sense.
I designed my itinerary to allow for up to 2 hours of unexpected traffic each day, as well as the possibility of doing things that are unplanned or doing things longer than expected.
With that said, I decided NOT to head up to Aroostook County and see Fort Kent and Madawaska, etc. It's just way too much driving for very little gain.
So, my itinerary now is as follows:
Day 1 (Sun) - Cape Neddick, Camden Park / Mount Battie, Acadia National Park (just driving around and sightseeing, no hiking), then staying in a hotel in Ellsworth for the night.
Day 2 (Mon) - Wild Blueberry Land, Cutler Coast, West Quoddy Lighthouse, Calais (for lunch), then head to a hotel in Millinocket for the night.
Day 3 (Tue) - Baxter Park - we will probably just do the South Turner trail, since it's only 2.2 miles round trip and still offers stunning views of Mt. Katahdin. I came to realize that even the Chimney Pond trail round trip will amount close to 6 hours, which is excessive for me and my friend (unfortunately). I have already reserved a parking space at the Roaring Brook Campground and will arrive by 7:00 am at the Touge Gatehouse. After this, we will leave the park and start heading south or southwest and get lunch somewhere. But after that, nothing is planned, so we will just play it by ear, maybe randomly drive places, visit town centers, random parks, etc. But generally heading in a southwest direction. Then pick a random hotel out for Tue night.
Day 4 (Wed) - We will head back home to CT.
I'm going with a friend and we will split the costs, since we are both unemployed, so it makes better financial sense.
I'm sure you done your research (so not trying to change your mind or anything), but just an FYI the hike to Chimney Pond should NOT take you 6 hours. I would say 2 hours each way maximum for the average hiker, not knowing how your injuries may affect that.
Just beware, there can be a lot of traffic heading down to MDI in the summer so plan for that. And when you head from Calais back to Millinocket, I would take Rte. 9 as opposed to Rte. 6. Much better road.
Vchos, we're right behind you. Worked all weekend boxing up belongings and putting a lot in storage in anticipation of having the house on the market this fall. Every time I drive over the bridge from NH in to Kittery, I feel like a ton of bricks has been removed from y shoulders and I'm breathing Free Air once again. Having lived in CT my whole life (Enfield area) things here have become incredibly stagnant and there is not good outlook for the foreseeable future with billions of dollars in debt looming for the next budget. Hold the fort until we get there!
Vchos, we're right behind you. Worked all weekend boxing up belongings and putting a lot in storage in anticipation of having the house on the market this fall. Every time I drive over the bridge from NH in to Kittery, I feel like a ton of bricks has been removed from y shoulders and I'm breathing Free Air once again. Having lived in CT my whole life (Enfield area) things here have become incredibly stagnant and there is not good outlook for the foreseeable future with billions of dollars in debt looming for the next budget. Hold the fort until we get there!
I have to travel to CT every month or so, I understand that feeling on the bridge, happens every time! M wife actually grew up in Enfield, I came from Torrington. You will not regret moving I am positive. What a different way of life, and the people are amazing. I have never been made to feel out of place as far as I am concerned and my neighbors I am just another Mainer. Good luck, it is worth every bit of pain and planning!
Here comes unpopular opinion time. Straight from the mouth of a young person (myself) with lots of young peers and coworkers through the years I've been here. Maine doesn't have much for young people; I could probably end the post right here and pretty much be spot-on but I'll elaborate.
First there's jobs, and there's no sugar-coating that. Not just in opportunities but even when you land one of the "good" ones they'd be considered a joke in most other Northeast states. You could even hit NH and be making 20% more doing the same thing you would in Maine, and the companies here tend to be really close-minded and behind the times. I worked for a few marketing/sales medium sized businesses and there was always a trend here of being absolutely tone deaf to any advances or best practices in the field within the past 20 years. This was as recent as 2016 and they were saying "this whole internet sales thing is just a fad, radio ads will keep being the best way to go." Even getting one of the "good" jobs in Maine (and I had positions in some of the ones everyone talks up like IDEXX) you quickly see you aren't going far because even the "good" ones are dead-ends and seem to be somewhat successful despite what they do not because of it.
So the big reason is out the way, and we all know why kids from Maine move out, but what about those that come TO Maine? You think "oh the allure of nature here could be a draw" and I hate to tell you this but.. not so much. Yes Maine has woods, and boring rocky freezing cold coastline that you honestly can't do a lot on unless you want to shiver and look at a lighthouse in the distance, but all the woods Maine has... places like NH and VT also do and I would argue even better. Maine woods are kinda scuzzy and not really the best for a lot of the outdoorsy stuff unless you want to really go hardcore on it. I've known lots.. no joke DOZENS of people in my age group that have moved to this state from elsewhere because of the idea of nature and outdoor adventure and all that. Every single one of them lasted two years or less, most couldn't wait to get out of here because it was NOT as advertised.
Camping; you can get just as good or better in NH or VT. River rafting/kayaking/etc, same. Skiing, much better in other parts of New England. Hiking, same. Let's face it unless you're into hunting (which let's be honest the kind of people that move here very very rarely are), Maine outdoor stuff is not actually that special.
So I just got back home to CT from ME today. We had a fabulous time during our 4-day stay! Here's what we did..
Day 1 - We drove up from CT, stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse in York, then drove up I-95 to I-295 and got off at U.S. 1 in Brunswick and basically stayed on U.S. 1 the whole time (took ME-90 as a shortcut). Traffic wasn't bad at all. We ended up reconnecting on U.S. 1 in Rockport, then drove into Camden and tried to find parking but couldn't. It was so packed (Sunday) so we just drove further along U.S. 1. We ended up skipping Camden State Park (Mount Battie) because of time constraints, sadly, but then went to McLaughlin's Lobster Shack in Lincolnville, which was super busy, but good. Then, we continued driving along U.S. 1 all the way to Acadia National Park and went to some beach area, then the Bass Harbor Lighthouse and got some nice pictures there. Then, we drove back up to check into our Hotel in Ellsworth, went swimming in the pool for a while, and had dinner at a Thai place called Thai Sana, which was good.
Day 2 - Woke up in Ellsworth and drove along U.S. 1 northbound again, taking ME-182 as a shortcut then reconnecting with U.S. 1. Soon after, we stopped at Wild Blueberry Land, which was very neat! I bought some blueberry spread, chatted with the workers, then continued along U.S. 1 and stopped at Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land for hiking. We hiked all the way to the coast, took pics, enjoyed the scenery, although it was so darn FOGGY, then hiked back and left. We then drove up to Lubec, parked our car, walked around town and stopped at Frank's Dockside Restaurant, which was very nice and good! Then, we left Lubec and drove down to West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, took great pictures, walked around inside the house/museum, then walked down to the beach and relaxed for a while. After that, we drove up to our hotel in Millinocket, which took almost 3 hours! The way we drove was as follows (from Quoddy Lighthouse): ME-189 W, US-1 N, ME-214 N, ME-191 N, US-1 N, ME-6 W, ME-168 N, US-2 N, ME-157 W. We had dinner in Millinocket at the Scootic In, which was okay.
Day 3 - Woke up in Millinocket, got coffee at Dunkin Donuts, then drove into Baxter State Park at 7:00 am and parked at Roaring Brook Campground. We hiked the Chimney Pond trail all the way to the top, which took 1 hr 55 mins. We stayed at the top for about 20 mins, took amazing photos and my friend smoked a joint. Then we hiked back down, which took about 2 hrs 10 mins. We didn't bring any water or snacks at all. No supplies, no hiking shoes....just sneakers lol. I don't know how we survived, but we did! After that, we drove back to Millinocket, had lunch at Subway, then hit the road again to our hotel in Freeport. This was also a very long drive, but it was easy. We simply went down I-95, then I-295, and stayed at the Casco Bay Inn, which was decent. For dinner, we drove up to Brunswick and picked up a Facebook friend of mine (met for the first time ever), then went out to the Kennebec Tavern in Bath for dinner. It was pretty good. Then we dropped him back home, went back to our hotel and went to bed.
Day 4 - Woke up in Freeport, then drove into Portland and went to the Portland Observatory. We went to the top and took pictures of the nice views. After that, we drove closer to downtown, found some parking, then walked around downtown Portland, including Congress Street. We had lunch at Elevation Burger, which I had qualms about. The food was good, but I was disappointed that they didn't have any turkey burgers, so had to settle for a veggie burger, as I don't eat beef. After that, we walked back to the car, then finally drove back home all the way to CT.
We had a wonderful trip, took many excellent pictures and got to see some of the best spots in Maine! All squeezed within a 72-hour period! I had it mostly pre-planned out before we went, so it worked out well!
P.S. We couldn't believe how many antique shops there were all over the state! Geez, like every mile along U.S. 1 there was one!
Glad you had a great time Nep! Maine is awesome. I will be getting there next Friday myself for a long weekend and am super excited. No place like New England in the summer! What did you think of Acadia National Park? I've never been before but it's one of the places I plan to check out.
Glad you had a great time Nep! Maine is awesome. I will be getting there next Friday myself for a long weekend and am super excited. No place like New England in the summer! What did you think of Acadia National Park? I've never been before but it's one of the places I plan to check out.
I thought Acadia was beautiful for sure, but we didn't spend as much time there as we would have liked to, so I can't speak too much of it. But it was certainly a beautiful place and very scenic. It was pretty damn cold, too.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.