I may have a new favorite state beauty-wise. This trip was Bethany’s and my first time to visit Maine, aka Vacationland. If you love camping or kayaking, then this state for you! Plus the food and drinks were superb. We probably spent a bit too much here, but we wanted the full Maine experience.
Our primary goal was to see some autumn colors, and we were not disappointed! The fall foliage was on full display! Here in Mississippi, our leaves can be more muted in color. Still, I think our foliage is pretty, but Maine’s colors were vivid. Of course, one of the best places in the United States to see the changing leaves is Acadia National Park. It’s a little bit of a drive from Portland, but it’s worth it! Whether you plan a visit to the park or not, my recommendation is to rent a car and drive through the countryside / rural areas.
Exploring the City
I would be down camping a week in the woods of Maine, but Downtown Portland is an adventure on its own. The downtown area is divided up into four districts, Arts, Government, Old Port, and Waterfront. I’m sure there are fun things to do in the other districts, but Old Port and Waterfront is where the magic happens. Our lodging was on the edge of these two districts, so we had the opportunity to explore the city every evening.
The Waterfront district is what the name implies. You will find the piers and wharves here. The docks are lined with old buildings weathered by elements from the Casco Bay. Plenty of seaside restaurants and pubs to explore. The atmosphere is what’s important. You have the seaside smell, cold winds, and fishing boats docked on the edge of the water. Plus, the massive gulls are lining the rooftops. Everything here had character. Even the homeless people that we came in contact with felt like old sea-worn sailors.
Right across the street from the piers, you have the Old Port district. The Waterfront has plenty of history, but the Old Port district is lined with brick buildings from the late 18th and early 19th century. You will find old cobblestone streets weaving between them. Most of the buildings are filled with stores and restaurants. Wharf Street, in particular, is an excellent example of this. It’s more a back ally than a street, but it is filled to the brim with good food—a perfect place to spend the evening. The elevation here isn’t completely flat. You can enter a building on the 1st floor and exit out on the 2nd floor to the parallel street above.
Peaks Island
From Portland, you can ferry to a few different islands in Casco Bay. You can view the schedules here. We chose Peak’s Island as our destination because it’s the closest one, also the most popular. Don’t worry about the crowds. During a busy holiday weekend, the crowd wasn’t overwhelming. I overheard that the island can virtually be yours in the early morning. The island is mostly residential, with a few stores and restaurants near the dock. Peak’s Island also offers rentals! Mostly golf carts and bicycles. I recommend the bike. We spent a good portion of our day riding our bikes around the Island.
I want to mention that you can rent a bike in Portland and then ferry over with it. It does make your ticket a couple of dollars extra, but in the long run, it’s cheaper if you want to explore both Portland and the island by bike. We, on the other hand, were delighted with just biking around Peak’s Island.
Biking around the island ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. The whole island has a relaxing vibe. The homes here were fun to ride by and imagine a life living on an island. Though, I would bet that a large portion were vacation homes. Some are large, and some are more modest, but I’m sure all are incredibly expensive. Even though these were island homes, most houses were typical and had a full yard of trees and shrubs.
On the backside of the Island, you have the backshore. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the seawater in Maine is gorgeous! The water is more transparent than I would expect, and it’s such a deep blue color. The blue color seemed even more generous on the backshore with the contrast of the large black and grey rocks. Luckily, it was a warm and sunny day for us when we visited, so I’m sure that helped.
Traveling down the backshore, we noticed some conservation areas, and one has an abandoned military base in the distance. Of course, I wanted to go check it out, but I wasn’t about to go trot through the conservation area. Fortunately, we spotted a trail with a sign that read “Battery Steele.” The trailhead is easy to miss! This little trail will take you through some marshy land until you arrive at the Battery Steele, a relic from World War II. The Battery Steele was once the most critical fortification within the Casco Bay during the war. Now it’s empty and overgrown but makes for some cool urban exploration. You can hike up to the top of the battery for a great picnic with an excellent view of the backshore, or you can travel inside from one end to the other in complete darkness.
Morse Mountain to Seawall Beach Hike
Even though our Peaks Island hike was short, it just goes to show that there are plenty of places to hike in Maine. One trail I would recommend for all levels is the Morse Mountain to Seawall Beach trail. It’s not too far from Portland and close to Freeport, Maine. The only real requirement for the hike is the ability to walk 4 miles. It is hilly and takes some effort, but the walk itself is straightforward. The area is a land trust created by the private landowners who live there. So essentially, the trail is like an incredibly long driveway in a rural part of the state. Some of the paths are paved or packed gravel, and some of its dirt, but it’s all well maintained. So again, the trail isn’t difficult to navigate over.
Despite being private land, it has a strong wilderness vibe. The landowners themselves recognized this and created the land trust for conservation and research purposes. One section of the trail branches off to a gorgeous overlook of the salt marshes and river running into the ocean. A key reason for the conservation is to protect the salt marshes. Funny enough, we stumbled upon a science class having an outdoor learning experience up on the overlook.
Other than the class we interrupted, the trail was not crowded at all. We did pass a few people, but the trail is long enough that interactions feel uncommon.
Overall the walk was gorgeous, and the finale is stunning. The trail takes you to Seawall Beach, an area with a separate conservation effort. As a surprise to me, Maine has some beautiful beaches. I’ve heard that Seawall beach may be one of Maine’s best-hidden gems. The beach is vast and pristine, with the craggy rocks separating the beach from the wood line. This was quickly one of our favorite spots we visited in Maine.
Acadia National Park
Of course, we visited Acadia National Park. The park is considered one of the most beautiful National Parks we have, and it’s only amplified in the autumn season. Unfortunately, that also means it’s peak season, and the park was packed! Be sure to plan ahead of time. We did not. To access certain parts of Acadia, not only do you have to pay to enter, but you also have to pre-register your car. They limit the number of people in certain areas, and it won’t be accessible unless you are registered. Still, if you don’t pre-register, I recommend visiting Acadia for two reasons; the first is the vivid fall colors, and the second is the beautiful drive there.
There are plenty of places in Acadia to see some fantastic foliage. We wanted to visit Jordan Pond the most, and luckily that was accessible to us without the car registration. I do advise going as early as possible. We narrowly managed to find a parking space for The Bubbles trailhead. I was afraid the trail would be too crowded, but it was long enough for everyone to be spaced out. While the whole park is beautiful to drive through, it is a different experience to walk beneath a yellow canopy. Plus, a lot of the leaves on the ground still retained their color. It is a fantastic fall experience.
The hike is relatively easy, but the path will scale down some rocks. The trail does split, but ultimately you will end up at Jordan Pond. For a pond, it’s pretty massive and deep! It’s 150 feet deep, to be precise. The water is bright blue, and it’s crystal clear. So clear that the average depth of visibility is 46 feet. The state’s record of depth visibility was recorded here at 60 feet deep.
Swimming isn’t allowed, but you can kayak or canoe in the lake. We didn’t experience nor did we see anyone doing this, and rightfully so. The wind was very intense here, and the water was crashing on the shore.
So the drive from Portland to Acadia is a long one. It’s a little under 3 hours, and it’s a pretty rural drive for the most part. However, Acadia is just a small portion of Maine’s beauty. I wanted to capture some footage from my drone, and a fair amount was recorded during our drive back. So if you watch the first minute of my video, that gives you a little glimpse of rural Maine. To make the drive more enjoyable, we followed HWY 1 on the way back. This is not the optimal route, but it will take you through some quaint little coastal towns.
Final Thoughts
Maine is incredible. I want to go back and spend more time there. Maybe I will plan a camping or kayaking trip in the future. If you have any questions about Maine or Portland, feel free to contact me! I would have liked to have known a few bits of information before I went, such as the parking fees in downtown Portland. So feel free to ask, and I will do my best to answer. You contact me via email at [email protected] or send me a message on Facebook Messenger!
