Help, please! Need info on vacationing in Maine

Hello, all. My husband and I would like to take a trip to Maine the last week of May and 1st week of June. We'd like to stay somewhere that is both close to beaches and close to nice walking/hiking woodsy land. We will have a car and don't mind driving, but want the distance to be manageable. We would prefer to stay somewhere cheap and spend more money on eating well and shopping, so we'd like nice restaurants and shops around too. I know very little about Maine, so any information would be much appreciated! Thanks. :hi:

Possible?

Close to Kittery and great outlet shopping (plus the fabulous Warrens Lobster House), it has a big beach, and is in a good spot for day trips to Freeport (home of LL Bean and many others), Portsmouth, NH (tons of great shopping and restaurants), Portland, Bailey Island (home to the greatest gift shop ever), and Camden/Rockland.

Lucky, lucky you -- I love Maine. And New England.

(edited to correct town name).

I definitely want to go to the flagship LL Bean store! I love their tote bags.

Now, I must ask you, what makes the Bailey Island gift shop the "Greatest Ever"? I MUST KNOW!! :D

And it's right at Lands End; practically nothing between it and Ireland. The outlook alone makes the trip worth it.

Their prices are fantastic; I got my SO and me wonderful, sueded sweatshirts, with the Bailey Island/Lands End logo embroidered on them for $19.99/ea. Tons of t-shirts too and all that great gift shop tacky kitsch. I collect tacky souvenirs so it was Nirvana for me.

LL Bean is fantastic and the town is beautiful. Even the McDonalds is in an old clapboard house.

I pretty much grew up on Bailey Island. I worked in that Gift Shop, Land's End, for many years. The owners were very close friends with my grandparents. My Dad lives there now year round, on the road to Cook's restaurant. I go up a few times a year. :hi:

We talked about it after I got back from my fab-u-lous NE trip last spring but I didn't think I should post your connection to the place without permission.

I LOVE it there. :hi:

:P

I stayed in the Bar Harbor area once, and found it wonderful - lots of lobster pounds, Acadia National Park nearby, close to wilderness on the inside and good sailing on the ocean.

I was there on a mission trip, so we didn't do much shopping, but there were a lot of shops and stuff in the area - many catering to touristy kinds of crap, but there's probably some good legitimate shopping in the area.

Thanks for reminding me! :D

And even though it was a hot day on land, it was quite chilly on the ocean - and magnificently beautiful. That area of Maine (and probably all of it) is chock full of islands and great rocky giants sticking out of the ocean. It was beautiful. And we lucked out and had a nice overcast day, so there wasn't any shiny sun off the water bullshit.

I love the look of Maine - this will be my first trip there, but you know how you just know you're going to love certain places, even before you go there? That's how I feel about Maine.

My understanding was that everything in BH shuts down in November after the tourist season is over, according to some clients of my husband's who work there.

Atlantic Oakes Resort is open year round. Mrs. and I stayed there 12/31/1999, in hopes of seeing the first sunrise of the new millennium from the Summit of Cadillac Mountain. Unfortunately, too many other people, Martha Stewart included, had the same idea. By the time we got to the mountain, parking was full, so we had to settle for sunrise at Schooner Head.

Geddy's and Reel Pizza are also open all year. I know there are other businesses that stay open, as well. After all, the locals also need food and entertainment.

I thought it was okay in summer, but I can't imagine it in January.

The January reference was a joke.

:hi:

Not certain but I think you will be right around Black Fly season for much of Maine. Which can make any outdoor activities miserable.

For walking/hiking trails I would suggest Arcadia Nat. Park/Bar Harbor area. As for beaches this is the Gulf of Maine and water temps won't be much above 50F in late May with air temps in the same range along much of the coast.

Thanks for the suggestions! We don't plan to swim in the ocean, just walk along the coast and enjoy the clean air and beautiful views. :)

You don't want to be in the beautiful, interior woods and mountains during that time. For a first time trip to Maine in May, I'd say that the Camden and Bar Harbor areas give you the best combination of hill /woodsy hiking and ocean access. Both areas are stunningly beautiful and have good restaurants. Camden's a shorter drive from points south.

Southern Maine, (Kittery to Portland) has more ocean, less hiking near the coast, but much more shopping and dining options. There are many islands accessible by ferry in Casco Bay in addition to Bailey's, which at the north end of the bay. Most have some sort of accommodations and are quiet enough in May that you could spend a leisurely day walking around the island checking out the rocky coves and beaches.

L.L. Bean is probably the best reason to stop in Freeport even today with all the other shopping around it. There is a great oceanside park there if you'd like to stretch your legs even more before getting back on the road.
http://portlandme.about.com/cs/parkspubliclands/a/WolfesNeckWoods.htm

I stayed in the campground when I was there in 2001 but there are plenty of cottages and guest houses there. And restaruants. And hiking and biking. Everything is there.

Good to know there are campgrounds too! Thanks very much, it sounds great. :)

Even for the campgrounds.

http://www.nps.gov/acad

Probably nothing worse than driving for 10 hours from Southern PA only to show up and have no place to camp!

You really can't swim at that time. June is OK, though.

around and look at those beaches and lighthouses and stuff

We camped for a lovely weekend in the Moody/Wells area also Ogunquit. Is the big Ogunquit playhouse still there? Great Summer Stock Theater

more walking along the coast and seeing the beauty of nature! Also hiking in the woods...thanks.

It's about an hour north of Portland. Lots of totally gorgeous hiking around there! Unfortunately i was a field assistant, so i don't have any good lodging recommendations...

Have fun! :hi:

Thanks for the suggestion! :hi:

Great shopping and eating in "the Port" and Goose Rocks Beach is not far and a beautiful, well kept secret.

Thanks! :hi:

(Are there really geese?)

out on that point of land surrounded by Secret Service agents.

If you really want to experience LL Bean in comfort, go shopping at 1 or 2 in the morning. Seriously. You will miss all the tourists and you can browse at your leisure with other Mainiacs.

I learned this when I visited my ex's aunt and uncle in Grey for christmas one year. They took us in the middle of the night.. Crazy but true.

Have fun. I"d love to go back sometime. B-)

edit: Portland and Portland Headlight are definitely worth seeing too.

I swear to god I'm moving to Maine.

They are open 24/7 365.

Like I said...it's Nirvana.

It NEVER closes. :D

Last week of May means Memorial day right?? That is the great trek north for a lot of people. They go up and open up their cabins/cottages. Just be prepared for nightmare traffic through the Hampton tolls in NH. It also means the start of summer season. Check with the hotels and see if the rates are low. Maine has a ton of B&B's now too.

You may want to buy a book on Maine to get an idea of where you want to go.

I grew up on Bailey Island, and would highly recommend it. It is 45 minutes north of Portland, but really doesn't offer much in the way of hiking or forests. The island is only 2 1/2 miles long, but has a beautiful coast line with lots of rocks and ledges to explore! Takes about an hour to get to Boothbay, which is also a great town.

Good luck! You'll love Maine no matter where you go! :hi:

Very southernmost part of Maine, on the coast, and we stayed in a Victorian B&B. The town is old and colonial and picturesque, all kinds of things are within driving distance.

I'd go back there again.

We were tipped to a beach the locals call the best, but I couldn't tell you how to get there.

I would check out the black fly thing, though. They can make life miserable.

In western Maine the hiking is a bit more mountainous than on the coast, where it is a bit more rolling.
However, if you intend to spend much time strolling around the woods in May to June, bring vast quantities of Deeps-Woods OFF!. Don't bother with any of that eco-friendly orange peel insect repellent. Does not work. Only a thorough head to toe dousing in DEET will keep you from going mad as you are eaten alive by our vast blood thirsty swarms of black flies and mosquitoes. And don't go thinking the beaches by the ocean aren't swarming with bloodsuckers, oh no. The beaches have their own special bloodsucking flies. The beach flies rip off bits of flesh!

Bring DEET, otherwise having fun in the great outdoors is not so fun, especially if you smell better to the bugs that your partners. Also, don't wear deodorant or perfume. The bugs like that. And bring high thick socks and ALWAYS check for ticks after leaving the woods, even in your hair.

Otherwise, the Portland through Bath/Damariscotta area is lovely. Pretty, fantastic restaurants, and great shopping. Lots of state parks (might want to consider buying a pass and saving money if you intend to go to more than one.)

Avoid Boothbay Harbor. It's a disgusting zoo and tourist trap.

I appreciate it. :hi:

Even in summer, the ocean is freezing.

http://deerisle.com/

http://www.barharborinfo.com/

http://www.bluehillme.com/

http://www.castine.me.us/

You'd be coming just barely at the start of the tourist season so I am not sure if all the shops and galleries would be open yet, but obviously you could still go hiking and enjoy the beaches. :)

Ocean probably won't have broken 60 degrees by then. :P

Lots of hotels, restaurants and shops -- only an hour or two from just about everything in Southern Maine and New Hampshire. Bar Harbor is a good place if you want to explore farther north and east.