I recently went on a trip along the Mid-Coast of Maine with my sister and it was an absolute blast! I have always wanted to explore more of what America has to offer and I had the unique opportunity to share this experience with my sister.
I've traveled extensively abroad over the years, but have been lacking in the US travel. This trip came at a time when we both were able to take a week off and really enjoy everything Maine has to offer. Including, of course, the famous Lobster rolls.
What to pack:
For an active trip like this, I always pack a blend of items that can be leveraged for a variety of purposes. Below are my top five recommendations from this trip.
Short sleeve button down shirt. The short sleeve button down shirt is my go-to item for a summer trip. They are great for going out to dinner and even great during the day. Heck, after you wear it out to dinner, wear it the next day to the beach. Click here for a trim fit linen short sleeve button down shirt from Nordstrom for under $30.00.
Sport performance henley. I really like a well constructed t shirt, but a henley is a nice way to mix it up a bit. The performance material makes it ideal for the heat. This looks great with jeans too! Click here for the grey performance henley from Mizzen+Main that I'm wearing in the above picture.
Sport performance shorts. These are from Original Penguin, but I also wear a pair from Lululemon a lot. It's the best way to stop wearing gym shorts, but also have pockets and look like you have your shit together! Click here for the Original Penguin short link.
Non-traditional boat shoes. This upgraded boat shoe from Greats is a cross between a tennis shoe and a traditional boat shoe. Ugly? More like Unique! They are super comfortable for everything besides a really really long hike. Wear them out to dinner or to explore any city. Click here for the Greats Winward shoe link.
Light wash, comfy denim. I always recommend bringing a pair of light weight, comfortable denim when you're traveling. It's great for the planes and for going out to dinner at night. Likely you'll just need one pair, especially in the fall and summer. Click here for light was denim I'd recommend (on sale under $100).
Trip overview:
We flew into Manchester airport which is north of Boston. The main reason for flying into hear was to avoid all things Boston. It's a much smaller, more efficient airport and made the start of the trip very easy!
Drive to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We stopped along the way wherever we wanted to check out the views, so be sure to build some time in for that. While in Bar Harbor we stayed at the Bar Harbor Villager Motel. This was one of the more expensive motels in the area, but the location was fantastic! It was right downtown and walkable to many bars and restaurants. It was super clean and the staff were fantastic!
Acadia National Park is a must visit, this is the main reason to go to Bar Harbor! We watched the sunset at the top of Cadillac Mountain and in the morning we did a light two hour hike on the Gorham Mountain Trail. Light is relative. We saw some families with young kids on this hike and we wouldn't recommend it for that. It's a stunning view from the top!
We also made sure to check out Jordan Pond, Boulder Beach and Schooner Overlook. I'd highly recommend going to Schooner Overlook at following the path down to the ocean which takes about 15 minutes by foot. It's very much 'the Maine coast'.
We spent a lot of time walking around Bar Harbor as well, and there's a nice trail along some of the waterfront properties (you could stay at those if you feel like spending $400 a night haha).
Leaving Bar Harbor we stopped at the Somesville Bridge for some pictures of the stunning bridge. We traveled down to Camden and then to the Rockport lighthouse. Going out to the Rockport Lighthouse will take about 20 minutes each way if you're moving at a leisurely pace. There isn't much written on this, but the rocks are very far apart and I'd recommend moving slow!
In Rockport we did a fantastic sailing trip with Bufflehead Sailing Charters. This is a smaller, private sailboat company and the owner and his daughter give the tours. It's quite an experience and fantastic to be in an environment with just a few other individuals.
From Rockport we went to Portland for the night and our first stop was the Allagash brewery! It's one of my favorite breweries so this stop was a must! Portland is an incredible town that I definitely want to go back to spend some more time! The food is the real deal!
If you like reading about traveling and photography, then I would recommend checking out my Iceland photography page by clicking here!