Continuing our series of blog posts celebrating everything Northern New England has to offer.
Labor Day Weekend 2012 kicks off in a mere couple of hours. This means three glorious days without rushing to and from work, rising with the sun, or trying to figure out how you’re going to get everything done.
For some, this weekend is more than that; it’s an opportunity to wander off and visit different parts of the region. That’s actually what the core Base36 staff is doing. We’re all heading off to different parts of Maine to do something we love. Yet, we’re all up to something a little different.
With so much to do in Maine, how do you know what to choose to do? Well, while there are endless opportunities, we’ve tried to round up the ten best things to do in Maine.
1. Hike Baxter State Park
Baxter State Park, a 209,501 acre park in Northern Maine, allows for plentiful opportunities to camp, hike, and see wildlife. Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, is located here. While at Baxter, you might just turn a corner and spot a moose. Or, if you’re our marketing manager, you’ll almost walk into one. Not kidding.
http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/index.php
2. Sightsee at Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park, the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi River, is located on the Atlantic Ocean. While there are plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventure, the Park’s road system also allows you to take a winding scenic drive, if that’s more your speed.
http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm
3. Kayak in Casco Bay
The Greater Portland area is located on Casco Bay, which offers a variety of outdoor options. Our favorite? Go kayaking! You can check out the Calendar Islands as well as get a shot of Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse, from the water.
4. Visit L.L. Bean
Looking back, you have to wonder if Leon Leonwood Bean ever imagined his company, L.L. Bean, becoming an icon of Maine. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, L.L. Bean caters to the needs of every outdoor enthusiast. The cool thing? Even if you’re not in the mood to purchase fishing polls, bags, or clothes, the fish pool and similar attractions makes every trip to L.L. Bean an adventure. It’s also rumored that you can find celebrities there at midnight …
5. Eat a Lobster Roll from the Sheepscot
It doesn’t matter if you’re living in Maine, or visiting. You need to have at least one lobster roll a year. The best are rumored to come from the Sheepscot/5 Islands area.
6. Catch a Show in Brunswick
The Maine State Music Theatre, founded in 1959, puts on several musical theatre shows every summer in Brunswick at Bowdoin College’s Pickard Theater. MSMT’s commitment to developing young theatre artists has paid off; the alumni of this program have gone on to star in Broadway shows as well as on television. If you catch a Maine State Music Theatre show, you might just be able to say that you saw them before they were famous!
7. Dinner in Portland
In 2009, Portland was ranked America’s Foodiest Small Town and has been consistently ranked since as a top foodie city. To top this off, Portland’s restaurants and chefs have been featured in national publications, which means you want to check out some of Portland’s restaurants. You can’t go wrong and there’s something for everyone.
8. Sail out of Camden
With only 5,250 residents, Camden is a your archetypal coastal town. Its Main Street, lined with shops and water views, makes it a popular destination for Maine residents and tourists alike. One of the best things about Camden? There are several companies that offer sunset cruises on sailboats. You don’t want to miss this activity.
9. Skiing at Sugarloaf
A lot of Mainers live for winter, when they can strap on a pair of skis and glide down a hill. If that sounds like fun, check out Sugarloaf. Only two and a half hours from Portland, this popular ski destination has 153 tails and over 1,056 skiable acres. These statistics make Sugarloaf the biggest ski resort east of the Mississippi.
http://www.sugarloaf.com/index.html
10. Portland Art Walk
How much do you love art? If you’re a fan, consider the “First Friday Art Walk” in Portland. A self-guided tour of local art galleries, art studios and museums, the tour aims to introduce a wider audience to the Portland art scene. The “First Friday Art Walk” happens, you guessed it, on the first Friday of every month.
http://www.firstfridayartwalk.com/
So what do you think? Are these ten of the top things to do in Maine? Or are there others higher on your list? Let us know in the comments section below, or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Looking for more information like this? Check out other blog posts on this topic by clicking on the buttons below:
Thanks to elizajanecurtis for the use of their photograph.
