Southwestern Maine Coast

Kittery, the Yorks, Wells, Ogunquit, the Kennebunks, Biddeford Pool, Old Orchard Beach: beaches, walks, shopping, dining, theater, lighthouses, history and fun! More...

Portland & Freeport

Maine's largest city has history, art, and lots of good dining. Nearby Freeport has shops, shops and more shops, especially L L Bean. More...

Midcoast Maine

Long fingers of land stretching southward into the ocean: pure Maine! Here are the real windjammer (sailing ship) ports—Rockland and Camden— and important Midcoast towns of Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset, Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta-Newcastle; the boat to Monhegan Island; and dramatic Pemaquid Lighthouse. More...

Penobscot Bay, Acadia &
Mt Desert Island

Charming Castine and Blue Hill, and to the east Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and the international ferry to Nova Scotia. More...

Downeast Maine

East of Mount Desert Island are the wilder, less-visited shores of Maine: Schoodic Peninsula, Machias, Calais, Eastport and Lubec—where the morning sun first strikes the soil of the USA. More...

New Brunswick, Canada

If you have your passport with you, you can make your trip a Two-Nation Vacation by driving from Lubec, Maine to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, to visit the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. From Campobello or Eastport, in summer you can take a car ferry to Deer Island, New Brunswick, or you can drive via Calais, Maine, to reach St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick. More...

Inland Maine

The largest state in New England is much more than its coastline. There's Augusta, the capital, graceful Bethel, busy Bangor, Rangeley amid its lakes, wild Caratunk & The Forks, and Baxter State Park with Mount Katahdin, northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, not to mention winter skiing. More...

About Maine

There is something quintessentially American about this rugged and sparsely populated state, the largest in New England (by territory). It's as though the vast forests of the north and the jagged coastline of "downeast" Maine are the last American frontier, rich in natural resources but waiting for people equally rugged to tame them.

Although there are still areas of wilderness in Maine, some of the state's potential was exploited long ago, soon after its discovery by Europeans. When the French and English came to these shores, they found miles and miles of virgin forest. The tremendous white pine trees have been replaced by other varieties, and lumber products again yield a good deal of the state's economy.

Besides its forests, Maine has great stores of granite for building, but they're mostly untapped as yet. Although agriculture is difficult because of the rocky soil and the short growing season, Maine potatoes are known and used throughout the eastern United States, and a small number of Maine vineyards and wineries benefit from the moderating effects of the ocean. Maine's fishers yearly pull great quantities of fish, scallops, shrimp, and the famous lobsters from the chill Atlantic waters.

But the largest industry in Maine these days is the vacation trade: campers, hikers, and fishers in the mountains and lakes, Maine windjammer cruises and summer residents in the beautiful old coastal towns, and several of the best ski resorts in the region.

Good food—especially Maine lobster—and clean air draw the crowds from Boston, Montreal, and New York, and life in the southern coastal towns is lively and interesting from mid-June through Labor Day, after which the visitors become those looking for the quiet of Indian Summer and the autumn foliage season. Most warm-weather resorts close up by the last week in October, but the ski resorts open in November and bustle until April.

—by Tom Brosnahan

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Maine Highlights Maine Transportation Southwestern Maine Midcoast Maine Penobscot Bay Mt Desert Island Downeast Maine Inland Maine Tourist Information