Lobster rolls and lighthouses: The perfect Maine road trip

06.06.2024 - 16:15 / thepointsguy.com

Maine's breathtaking coastline is unlike any other. It's only about 280 miles from the New Hampshire border to the New Brunswick, Canada, border if you follow the region's principal road, U.S. Route 1 (along with state Route 189 for the final stretch).

However, this jagged shoreline is anything but a straight shot. And if you measure the tide coastline — which includes every peninsula, inlet, island and tidal basin — the Maine coast actually measures 3,478 miles, making it the fourth-longest in the country (it slightly exceeds California's).

You could drive it sticking closely to U.S. 1 in about seven or eight hours, but you wouldn't actually see much of the ocean. For views of Maine's azure waters — its rocky headlands dotted with imposing historic lighthouses, its sheltered harbors aglow with sleek sailboats and colorful lobster buoys — you'll want to detour frequently from the main route. To fully experience this breathtaking maritime landscape immortalized in the paintings of Winslow Homer, Marsden Hartley, Andrew Wyeth and countless other luminaries, spend at least a few days (or ideally a couple of weeks) tracing the coast's many contours.

As you traverse the coast in a northeasterly direction, heading "down east" as it's known in Maine vernacular, you'll encounter far fewer people and much less commercial development. The relatively direct stretch from the New Hampshire border to the state's largest city, Portland, abounds with sophisticated sea-to-table restaurants and posh country inns as well as charming lobster shacks, enticing ice cream stands and nostalgic minigolf centers. Once you get past Freeport, with its iconic L.L. Bean flagship store, you start to encounter the wilder and more rugged Maine coast, with its long and narrow peninsulas.

Along this part of the coast, you'll still find pockets of upscale vacationers in affluent summer colonies like Boothbay Harbor, Camden and Bar Harbor, but the pace slows. The final stretch of coast beyond Mount Desert Island to the Canadian border feels completely rural. You'll encounter few fellow travelers in this sparsely populated but verdant area that depends economically more on commercial fishing and blueberry farming than tourism.

But by exploring the full length of Maine's gorgeous coast, you'll find much to appreciate. You can feast on incredible seafood (not just lobster but rock and Jonah crab, oysters, mussels, and myriad fish) and a dizzying variety of craft beers. You'll discover superb art museums and galleries, and diverse flora and fauna to view on coastal hikes, wildlife-watching cruises and kayaking and biking tours. And, of course, there's the stunning natural scenery of Acadia National Park.

Here's your guide to planning the