Downeast & Acadia
Gateway to Acadia National Park - Cadillac Mountain, puffin cruises, and a harbor town that fills with cruise ships from May to October.
Southern Maine Coast
Dock Square boutiques, Goose Rocks Beach, and the Bush family's Walker's Point - the quintessential coastal Maine summer town.
Greater Portland
Maine's largest city - a working waterfront, Old Port cobblestones, and a food scene that punches well above its weight.
Midcoast Islands
Shipbuilding heart of Maine since 1743 - Bath Iron Works still launches destroyers past the Maine Maritime Museum on the Kennebec.
A Midcoast harbor town built around boat trips, with the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens just up the road.
Where the mountains meet the sea - windjammer harbor, Mount Battie summit views, and an independent village with real soul.
Flagship home of L.L. Bean, open 24/7 - outlets, a tidal river, and surprisingly good eating between the shopping.
Postcard-perfect village of sea captains' mansions, Lower Village shops, and easy walks to Mother's Beach and Gooch's Beach.
Three miles of sand, the Marginal Way clifftop walk, and Perkins Cove's galleries - southern Maine at its most photogenic.
Lakes & Mountains
Western Maine's mountain town, with Sunday River, Grafton Notch State Park and a classic New England common.
Bowdoin College green, a restored Federal-era Main Street, and the Harpswell peninsulas for lobster rolls a short drive away.
Home of Portland Head Light - Maine's oldest lighthouse - plus Two Lights State Park and the beach at Crescent State Park.
Highlands
The gateway town to Baxter State Park and Katahdin, and the southern end of the Appalachian Trail's 100-Mile Wilderness.
The quiet, moneyed side of Mount Desert Island, with a marina, two famous gardens, and fast access to Acadia.
Seven miles of sand, a 500-foot pier with carnival games, and summer nights that feel like they belong in a postcard.
A remote lakes-and-mountains town in western Maine, with big water, dark skies and serious winter snow.
Wyeth country - the Farnsworth Art Museum, a working lobster fleet, and August's legendary Maine Lobster Festival on the harbor.
The working harbor on the quiet side of Mount Desert Island, with boatyards, Bass Harbor Head Light and easy Acadia access.
Maine's busiest lobster port, at the far end of Deer Isle, with the mailboat to Isle au Haut leaving from the town dock.
Seven miles of beach, a protected estuarine reserve, and the southern coast's densest run of seafood shacks.
Four distinct villages (York Village, York Harbor, York Beach and Cape Neddick) covering colonial history and a classic beach town.
Hub of eastern Maine - Stephen King's hometown, a riverfront reinvention, and your jumping-off point for Moosehead and Acadia.
An artsy midcoast comeback - working waterfront, the Belfast & Moosehead rail trail, and one of Maine's walkable downtowns.
Reviving mill-town food scene in the Pepperell Mill - Elda, Biscuits & Co., and the Pool beaches five minutes away.
A peninsula town with a serious music and pottery scene, a hill worth climbing, and a working village center.
The Penobscot Narrows Observatory tower, the Fort Knox granite fortress, and the gateway drive to Acadia from the north.
A small peninsula town with an outsized military history, the Maine Maritime Academy, and streets of Federal architecture.
Oyster country of the Pemaquid peninsula - Edgecomb Potters, Main Street mica, and some of the best raw bars in the state.
A granite-and-spruce island connected by a 1939 suspension bridge, home to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
Gateway to Acadia - Main Street's shopping strip, the Colonel Black Mansion, and the scenic Union River dam walk.
The town at the foot of Moosehead Lake, gateway to the North Woods and the 100-Mile Wilderness.
Maine's southern gateway - Kittery Trading Post, the outlet strip, and Kittery Point lobster shacks Bourdain put on the map.
The easternmost town in the continental US, with West Quoddy Head Light and a bridge to Campobello Island.
A working fishing village on the Pemaquid peninsula, near Pemaquid Point Light and the boat to Monhegan.
A fifteen-minute ferry from Portland: a car-light island of bikes, beaches and a working year-round community.
Funtown Splashtown, Ferry Beach's maritime pine forest, and a tidy Main Street connecting downtown to the ocean.
Portland's southern neighbor, with Higgins Beach, Pine Point, Prouts Neck and the state's largest salt marsh.
Island ferry from Rockland - granite quarries you can swim in, lobster pounds, and a windswept Fox Islands Thoroughfare.
Kennebec Valley
Maine's state capital on the Kennebec: the 1832 State House, Old Fort Western, and the Maine State Museum.
Sebago Lakes region hub - Shawnee Peak skiing, Highland Lake beaches, and the drive-in movie theater running since 1954.
The northern village of York, home to the Nubble Lighthouse, the most photographed light in Maine.
Upscale Portland suburb on Casco Bay - Gilsland Farm Audubon, the Town Landing Market deli, and Mackworth Island walks.
A Saco River town on the New Hampshire line, known for canoeing, covered bridges and Maine's largest agricultural fair.
Three long peninsulas of lobster shacks, tidal coves, and the Basin - Maine's most southerly fjord - south of Brunswick.
A Penobscot Bay village with a beach right on Route 1 and the ferry to Islesboro leaving from the same spot.
Rockland-ferry island of summer cottages and working lobster crews - quieter than Vinalhaven and barely changed in decades.
Flagship University of Maine campus - Black Bears hockey, the Hudson Museum's Indigenous collections, and Orono Bog Boardwalk.
Aroostook County
The largest city in Aroostook County, at the center of Maine's potato country and its cross-country skiing.
Camden's quieter neighbor - Rockport Harbor, the Maine Media Workshops, and Motif No. 1 a few miles up the coast.
York County's inland service center, a former textile city with the Mousam River and a growing trail network.
Maine's deepest lake and Greater Portland's water supply, ringed by state park beaches and summer camps.
Colby College's hilltop campus, the Colby Museum's sprawling collection, and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center on Main Street.
Home of the world's largest rotating globe at DeLorme, a walkable Main Street, and the long-running Yarmouth Clam Festival.
One half of the Twin Cities on the Androscoggin, with a lake in the middle of town and Maine's shoe-making history.
Seven chain lakes where 'On Golden Pond' was filmed - loon calls, camp meals, and lazy canoe mornings off Route 27.
Across the river from Bangor - Chamberlain Freedom Park, the Waterfront trail, and Riverside Park overlooking downtown.
Aroostook County potato country - Nylander Museum, the Caribou Country Club, and snowmobile trails all winter long.
University of Maine at Farmington, the annual Farmington Fair, and the drive up Route 27 to Sugarloaf ski country.
Kennebec mill town - Johnson Hall Opera House, the Gardiner Common, and Pine Tree Camp grounds for youth programs.
University of Southern Maine hilltop campus, Shaw Park's waterfall, and Narragansett-2 Beach on nearby Little Sebago.
Antique-shop row on Water Street, the Hallowell granite quarry, and the Kennebec River rail trail north toward Augusta.
South of Bangor on the Penobscot - Leonard's Mills Living History Museum, Hampden Academy, and riverfront park access.
Northern I-95 terminus on the New Brunswick border - Market Square, Monument Park, and the Meduxnekeag River paddle trail.
Twin-city of Auburn on the Androscoggin - Bates College, Kennedy Park, and Maine's most vibrant Somali-American community.
Old Town Canoe's birthplace on the Penobscot - the Indian Island tribal reservation and access to the Penobscot Experience.
Poland Spring bottling country - Ricker Hill Orchards, the former Poland Spring Resort museum, and Range Pond State Park.
Tassel Top Beach on Sebago Lake, the Hawthorne House museum, and Crescent Beach Club - classic Maine cottage country.
Skowhegan State Fair - America's oldest - the Margaret Chase Smith Library, and the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
Brunswick's across-the-river twin - Androscoggin riverfront trails, Topsham Fair Mall, and the Coombs Road antique loop.
Medomak River oyster flats, the Waldoboro 5 & 10 on Main Street, and a drive to Monhegan's ferry at Port Clyde down the road.
A former paper-mill city on the Presumpscot just west of Portland, with a riverwalk, a waterfall and a growing food scene.
Little Sebago Lake beaches, the Mountain Division rail trail, and a suburban hub between Portland and Sebago Lake State Park.
Between Kennebunkport and Biddeford - Arundel Barn Playhouse, the Kennebunk River paddle, and antique-shop row on Route 1.
Salmon Falls River mill town, the Berwick Academy prep school, and quiet country drives into the Great Works River marsh.
Bonny Eagle Dam lake, Pleasant Point Park, and quick access to Portland and Sebago Lake from Route 202 westbound.
Four Seasons Club trail network, the China Lake Regional Park beach, and one of the largest Baptist camps in New England.
Piscataquis shire town - Piscataquis River Grand Falls, Low's Covered Bridge, and a base for the 100-mile Wilderness.
Royal River Conservation District lands, Runaround Pond Preserve, and Freeport-border quarry swimming holes locals protect.
Piscataqua riverfront, the Green Acre Bahá'í School, and the cross-river view to Portsmouth's tugboats from Boat Basin Road.
Kennebec River mill town across from Waterville - the Lawrence Public Library, Somerset Speedway, and Fairfield Antiques Mall.
Pushaw Lake shoreline north of Bangor - Hirundo Wildlife Refuge trails and a quiet ice-fishing lake in winter.
Maine Wildlife Park - rehabilitated moose, bears, and bald eagles on show - plus Dry Mills and Cranwell Preserve access.
Rural Androscoggin County farmland - Sabattus Pond's north shore, the old Greene Road covered-bridge marker, a quiet commute.
Bangor bedroom community - Hermon Pond, Riverside campground, and the gateway drive west toward Moosehead on Route 2.
Tory Hill Meetinghouse historic district, Saco River float trips, and the old Hollis Fire Museum just up the road.
Androscoggin River papermill town - Jay-Livermore Chamber, Spruce Mountain, and the old Riley Dam pier.
Far southwestern Maine in the Salmon Falls Valley - Heath Pond fishing, the 1780 Lebanon Meetinghouse, and Granite State farms.
Penobscot River lake chain, moose-and-fly-fishing country, and ATV access to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Moxie Festival every July - Maine's official soda - plus Worumbo mill ruins, Railroad Park, and the Androscoggin Greenway.
Rural York County with Kennebunk Pond - Goat Hill Farm, tractor shows, and quiet drives along Old Alfred Road through farmland.
Central Maine mill town - Skowhegan State Fair drive, Lake George Regional Park, and the Upper Kennebec's smallmouth bass.
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village - the last active Shaker community in the US - plus Pineland Farms pastures and cafes.
Sebasticook Lake beach, Newport Village Historic District, and the Moosehead Trail drive north from I-95 up Route 7.
Hussey Seating Company hometown - Logan's Sub Shop whoopie pies and Mousam River paddling access on the back roads.
Oxford Hills village - the Norway-Paris Grange, Stephens Memorial Hospital, and the Butters Conservation Area on Norway Lake.
Messalonskee Lake beaches just west of Waterville - Cascade Park falls, Belgrade Lakes access, and walks at Memorial Park.
Oxford Plains Speedway NASCAR night races, the Oxford Casino, and quick access to Shepard State Park on Thompson Lake.
Paris Hill's white-clapboard common - Hannibal Hamlin's hometown - plus McLaughlin Garden and Oxford Hills foliage drives.
Androscoggin River mill town under Pennacook Falls - Mt. Zircon, Rumford Whitecaps, and Smallpox Island view from the bridge.
Sabattus Pond's shallow weedy shoreline - ice-fishing derbies, the Androscoggin County 4-H grounds, and cornfield drives.
Rural Kennebec Valley farmland - Sidney Drive-In Theatre, Messalonskee Lake access, and dairy herds along Route 27.
Sarah Orne Jewett's 18th-century home - Salmon Falls River corridor, Hamilton House, and Vaughan Woods state forest trails.
Northwest shore of Sebago Lake - Sebago Lake State Park's Songo Lock, Standish Corner's white church, quiet country roads.
Nezinscot River farmland - Turner Center Cemetery's old stones, Turner Ridge's long views, and the Turner Gorge swimming hole.
China Lake and Webber Pond beaches, Monmouth Academy's grounds, and Kennebec Highlands trails west of Augusta.
Goose River oxbow and quiet country roads between Thomaston and Union - blueberry barrens and Georges River trail access.
Lake Arrowhead cottages - East Waterboro dairy farms, Ossipee Hill fire-tower trail, and access to the Saco River Valley.
Windsor Fair - one of Maine's oldest agricultural fairs - plus the Windsor Historical Museum and Sheepscot River headwaters.
Across the Kennebec from Waterville - Fort Halifax Park, the Head of Falls trail, and the Benton-Fairfield dam walking bridge.
Cobbossee Lake beaches, the Winthrop Commercial Historic District, and the Wayne Road loop through apple and dairy country.
Rural Sagadahoc County farmland between Brunswick and Augusta - quiet side roads and the White Tail Farm Store on Route 125.
Aroostook wind-farm ridgeline - Big Rock ski area, the Potato Blossom Festival parade, and the first US spot to see sunrise.
Aroostook County lake country - bald-eagle spotting, summer camps, and snowmobile trail access to northern Maine wilderness.
The quiet middle of Mount Desert Island: Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor and Somesville, plus Jordan Pond and Somes Sound.
The working end of Mount Desert Island: Bass Harbor, Bernard, and the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.
The mainland gateway to Mount Desert Island: the causeway, the airport, and a run of lobster pounds on Route 3.
The Schoodic side of Acadia: the same granite coast as Mount Desert Island, with a fraction of the visitors.
