Midcoast Islands
Shipbuilding heart of Maine since 1743 - Bath Iron Works still launches destroyers past the Maine Maritime Museum on the Kennebec.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, lobster-boat cruises, and a walkable harbor that lights up with half a million twinkle lights in winter.
Where the mountains meet the sea - windjammer harbor, Mount Battie summit views, and an independent village with real soul.
Bowdoin College green, a restored Federal-era Main Street, and the Harpswell peninsulas for lobster rolls a short drive away.
Wyeth country - the Farnsworth Art Museum, a working lobster fleet, and August's legendary Maine Lobster Festival on the harbor.
An artsy midcoast comeback - working waterfront, the Belfast & Moosehead rail trail, and one of Maine's walkable downtowns.
Oyster country of the Pemaquid peninsula - Edgecomb Potters, Main Street mica, and some of the best raw bars in the state.
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse - Maine's most-photographed - plus Shaw's lobster wharf and Rachel Carson's former writing desk.
Island ferry from Rockland - granite quarries you can swim in, lobster pounds, and a windswept Fox Islands Thoroughfare.
Lincolnville Beach on Penobscot Bay, the Islesboro ferry terminal, and the panoramic drive up Mount Megunticook nearby.
Rockland-ferry island of summer cottages and working lobster crews - quieter than Vinalhaven and barely changed in decades.
Camden's quieter neighbor - Rockport Harbor, the Maine Media Workshops, and Motif No. 1 a few miles up the coast.
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.
Goose River oxbow and quiet country roads between Thomaston and Union - blueberry barrens and Georges River trail access.
Rural Sagadahoc County farmland between Brunswick and Augusta - quiet side roads and the White Tail Farm Store on Route 125.
