Hey guys!
If you guys don’t know, I basically grew up in Maine. I moved to Maine when I was in the 4th grade, so I was about 10 years old. I recently moved to Philadelphia, but I know a lot of great places to visit in Maine, which is a huge tourist spot in the summer! I’m going to list out places according to where they are in Maine (I grew up in Central Maine), so that if you are planning to visit a certain place, it will be easier to see the cool places there!
Bar Harbor
1. Acadia
If you are visiting Bar Harbor, then you need to stop by Acadia National Park! If you like to hike, there are so many different trails to choose from! If you just want to relax, then you should visit Sand Beach, but watch out because the water is always absolutely freezing, even in the summertime! You should also go to the top of Cadillac mountain and check out the amazing view of Bar Harbor! Here is a picture from 2012 of me on the top of the mountain (lol why am I wearing flip flops on a mountain?!)!
2. Shops
No trip to Bar Harbor is complete without shopping! There are so many cute, local shops located on the main strip, but you shouldn’t forget to walk down the side streets, because there’s even more shops down there as well! My favorite store is Patrick’s By The Sea! It has Scout Bags, Vera Bradley, Alex and Ani, and is just absolutely adorable.
3. Ocean Walk
The Ocean Walk is probably my favorite thing about Bar Harbor. One day while Drew and I were visiting, we decided to keep walking straight past the Bar Harbor Inn instead of turning around, and we ended up finding this long path that was right along the Ocean. On this path you could see all of the fancy, historical houses that are in Bar Harbor, plus you get an awesome view of the water!
4. Food
There are so many places to eat, and Drew and I always try to eat somewhere new, but lately we’ve kept going back to Bar Harbor Beerworks, which has this awesome Mac attack burger, involving a burger with Mac and Cheese on it! You could literally go to any restaurant and have a good meal, but this place is especially cool because they have all different kinds of beer! One time, Drew got watermelon beer, and actually loved it! There is also amazing ice cream in Bar Harbor, my favorite place being Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium! They have the best caramel and sea salt ice cream I’ve ever had! It also has a super cute giant lobster that you can take pictures with outside! There is this brunch place called 2 Cats that is my absolute favorite. They have the best strawberry butter ever, and the omelette that I had was amazing! This picture is from 2 years ago, but you can see how excited/happy I was to find this lobster!
5. Sunrise
One of the most popular things to do is watchthe sunrise. I’ve done this twice, and both times were absolutely amazing. This is something that you can do with your friends, family, or significant other, and each time is still just as beautiful as the first! Most people go to the top of Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunrise, and if you’re a first time sunrise watcher, then I would definitely recommend doing just that!
Bangor
1. Dysarts
OMG. If you’re looking for a great place to eat breakfast, Dysarts is the one for you! You HAVE to get one of their giant cinnamon rolls, because they are sooo delicious! The original one is in Hermon, so that’s the one that I always go to! It’s a truck stop turned into a restaurant, but it is famous for it’s delicious food!
2. Waterfront
During the summer, the Bangor Waterfrontalways has concerts going on, mostly country ones, but it is also a great place to take a walk along the river on any summer night! Of course there are restaurants along the river, so if you get hungry on your walk, you can stop and get some food!
3. Bog Walk
The Orono Bog Walk is one of Drew and I’s favorite places to go during the summer. It is a short loop around the Bangor City Forrest, and it is a great place to exercise, plus I just think it is a great place to walk and talk/have conversations with the people in your life!
4. Nest
I LOVE THIS PLACE SO MUCH. Nest just recently opened in Orono, and it is the perfect college town coffee shop. Not only is their coffee amazing, but they have great breakfast food AND baked goods! My favorite thing to order is the Acai bowl! It is the best acai bowl I’ve ever had, and I refuse to order anything else when I go because I just love it that much.
This is the acai bowl! SO GOOD!
These are the Nutella waffles that my dad got!
5. Bagel Central
In my opinion, this is the only place to get good bagels in Bangor. Being from New Jersey/always visiting New York has left my opinion about bagels extremely high (because New Jersey/York bagels are the best), and Bagel Central has definitely upheld to those standards! They have a range of different cream cheese flavors, and there are so many different bagel options to choose from! Their iced coffee is also to die for!
5. Downtown Bangor
Downtown Bangor is very cutesy, but also very small! So there is no worrying about getting lost like in the big cities, plus there are a lotof good restaurants around! Drew and I consider Paddy Murphy’s “our place,” so it is our go to when we don’t know where to eat! I also love Evenrood’s and Timber, which are both restaurants that are a bit more pricey!
6. Stephen King Tour
If anyone loves Stephen King as much as I do, then you know that he is from Maine and actually lives in Bangor! You can do a Stephen King Tour with Stu, who is a family friend and a Stephen King guru, and learn so much about the places/things/stories that have influenced a lot of King’s books! Plus, you get to driveby and stop outside of his mansion in Bangor, which is super cool/spooky!
Camden
1. Shops
I love Camden, Maine! There are so many cute shops around town, most of which include nautical/preppy goods! There is one store that has super cute nautical home goods, but I can’t remember the name of it! It is on the maine strip of shops, and is filled with all the nautical home goods your future home needs!
2. Food
There are some super cute places to eat in Camden! My favorite is a sandwich shop (which I also can’t remember the name of), that is on the main street! You guys don’t know this, but sandwiches are my favorite food (I know, weird), and I’m a sucker for any deli-like place that offers a variety of sandwiches!
3. Hiking
Drew recently visited Camden, and he went hiking in Camden (lol he can’t remember the name of the mountain…)! So if you love to shop like me, but also want to do outdoorsy things like hike, then Camden is the place for you!
4. Rockport
If you’re going to Camden, then you should also stop by Rockland! There is the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, and it is such a pretty view/walk(plus it makes for great pictures lol)!
Portland
1. Old Port
The Old Port in Portland, Maine is sooo nautical! There are super cute shops, bars, and tons of restaurants! This is definitely the perfect place to go if you’re with a group of your closest friends and are spending the weekend together! I spent my 21st birthday at the Old Port last year, and it was soo much fun!
2. Freeport
Freeport is 30 min away from Portland, and this is where all of the outlets are! Freeport is probably my favorite place to visit in Maine, mostly because I love shopping, but also because of it’s charm. It is so cute, there are a ton of shops and restaurants, and you get to walk around all day outside! This is also where the original L.L. Bean is, so it is a huge tourist spot in the summer! My favorite place to eat is actually a small smoothie shop in a little cafeteria like thing, and a normally get one to hold me over while I shop! My typically Freeport trip involved getting there at like 10 AM, then heading over to Portland to go to the mall (because there’s only 2 malls in Maine and the Portland one is better) for the rest of the day!
Hope that you guys enjoyed this, especially if you are planning on visiting Maine in the future!
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