Coastal Maine - a lobster a day keeps the doctor away (or something like that)
I went to coastal Maine with my family as a preteen. Few trips imprinted on me as a child, but coastal Maine certainly did. I remember few details except the beauty of the area and the fresh-caught lobster. Coastal Maine has been on my list since then.
The Hubs and I just returned from our seven-night, three-town tour. The beauty of the area and the fresh-caught lobster did not disappoint!
We traveled in mid-September, the shoulder season when things are still open but slowing down. Shoulder season (May and September-October in Maine) is a great time to travel to very touristy areas. The peak season chaos and crowds have slowed. The weather is either improving or continuing. You may find more reasonable lodging. In many places, including parts of Maine, there is a partial or complete seasonal shutdown in the off-season.
We experienced unseasonably warm weather during our trip, with temperatures rising to the high 70s/low 80s. The average highs are typically in the high 60s. The mornings and evenings were chilly, so layering was essential. There’s generally little rain in the fall; we experienced beautifully sunny skies daily. It was a perfect weather week.
Our first leg was two nights in Kennebunkport.
We arrived at the Kennebunkport Captains Collection late afternoon and settled into our beautiful room in the Nathanial Lord Mansion. The hotel, which occupies four adjacent stately historic homes—among the oldest in the area, is within walking distance of town. The Nathanial Lord Mansion is designed in period style and retains much of its historical grandeur.
After a quick refresh, we walked into town and had dinner at Batson River Brewing & Distilling. We enjoyed cocktails, truffle fries, duck-fat cornbread, and lobster bisque on the patio. All were delicious, but the duck-fat cornbread gets extra points for creativity.
We began our days in Kennebunkport with a lovely breakfast at our hotel. They had a nice spread of juices, bread, pastries, fruit, yogurt with granola, and quiche. You could enjoy breakfast in the sitting room, outside, or in your room. Breakfast for all guests is served in the main house, Nathanial Lord Mansion; this home is also where the guest registration office is.
Our time in Kennebunkport was spent traversing Ocean Avenue two ways. In the morning, we walked it. In the afternoon, we rode the hotel’s complimentary bikes. It’s a lovely way to explore Kennebunkport, the river, harbor, and coast. The two-mile road begins at Dock Square, goes along the river to the coast, and ends at Walker’s Point, home of the Bush Family Compound. Many beautiful houses and hotels line one side, and rocky shorelines line the other. St. Ann's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church is a beautiful stone church sitting on a rocky cliffside - it was open the day we went, but I have read that it is often closed to the public. If the tides cooperate, stop at Blowing Cave. The best time to experience the water spout is about an hour before high tide. The overlook at Blowing Cave, marked by a large anchor, provides an excellent view of Sandy Cove and the Bush Compound. The primary mansion was built in 1902, and the compound has been added to over time. The Bush family has summered in Kennebunkport for over a century.
We planned to go to Mabel’s but ended up at The Clam Shack because of timing and location. While the Clam Shack’s lobster roll has been named “America’s Best Lobster Rolls” by Food & Wine Magazine, Thrillist’s “The Best Thing to Eat in Every State,” and Travel + Leisure's “101 Places Every Traveler Should Know,” it was our least favorite of the four we had. The fried scallops and blueberry hand pie were both fantastic, however.
There’s nothing quite so quintessentially Maine than eating a lobster roll from a roadside stand on the side of the water.
After our bike ride along Ocean Avenue, exploring the shops of Dock’s Square, and a nap at the hotel, we enjoyed dinner at Old Vines, our favorite dinner of the trip. We had drinks at the bar and a spectacular meal of truffle fingerlings, crispy pork belly, and short rib and blue cheese toasts. I love a dinner of cocktails and small plates. If I get to choose, I’d always vote for that. It’s a great way to try lots of different things. If that won’t work, I like to split a couple of meals. Thankfully, The Hubs lets me order whatever I want us to have - generally, he doesn’t even look at the menu unless I ask. He’s the best!
On to Portland…
We stopped at the Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park on our way into the city. While seeing the lighthouse up close was nice, the best views come from a distance. There is an overlook to the right, and to the left, a gate opens to a navigable, albeit rocky, path to the shore.
Fort Williams Park, which spans over 90 acres, has nice walking trails and remnants of two military installations: Battery Keyes, built in 1906, and Battery Blair, built in 1903. It also has an arboretum and a children’s garden.
The Goddard Mansion, built in 1858, is worth a quick look. A path around the back leads to Battery Keyes along the rocky cliffs.
We enjoyed the Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park, but the star of the show was the lobster roll at the Bite into Maine food truck—our favorite of the trip. I will think about that warm buttery bun toasted to perfection, liberal portion of huge chunks of cold, fresh lobster, and generous drizzle of warm butter until the end of my days.
On our way out, we stopped at the Pie-Oh-My! food truck, located by the beach at Ship Cove, and enjoyed blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
We stayed at The Press Hotel in Portland. This luxury boutique hotel, housed in the former home of Maine's biggest newspaper, is a Marriott property with newsroom references throughout. The location in the Old Port District drove my decision to stay here—everything we did was within walking distance. Parking for the hotel is difficult. The entrance is on a small one-way side street with minimal short-term parking. Daily valet parking for $40 or street parking were the options presented to us at check-in.
After getting settled, we walked the old port and the waterfront. It became apparent that Portland’s food scene is extensive, and its ranking as America’s #2 foodie city is well deserved.
Nearly endless options make adding dining to our agenda quite tricky. I want to eat all the things at all the places. But we (The Hubs helped a bit on this trip. Gasp!) nailed it here in Portland.
We started our evening with drinks and the Hunt popcorn at Hunt & Alpine. I ordered the Bonecrusher, which was my favorite cocktail of the trip.
We then enjoyed a dinner of oysters, tuna crudo, and a lobster roll at Eventide. The Eventide brown butter lobster roll is served warm on a steamed bun, and while nontraditional, it was our second favorite of the trip. We concluded the evening with a whoopie pie. I am generally not a huge fan of whoopie pies, and I didn’t love this one, but I was determined to give Maine, the unofficial capital of whoopie pies, a chance to change my mind.
We began our next day at Holy Donut. We tried four donuts: apple cider, salted chocolate, cinnamon sugar chocolate, and maple bacon. While The Hubs and I prefer yeast donuts to cake donuts, the maple bacon was delicious. Starting our day with breakfast at the port was an excellent way to start a great day.
The Hubs and I aren’t tour people. We generally like to explore on our own. But sometimes, a tour is the best or only way to experience something. Lobstering is one of those things. I researched extensively to find a lobstering cruise that was 1. owner-operated, 2. small group, 3. interactive, and 4. captained by a real lobsterman on his lobstering vessel. Lucky Catch Cruises checked all those boxes. The Lobstering cruise was such a fun and educational experience. The 90-minute tour was run by the owner, Captain Tom. All 15 passengers got to experience all aspects of lobstering. They put us to work. The cruise goes through Portland Harbor and Casco Bay, stopping a handful of times to work the traps. There is also a stop in front of the Portland Head Light, which provides the best view.
Captain Tom offers lobstering tours during the summer and lobsters commercially for the rest of the year. He has been a commercial lobsterman in Maine for 40 years and, therefore, is very knowledgeable about lobster and lobstering. He’s a funny and easygoing guy who has an evident love of lobstering and sharing his knowledge.
The Lucky Catch offers an opportunity to buy the freshly caught lobsters for boat (wholesale) price. You can take them home to cook on your own or take them across the pier to the Portland Lobster Company.
Upon returning to the dock, we walked the Eastern Promenade. This waterfront trail offers good views of the harbor and ocean. It ends at East End Beach, where many dogs were playing in the water. We saw the largest yacht we’d ever seen on the pier—that's fun to dream about.
Returning to our hotel, we stopped at Gilbert's Chowder House for a lunch of super chowder and fried whole-belly clams. The chowder is a mixed seafood chowder; the super chowder has double the catch of clams, shrimp, haddock, and lobster. The flavor was fantastic, and it was loaded with seafood. I am a big fan of fried clam strips, but I've never had the regional whole-belly clam. The New England whole-belly clam comes from soft-shelled steamer clams, while clam strips come from the lip of hard-shelled sea clams. The whole-belly clam has a much fuller flavor and tastes more of the ocean; additionally, whole-belly clams have a tender, slightly chewy texture, while clam strips often have a rubbery texture. Whole-belly clams include the GI tract, which is sometimes apparent—The Hubs opted not to eat those ones. Sometimes, it's best not to look too closely! I am an even bigger fan of fried whole-belly clams now; going back to frozen fried clam strips will be highly disappointing.
After a nap, we ventured to Victoria Mansion, a grand mansion built in 1858. We didn’t stay because the timing of the guided tours available that afternoon weren’t going to work. Instead, we walked Commercial Avenue along the waterfront. We stumbled upon Becky’s Diner, the home of the “best whoopie pie in Portland,” and in a continued effort to allow Maine to convert me, we ordered a whoopie pie to go. Becky’s Diner’s whoopie pie was better, but again, I didn’t love it—the cookies are just a bit dry, and to cut the dryness, there needs to be a lot of frosting; the ratio is off, and they’re just too sweet. Some people will disagree with my assessment, and I’ll never yuck someone’s yum. Go to Maine, the unofficial capital of whoopie pie, and find your favorite.
I dropped the ball and didn’t add a spot to grab a cocktail before dinner. This is where The Hubs came to the rescue. He did his own research and found us Blyth & Burrows. This little place has a great atmosphere; the cocktails were unique and well-made. The Ship Captain Crew was The Hubs’ favorite cocktail of the trip.
We headed to DuckFat for dinner, where we ordered poutine with duck confit and grilled cheese with spicy soppressata. Both were amazing. I wish we had room for more—I was eyeing up the donuts and a milkshake.
We stopped at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden on our way to Bar Harbor. I wasn’t originally going to add it to our itinerary, but Big Sis had recently visited and said it was great. She was correct; we enjoyed ourselves. The 300-plus acres of natural space includes more than a dozen planned gardens and numerous paths and trails. Hidden throughout the wooded areas are five enormous recycled wood trolls. Each troll has a message to share, and if you put all the clues together, you’ll learn the secret of the Guardians of the Seeds. We spent a few hours there, walking most of the grounds and finding all the trolls and the seeds.
We had plans to visit Owls Head State Park and McLoon's Lobster Shack after the gardens, but instead, we got lost in the fingers of coastal Maine. We had no service or map and spent over an hour trying to find our way. We still had a drive ahead of us and didn’t want to add another detour to our journey, so we decided to carry on and find lunch along the way. This doesn’t always work out; sometimes, you end up at a Dunkin’ Donuts, but we found a gem—The Shuck Station in Newcastle. We ordered a lobster roll, our third favorite, and fried haddock.
Is it possible that every town along the Coast of Maine has a seafood shack that serves killer seafood?
And now Bar Harbor…
We stayed at the Bar Harbor Inn, which dates back to the 1800s. The luxury property sits on Frenchman Bay, overlooking the harbor and the Porcupine Islands in the heart of downtown. Our room was a beautiful harbor-facing room with a lovely little balcony.
Soon after arriving, we realized it was low tide, making it a perfect time to walk across Bar Beach to Bar Island. For an hour and a half before and after low tide, a gravel bar is fully exposed between Bar Harbor and Bar Island. Bar Island has a 1.9-mile trail loop. Monitor the tide; you do not want to get trapped on the island until the next low tide in 9 hours.
That evening, for dinner, we went to Havana for a charred octopus appetizer, paella loaded with seafood and mojitos. Everything was perfect. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and got ice cream at Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. That was really good, too.
We started our day with breakfast at 2 Cats Bar Harbor. We both ordered the farmer’s breakfast. It was fine and did the job, but it wasn’t great.
We entered Acadia National Park through the Hull Creek entrance and parked at the Sand Beach parking lot with plans to walk the Ocean Path. The path goes along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island for approximately two miles until it arrives at Otter Point (a there-and-back trail with a 4-mile round trip). The trail is partially paved with gravel, dirt, and rock sections. The trail begins at Sand Beach, the only sand beach we saw on our trip. We got gorgeous views of the rocky shoreline and beautiful ocean as we continued to navigate the path. Thunder Hole is a small inlet naturally carved out of the rocks. At the end of the inlet is a small cavern where air and water are forced out when the waves rush in. Water may spout as high as 40 feet with a thunderous roar. Given the calm seas and a receding tide, we only heard a few gurgles. The best time to visit is about an hour before high tide. We passed Boulder Beach. The rocky shoreline becomes rising cliffs offering stunning vistas. At Otter Cliff, we saw climbers shimmy down the cliffside. The trail ends at Otter Point, where we climbed out on the rocks and took in the view before we returned to Sand Beach.
After our wonderful hike, we returned to town and stopped at The Stadium for a light lunch. We had a delicious popover with blueberry preserves and clam chowder while enjoying the harbor view from a bench in Agamont Park. We then walked a short section of the shore path, which begins at the Town Pier next to Agamont Park, goes a short distance past the Bar Harbor Inn, and wraps around before continuing for less than a mile along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path suffered recent storm damage and remains partially closed for repairs.
After a nap and time enjoying our balcony, we walked to Project Social for dinner. The outdoor patio was beautiful, and the small plate menu was extensive. We started with delicious cocktails. We ordered beef skewers, duck tacos, a lobster crepe, and pork belly. We both liked the beef skewers and duck tacos. I liked the lobster crepe, but the Hubs didn’t enjoy it. The Hubs liked the pork belly, but I didn’t care for the heavy five spice flavor.
We started the next day with breakfast at Cafe This Way. The blueberry pancake was the best pancake I’ve ever had. It was rich and buttery, with crispy, lacey edges, and a soft, fluffy middle. The Hubs got an egg sandwich that he thought was okay, but he really liked the chocolate chip pancake.
We returned to Acadia with a plan to hike the shore path around Jordan Pond (which is actually a lake). The trail begins at the Jordan Pond parking area. The 3.3-mile loop follows the water’s edge with a path of raised plank boardwalk, gravel, rutted dirt, and large rocky outcrops. There is very little elevation change, but the path does require navigating over and around a few rocky areas, making it more than just an easy walk.
It is a beautiful hike through marshy wooded areas and across rocky shorelines, with The Bubbles watching. The lake is gorgeous, Acadia’s deepest, clearest, and second largest. It’s a public water source, so water access is strictly limited. Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail but prohibited from entering the water; we saw a couple violate this rule, and it ruffled some feathers. There’s evidence of a resident beaver, and we enjoyed discovering his handiwork and searching for his lodge. At about the halfway point, near the small bridge, there is a path to The Bubbles, which we intended to take, but it was closed.
We enjoyed this gorgeous hike. It’s a good distance, and the varied trail added some dimension. The scenery was fantastic. It was a little more crowded than we had hoped, but we like solitude when hiking.
From the Jordan Pond shore path, there is a path up to Jordan Pond House. Jordan Pond House has a long history, serving tea and popovers since 1893. If you want to dine from their full menu, I strongly recommend making a reservation. Reservations open the month before. An upstairs grab-and-go has snacks and prepared lunches available, with popovers and ice cream from the counter. We took in the view over a popover with blueberry ice cream. After returning to our hotel and briefly resting, we walked the village green and explored the downtown shops.
We drove up Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunset to close out our wonderful week touring Coastal Maine. Access to Cadillac Moutain requires a timed reservation and park pass. Reservations provide a timed entry but do not require a departure time until 9 pm when the road closes to vehicles. The sunrise time slots sell out quickly; you’ll want to make these when they open 90 days out. We drove up to the summit and walked the trails. The views were stunning.
To view the sunset, head to the west parking lot—the first lot you pass on your way to the summit at least an hour before sunset. The lot is small and will fill up. You’ll want to claim your spot; we brought a blanket, but others brought chairs. I relaxed while The Hubs did some exploring as we waited. The temperature drops quickly with the setting sun, so I recommend bringing layers. At first, I thought we’d get a dud of a sunset, but it was breathtaking. It was such a fantastic finale!
Things to know before you go to Acadia: Park passes are required and are valid for a week. It gets very crowded as the day continues (remember that we didn’t go during peak season). Parking became a problem. We went after an early breakfast and managed to get a parking spot in our preferred lot, but when we returned, the lots were always full, with many having to park on the narrow road and walk some distance to viewing areas and trailheads. The road running along Ocean Path is one-way. Bathroom facilities are limited to parking lot areas; plan accordingly. There is no cell service except on the summit of Cadillac Mountain; bring a map of the park, which is available at the entrance. While open year-round, some facilities and roads close in the winter. Bring your camera to capture the stunning views. Wear good hiking boots if you plan to walk any trails; the rocks and roots are rough on your ankles.
The Hubs found us Tap & Barrel Tavern for dinner. He’s either stepping up his game, or I’m losing my touch! It’s a small place with a nice deck on a small side street. The menu offers creative food and an extensive beer and liquor selection. The cocktail menu is limited. We shared the parmesan fries, Tap Burger Jr. and short rib toast. There was no lobster today. I am really going to miss fresh Maine lobster. Sigh.
On our way out of Bar Harbor, we stopped at The Stadium again for coffee and egg sandwiches. They fueled our long drive home but were quite dry.
Coastal Maine will always hold a place in my heart. I am unsure it will make the shortlist of retirement locals, but I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s a special place.
I hope this motivates you to travel, eat…and return and share my journey through 7 continents and infinite foods.
8 days/7 nights
Day 1: Kennebunkport - Kennebunkport Captains Collection
Batson River Brewing & Distilling **waitlist available
Day 2: Kennebunkport - Kennebunkport Captains Collection
Breakfast @ hotel
Ocean Ave by foot
Walk town and dock’s square
Ocean Ave by bike
Old Vines **takes reservation
Day 3: Between Kennebunkport & Portland
Breakfast @ hotel
Bite into Maine & Pie-Oh-My! food trucks
Walk old port and waterfront
Hunt & Aline and Eventide
Day 4: Portland - The Press Hotel
Walk Eastern Promenade
Day 5: Between Portland & Bar Harbor
Day 6: Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor Inn
Hike Ocean path
The Stadium and Agamont Park
Walk shore path
Project Social **waitlist available
Day 7: Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor Inn
Jordan Pond House **takes reservation
Walk village green & downtown shops
Cadillac Mountain **timed reservation required
Day 7: Home
**I would highly recommend that you make reservations in advance when available. I always book scheduled activities and typically make dinner reservations in advance. I’ve indicated with a parenthetical any restaurants that take reservations.