Beautiful Mid-Coast Maine In The Fall
- Lisa
- Oct 17, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 6
Breathtaking autumn foliage, crisp ocean air, and quaint coastal towns
A Fabulous 5 Day Trip to Beautiful Coastal Maine
Our 5 day fall trip to coastal Maine in October, 2021 was nothing short of amazing! We flew into Portland which was a nice small airport. We brought carry-on luggage so we didn't have to go to baggage claim. Getting our rental was very easy, the rental cars were right across the street from the small airport.
Mid-October in coastal Maine was perfect for viewing the picturesque autumn colors because they change a little later in the season than the more inland areas, which seem to peak around mid to late September.
Driving out of Portland, we headed northeast on coastal Hwy-1, our first destination being the romantic little oceanside village of Boothbay Harbor. Hwy-1 is a wonderful scenic road with many inlet bridges allowing great views of the ocean and harbors with all those amazing fishing and sail boats we love to see. There are many wonderful little towns along the route and lots of restaurants and shops to visit. Going in mid-October only had one downside that we experienced which was that quite a few of the tourist shops were closing for the winter season (which is another time we would love to visit).
Boothbay Harbor is a wonderful little coastal village tucked away down on one of the many peninsulas of Maine. We drove to our adorable B & B, The Harbor House Inn, where we were greeted warmly by our hostess and had a romantic 2nd story room in the 3-story captain's house built in the early 1800’s.
The curtains were drawn and the windows were cracked open letting in that wonderful seaside fall air. In our room was a beautiful flower arrangement and packages of popcorn and sweets included in the “Romantic Getaway” package we treated ourselves to from the local shops in Boothbay Harbor. Our package also comprised tickets for a boat tour of the harbor and lighthouse, a bottle of champagne, entrance to the amazing Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, and reservations at one of the top 5 Italian restaurants in Maine, Ports of Italy.
Our hostess gave us a few recommendations for dinner and we settled on the Tugboat Inn right on the water; it is literally an old tugboat turned into a restaurant!
My first experience with New England seafood chowder left my mouth watering for more even though my stomach said wait for dessert! Andy had their famous haddock fish and chips and we definitely shared a heavenly slice of fresh Maine blueberry pie a la mode.
Dinner was followed by an evening stroll through the town that led us to the lighted Boothbay Footbridge that connects both sides of Boothbay Harbor. Our first evening ended with a chilled bottle of sparkling wine and a romantic moonlit view of the ocean from the back porch of our hilltop B&B.
Our second day started on the porch overlooking the harbor with a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, spinach omelet, fried potatoes, and a blueberry scone along with fresh juice and coffee.
We set off to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens early in the morning which was a well spent 2 hours of our day. The most amazing part of it was the “Guardians of the Seeds”, which are GIANT repurposed wooden trolls hidden throughout the gardens, each with its own special name and meaning to the importance of preserving our forests.
After working up a big appetite we went to lunch at the well known Shannon’s Unshelled for a famous Maine lobster roll. These are not for the faint of heart, a full Maine lobster loaded onto a bread roll and topped with lots of butter! (each restaurant has its own twist on how they make it, some toss with mayonnaise).
Our delicious lunch was followed by a scenic harbor cruise, passing by sailboats, lobster boats, and old schooners. We sailed out of the harbor to view a few nearby islands and Burnt Island Lighthouse, which was first lit on November 9, 1821.
For dinner we took up our reservations at the Ports of Italy restaurant, (which we were told is best to get your reservations days in advance during the busy seasons). We started off our romantic dinner with house specialty martinis from the bar. For our first dish we decided on a truffle risotto, the special that night, and it tasted better than we could have imagined. Fresh Caesar salads with homemade crusty bread and olive oil came next, then our beautiful pasta dishes that were out of this world amazing! We finalized our wonderful dining experience with a melt in your mouth tiramisu for dessert. Everything is made in house - dressings, pasta, bread, desserts, etc. They well deserve their position in the top Italian restaurants in Maine. We enjoyed another evening stroll around town after our fabulous 5-star dinner.
Day three we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee while awaiting another delightful breakfast on the porch (it was a little brisk that morning). Breakfast was a fresh fruit tart, giant Maine blueberry pancakes with a side of sausage and thick cut bacon. We checked out of our room and drove around to the Ocean Point Beach and Walk at the end of Ocean Point Rd. It was a short little path that led to a viewing of Ram Island Lighthouse.
Our Coastal Maine trip continued up Hwy-1 and our next stop was in the adorable town of Damariscotta. They had just finished their annual Pumpkin Fest and Regatta which begins in early October and runs through Columbus Day (which tends to be the last weekend of the tourist season for many coastal Maine towns). The town had giant painted pumpkins everywhere! We had never seen such huge pumpkins before. We walked Main St. checking out the many unique shops to include an amazing bookstore and café called Maine Coast Book Shop.
Our scenic drive on the colorful coastal highway amazed us with a painter's palette of bright golds, fiery reds, deep burgundies, and burnt orange colors of the Autumn leaves. The little coastal towns are full of unique architecture ranging from early Colonial and Federal style to elaborate Greek Revival and Victorian homes. Most of these homes have been upgraded and remodeled and turned into B&B’s, restaurants, venues, museums, and art galleries.
Rockland, Maine is home to the Maine Lighthouse Museum, which has a large display of artifacts from lighthouses in America and information on our long Coast Guard history. It was an amazing collection of lights and we had a lot of fun exploring and learning. Following our museum tour we found a local’s place for lunch (literally, we saw a line in front of this little white shack and decided to stop). It was a dog shack called Wasses Hot Dogs and it ended up being a great pit stop for lunch.
A quick drive around the cove led us to Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, a great midday adventure that is deceiving in its “short” walk. I recommend walking shoes and note that there are no restrooms out there. It is a beautiful lighthouse at the end of a long (7/8ths of a mile) breakwater made of giant granite slabs. Your reward for making the long walk is an up close view of the old lighthouse, but it is so worth it!
The next lighthouse on our tour was Owl’s Head Light Station located in Owl’s Head State Park. Of course it was filled with autumn colors which was a nice setting for our short walk out to the lighthouse. It was like stepping into a book, can you imagine walking up the steep cliffside stairs in a blustering nor'easter? I mean lighthouses are beautiful when it's sunny out but it was during the storms that the lightkeepers braved the weather to keep it lit for the safety of those out at sea. The old lightkeepers house and gift shop was located just down the hill from where it stood. There were fruit trees and a small grassy yard which made for a beautiful setting. The ocean view from the hilltop lighthouse was serene and even though it wasn’t as grand as some of its counterparts on our American coastline, it was a sight to be seen.
Our second lodging we stayed at was Glenmoor by the Sea in Camden. We happened to be staying on the last 2 nights they were open for the season. We got a cute little cabin with a view of the ocean and just a short walk down some stairs to the rocky beach.
Dinner this night was at the fabulous Peter Ott's on the Water in Camden. While sitting outside we enjoyed delicious and fresh blackened haddock fish tacos and panko crusted haddock with a great view of the harbor.
A continental breakfast was delivered to our doorstep the following morning, with scones, juice, eggs, and coffee. We started our adventure for that day in Camden with a 2-hour lobster and lighthouse cruise with Camden Harbor Cruises. It was a chilly day but nice enough we didn’t freeze out on the water. We went out to a lobster trap and pulled it up with a couple lobsters and even a crab (which we had to throw back). After giving us a lesson on how we determine male and female and the rules of catching lobsters based on age and fertility, etc. we continued our scenic and informative cruise. We viewed 2 lighthouses and a large rock covered with lazy seals along with different types of seafowl. The tour captain and guide were fun and very knowledgeable which made the tour very enjoyable. After our lobster tour we went looking for a bite to eat and found Cuzzy’s restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious Greek pizza and beer for lunch.
Since we were pretty short on time we decided not to make the 3 hour trip to Acadia National Park, instead we were recommended by another tourist to take the beautiful scenic drive to Mount Battie Tower in nearby Camden Hills State Park. It was so beautiful and not over crowded like Acadia would have been. We took so many pictures (I must have made Andy stop 10 times before we got to the top to take pictures of the colorful trees!) and with the fog that had started to roll in it added to the beauty of the fall colors. Near the parking lot was a restroom and a walking path to the historic 1921 stone tower that is a WWI memorial. There was also an overlook but the thick fog ended up making its way to the mountain top pretty quick so the valley and harbor view disappeared.
Off to Belfast we went and found the Chocolate Drop Candy Shoppe with an old fashioned soda fountain shop inside. We definitely had to stop in for an afternoon treat of giant ice cream cones! What is a vacation without ice cream cones, am I right? Belfast, Maine was established in the late 1700’s and there we found the oldest shoe store in America, Colburn Shoe Store, which has been in business since 1832. The downtown was filled with art galleries and cute little shops. After such a long day we decided to grab some fast seafood and take it back to our room. We found another local’s spot called McLaughlin’s Lobster Shack in Lincolnville. Of course it was fresh seafood so the pricing goes as all the seafood restaurants go around here - $$. We didn’t realize the size of the baskets they serve either cause we ordered enough for about 4 people with 2 hearty baskets of fried shrimp, clams, and fries.
Our last day in Maine was a chilly, drizzly one so we started with lattes from a local coffee shop and roaster called Green Tree Coffee and Tea of Maine, just outside of Lincolnville.
A stop in the quaint historical town of Bath led us on a short stroll through a weekend farmer’s market and beautiful park alongside the Kennebunk river. Along the walk were information posts about the long history of its shipbuilding operations starting in the 1800’s. We stopped at Cafe’ Cre’me for an afternoon coffee, which was a lively place with great customer service located in an old corner brick building, originally a bank from the early beginnings of the historical town.
Our last sight before getting to Portland found us stopping abruptly and whipping into a tiny parking lot out of nowhere to see the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge in Brunswick. I had seen it on our way north and wanted to stop on our way back. Well, Andy saw the sign and remembered! It was a unique bridge that actually moved as you walked on it. Built in 1892, it connected the towns of Topsham and Brunswick, definitely well worth the time to take a short scenic walk across the beautiful bridge and river.
Portland Head Lighthouse was our last lighthouse on our trip. A very touristy spot, with good reason. It is a very beautiful and well taken care of lighthouse, also the most photographed lighthouse in America, according to its website. Lighthouses seem to be a living window to the past. I, myself, as so many others feel a connection to their history when in their presence. They seem to hold a deeper meaning, than just a building with a light, to those that look upon them. There was strength and determination of the lighthouse and its keepers to stand firm in the midst of pounding storms and to maintain it during the calm to help those that risked their lives at sea. These are the reasons I believe we seem to be in awe when we visit these seaside beacons of hope.
We were typical tourists when we went to Portland. Visited downtown shops and art galleries, picked out gifts for our kids. We found a great pub for dinner, called Gritty’s Portland Brewpub where we feasted on an amazing giant pretzel with beer cheese dip, along with bangers and mash, a delicious French onion soup and of course Hard Cider and Guinness.
Our 5 day tour of mid-coast Maine during the beautiful autumn season couldn’t have been more perfect. It was everything we imagined for an adventurous and romantic getaway. Breathtaking views, fresh sea air, mouthwatering seafood, generous hospitality, fun shopping and quaint picture perfect towns. We can’t wait for our next visit!
Comments