101 Things to Do in Maine

Maine has long been an American vacation hotspot. Whether you love the cobblestone streets and brick buildings left from Maine’s colonial past or if you want to get back to nature rafting, hiking, or sailing, or if you want to go on a foodie road trip, there’s something in the Pine Tree State for you.

Visit charming small towns like Bar Harbour and Lewiston. Engage all your senses on a mountainside hike with the blazing fall foliage. Road trip along the Maine ale trail. Get out on the water and gorge yourself with fresher than fresh seafood. Glide on skis through a snow-covered pine forest. Maine really has it all.

No matter if you prefer the popular or the off-the-beaten-path, you can plan an amazing vacation in Maine. To help you along, I’ve pulled together a list, in no particular order, to get you started on your own Maine bucket list.

1. Visit the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor
2. Have a lobster roll or ten at Red’s Eats
3. Smell the roses at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
4. Make friends with a goat at the Fryeburg Fair
5. Camp on Hermit Island
6. Watch a sunset on Sebago Lake
7. Take a class at Stonewall Kitchen’s Cooking School
8. Go cross country skiing at Pineland Farms
9. Find Steamer the Clam at the Yarmouth Clam Festival
10. Go treasure hunting at the Big Chicken Barn in Ellsworth
11. See a flick at the Bridgton Twin Drive-In Theatre
12. Take a tour of Victoria Mansion
13. Discover Picasso and Monet at the Portland Museum of Art
14. Paddle down the Saco River
15. Sample a classic Maine red hot dog at Simone’s in Lewiston
16. Or get an adrenaline rush with Northeast Whitewater
17. Enjoy the summer beach life at Old Orchard Beach
18. Check out the final stop on the Appalachian Trail
19. Go skydiving in Millinocket with Jump and Raft
20. Discover why locals call these woods “Hobbitland”
21. Get up in the air at a hot air balloon festival
22. Take in a Sea Dogs game in Portland
23. Play for big bucks at the Penobscot High Stakes BINGO
24. Hike up Sugarloaf
25. Take a tour of Stephen King’s Maine
26. Go fat biking at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Centre
27. Go lighthouse hunting
28. Have a ski vacation at Sunday River
29. Catch a movie at the Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor
30. Hop on the Maine Brew Bus for a hoppy adventure
31. Hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain
32. See the fall foliage at Acadia National Park
33. Play 18 holes of disc golf in Augusta
34. Spend a night in a treehouse in Georgetown
35. Enjoy some Maine themed mini golf at Steamboat Landing
36. Enjoy a humpback show with Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co.
37. Visit the Maine Antique Toy & Art Museum in Waldoboro
38.  Get your derby on at Happy Wheels roller skating centre in Portland
39. Go off the beaten path at the International Cryptozoology Museum
40. Get a unique souvenir at the Maine State Prison Showroom
41. Experience harness track racing at Scarborough Downs
42. Play the links at one of America’s best public golf courses at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club
43. Get a selfie with the giant Bean boot in Freeport
44. Take home a bag made from recycled Maine sails
45. Test your mettle at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships in Camden
46. Relive your best summer camp at Medomak Family Camp
47. Go apple picking in the fall
48. Visit a Christmas tree farm
49. Get your drink on at Bubba’s Sulky Lounge
50. Visit a sugarhouse during Maine Maple Sunday on the 4th Sunday in March
51. Enjoy a trucker’s breakfast at Dysart’s in Hermon
52. Enjoy an ice-cold Moxie
53. Get your dose of culture during Bangor’s First Friday Art Walks
54. Go really off the beaten path at the Umbrella Cover Museum in Peaks Island
55. Gawk at the houses on Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport
56. See a show at the Ogunquit Playhouse, one of the last Summer Stock theatres
57. Visit Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse
58. Poke around at the antique cars on display at the Owls Head Transportation Museum
59. Marvel at the stained glass windows of Saint Ann’s Church in Kennebunkport
60. Learn some history at the Fort Knox State Historic Site
61. Honk while crossing the Babbs Covered Bridge in Windham
62. Channel your inner Violet Beauregarde at Wild Blueberry Land in Columbia Falls
63. Meet Eartha, the world’s largest revolving and rotating globe in Yarmouth
64. Discover the reverse-oasis of the Desert of Maine in Freeport
65. Do a little urban exploring at Battery Steele
66. Take in the folksy charm of Nervous Nellie’s Jams and Jellies in Deer Isle
67. Visit the most unique McDonald’s in the US located in a 1850s home in Freeport
68. Visit one terminus of Route 1, the longest north-south highway in the US
69. Get the blues at the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival
70. Wonder at the detail of the Maine Central Model Railroad in Jonesport
71. Visit Lenny the chocolate moose in Scarborough
72. Stop into the Weary Club in Norway for a game of cribbage
73. Have a pint at Finn’s in Ellsworth and discover its hidden dining car
74. Visit the easternmost point in Maine at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse
75. Indulge in a Cabbage Island Clambake
76. Learn about lobster fishing onboard Lulu
77. Go on a puffin watching tour
78. Photograph wild lupins
79. Discover the year-round ice caves in Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area
80. Try your hand at ice fishing
81. Visit the last active Shaker community in the world
82. Pick up the most unique souvenir made from Maine moose poop
83. Marvel at the engineering of the historic Bailey Island Bridge in Harpswell
84. Pan for gold in the Swift River
85. Meet the Duck of Justice in Bangor
86. Forage for fiddleheads
87. Celebrate Maine’s official state treat at the Whoopie Pie Festival
88. Connect with Wabanaki culture at the Abbe Museum
89. Learn about Maine’s logging history at Leonard’s Mills
90. Wonder at the reversing rapids at Pembroke Falls
91. Hit up the outlet stores in Freeport
92. Watch the sunrise at the easternmost point in the United States
93. Go for a sail on a windjammer
94. Zip around downtown Portland on a Segway
95. Go for a Night Glow bike ride on Peaks Island
96. Indulge in a potato donut at Holy Donut in Portland
97. Say hello to the cows at Toots Ice Cream in North Yarmouth
98. Spend a Day at Bowdoin College
99. Walk the Marginal Way in Ogunquit
100. Go back in time at Old Fort Western
101. Discover the Grand Canyon of the East: Gulf Hagas

What’s on the top of your Maine bucket list?

* Photo: Texas Tongs

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