Maine
My family of 5 went camping in Maine. Having a kid-friendly campsite made things easier.
I’ll admit I’m not the most outdoorsy person. I love the beach and can lay on the hot sand for hours on end, but sleeping in a tent and fending off bugs is not my idea of fun.
That said, my husband and I moved our family from Brooklyn to Maine to spend more time outside. Our kids love getting dirty and playing outdoors regardless of the season. We had been talking about taking them camping — something I hadn’t done in nine years but that my husband loves doing — but hadn’t come around to actually planning a trip yet.
We spent a long weekend at a camping ground in southern Maine, and the kids absolutely loved it. They are already asking to go camping again, and I’m wondering why we didn’t do this earlier in their lives.
We went with the easy option
Because our kids are little — they are 6, 4, and 4 — we felt like maybe a good start would be a camping ground that had already been set up. We found a company called Huttopia, which has a location near us. It was close enough to home that the kids wouldn’t be stuck in the car for hours on end, and we could also abort the plan if we were all miserable.
There are different kinds of huts, from rustic to more modern, which include a private bathroom and shower. We went with the rustic option, which was a canvas tent with two rooms — one with a bunk bed that fit all three kids and one with a queen bed — as well as a small kitchenette, dining table, and bathroom.
While some might say this is not technically camping, we still had to zip up our canvas windows at night, and we chased plenty of bugs out of the tent.
It was so family-friendly
I was surprised at how many families were there and how many activities were planned for kids.
The night we arrived, there was a movie night for kids. The next night, there was a concert for the whole family, and on our last night, there was a puppet show. This made navigating going from dinner time at the camp to bedtime easy, because kids had something to do to get their willies out. All these activities happened near the restaurant, where pizzas and smoothies were offered for purchase.
Courtesy of the author
The campground also had tons of activities. There was a huge playset for little kids and all kinds of games, such as ping pong, foosball, and petanque.
There was also a pool and a pond for everyone to enjoy. We went in late May, which is still low season for Maine, and the pond was packed with people. The pool, on the other hand, was practically empty during our entire stay.
The campgrounds are also dog-friendly, although they have strict rules, which initially annoyed me but I came to appreciate during our stay. You can never leave your dogs unattended at your camp, and they are allowed everywhere except for the pool. Our two dogs had a blast walking around the grounds and snoozing at the pond.
We were also close to other towns, so when we needed a break from the campgrounds, we explored new beaches and restaurants.
I’m ready to do it again
This experience was so positive that I’m ready to do it again — as long as I have a shower and bathroom to myself.
That said, if staying again at Huttopia, I would ask to stay in a tent further away from the main reception, where the playground is. Because our kids are little, they went to bed before the “quiet time,” which started at 10 p.m. Because of that, we could still hear older kids playing and yelling in the game zone area. Also, because we were so close to the reception and main parking spots, we got woken up several times when people were either checking in late or coming back from an adventure. I felt like not all guests followed the dog rules, and I encountered several tents left with dogs alone barking throughout the day. Thankfully, none of those were near ours.
Courtesy of the author
My kids enjoyed collecting pinecones for our fire pit and building s’mores after dinner. They especially loved spending so much time outside in nature, away from distractions like television and toys. They made up games and played together, and it was truly memorable.
Maine
This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage
A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million.
Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic.
It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”
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The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors.
The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch.
The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”
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There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow.
Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said.
Maine
NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion
Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.
In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.
As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.
The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.
Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.
Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”
After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.
Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.
In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.
First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.
Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.
Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.
Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.
If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.
Maine
Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition
For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.
That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.
So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.
It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.
But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.
Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine
Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.
Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.
Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.
There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.
Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter
While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.
Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.
All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.
TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine
Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.
This list was updated in March of 2026
Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka
Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine
Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!
Gallery Credit: Getty Images
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