Maine
7 Delightful Towns to Visit in Maine
Maine is a northeastern state in the US known for its numerous delights and splendors worth exploring. From the small town of Castine with its Maine Maritime Academy to Ogunquit with its Ogunquit Museum of American Art, the small communities throughout the state are full of natural and historical landmarks that may appeal to almost any traveler. For any tourist seeking a fun-filled itinerary in New England, these delightful towns in the Pine Tree State of Maine are worth the visit!
Castine
Castine is a pretty waterfront town with 1,300 residents that is full of historical finds and maritime delights. The Maine Maritime Academy is a nationally famous academic stop with college-level training for mariners, engineers, scientists, and others of similar backgrounds. At Wilson Museum, one can expect gracious tours of 1920s geology and Neanderthal stone architecture that have been around for 460 million years! Castine Historical Society is just up the alley for any traveler wanting to enjoy even more local history, with special archives and artifacts from the past to satisfy history buffs.
Nature and outdoor enthusiasts may prefer Dyce Head Lighthouse, a famed 18th-century lit structure with a scenic view of the Penobscot River. Rene Henderson Natural Area has quiet and solitary 100-acre preserves designed to keep travelers at ease while exploring lush forestry and various wetlands full of wildlife. Literature lovers will find comfort at Compass Rose Books, a plaza bookstore with the coziest coffee rooms and the most community charm around town! For anyone seeking further community embrace, the Trinitarian Congregational Parish of Castine always has room to welcome newcomers.
Stonington
A peaceful town of 1,000 inhabitants located on Deer Isle’s southern point, Stonington is a truly delightful destination for travelers. The 98-acre Crockett Cove Woods of Deer Isle is a natural splendor for anyone seeking relaxing strolls and friendly hikers while moving through foggy forests full of red spruces. At Settlement Quarry Preserve, wind around a historical glacial trail that also leads to open water scenery full of lobster boats!
Art lovers may enjoy The Art of Evelyn Kok, an underrated gallery space where a friendly owner makes tourists feel right at home around vibrant watercolor paintings and collections. The Opera House Arts is a glorified locale for entertainment and theater fans who love experiencing fascinating 20th-century performances and local town culture. Marlinespike Chandlery offers unique cultural antiques and nautical rope trinkets that are well-known throughout town. As for hungry stomachs, the Fin and Fern serves refreshing cocktails and satisfying seafood pasta cuisines for anyone feeling coastal dining thrills!
Kennebunkport
A small coastal town with 3,600 residents, Kennebunkport is a splendid destination. The Seashore Trolley Museum, the world’s first and largest known electric railway landmark, has an abundance of trolley cars and buses to appeal to just about anyone who loves mass transit history! For a mixture of natural scenery and religious architecture, one can visit St. Ann’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, an oceanview stop for tourists wanting to explore stunning 1970s worship sites and chapel community charm.
Alisson’s Restaurant is a great locale for the finest New England-style seafood cuisine, alongside being a historic 1970s family diner that has some of the most welcoming and delightful locals! Lobster fans may even take a detour to Nunan’s Lobster Hut, where heartwarming food vendors love to chat up guests and serve the best lobster dishes around. Some tourists may find that Dock Square is a calming waterfront bridge area with the coolest photography spots and chocolate shops to satisfy casual shoppers.
Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor is a small town on Mount Desert Island with 5,000 locals who adore nature and history. Acadia National Park is a worthy spot to tour around with its awe-inspiring birding routes and sandbars, along with Shore Path scenery and oceanic viewpoints. Thunder Hole is another landmark to consider for rocky scenery and eastern shoreline views of the town; it even has awesome wave rushes and roaring waters at sudden moments!
Local history at La Rochelle Mansion and History Museum is ideal for anyone who wants to take in delightful 1900s seaside mansion architecture, beautiful flower gardens, and tribal gifts that are all reminiscent of the Gilded Age. Museum lovers can also pay a visit to the Abbe Museum for cultural Wabanaki heritage and Native American archaeological finds in the town. At Little Village Gifts, tourists can find humorous hospitality and amazing homemade gifts like jam and custom t-shirts! For downtown entertainment, the 1932 Criterion Theatre is home to extraordinary talents and orchestral live shows that are quite memorable.
Boothbay Harbor
Another harbor town, Boothbay Harbor is often recognized for its village scenery and sailing routes. Cabbage Island is a must-see for nature admiration and fun boat rides that provide an incredible view of the ocean! Boat tourists may also want to check out Burnt Island Lighthouse, where historic lighthouse sights and private island picnics come to life. Damariscove Island is appealing with its pleasant early settlement history and unspoiled tours of rustic trails used in the older days.
Ed Brown’s Wharfside Gallery is a noteworthy locale with watercolored artistry and fascinating exhibits to appeal to downtown tourists and fishers from all wakes of life. Maine State Aquarium offers both commercial and natural enjoyment for families and couples with its marine wildlife exposure and “touch tanks” to get up close with some sea creatures as well! For an unusual yet delightful shopping experience, one can visit Mung Bean for hand-carved Christmas figurines and earrings that are worth the return trip.
Ellsworth
A historic small town of 9,000 inhabitants, Ellsworth has many delightful points of interest for travelers. The Telephone Museum is an underappreciated landmark with lots of cool telephone memorabilia and technology for kids and adults of all ages! The Black House Museum at Woodlawn contains 180 acres of downtown estate architecture and public tours to showcase croquet and open fields once used by past generations of landowners.
More delights can be expected at Finn’s Irish Pub, a famous 1930s dining car that doubles as a historic Irish restaurant in town with both casual and fancy menu options! The Big Chicken Barn is a surprisingly historical stop with its nostalgic vintage furniture and bygone collectibles. One can find more nostalgia over at D’Amanda’s, a bowling alley housing some of the oldest machines for bowlers. Rooster Brother is a cooking store with all types of kitchen supplies and silverware to appeal to downtown shoppers who want to combine Victorian-era shopping with coffee-tasting.
Ogunquit
A southern coastal town with around 1,000 locals, Ogunquit is perfect for those who crave natural landmarks and seaside charm. Ogunquit Beach is a key stopping point with its wonderful hot sands and stunning seaside cliffs with shopping resorts nearby! Marginal Way is another outdoor option for travelers who want 1.5 miles of paved walking trails while enjoying tranquility and sunset photography. Tourists who like bridges may easily notice Perkins Cove Draw Bridge, a simple but memorable drawbridge where cozy parking stops and open caves are easy motivators to stick around.
At Ogunquit Museum of American Art, panoramic coastal collections of fine art and iconic animal structures are just some of the best things to discover while exploring this landmark. The Ogunquit Heritage Museum is another historical landmark with 18th-century rustic heritage owing to the Native Americans, as well as walking tours of a winding park that includes lovely wooded architecture and cultural fishing history. At The Greenery Cafe, homemade pastries and vibrant patio seating are enough delights to keep everyone happy in town!
These towns in Maine are all delightful and magnificent in their ways, making for a worthwhile trip. For any traveler needing a new itinerary in the northeast built around fun locales and interesting landmarks to check out, there is no shortage of things to see and do. The “Pine Tree State” is anyone’s best option for maritime enjoyment and an abundance of natural thrills or historical finds along the coastline!
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
PORTLAND (WGME) — The third annual Celebration of America 300 is set for Thursday night at Oxford Plains Speedway.
This race was a favorite of NASCAR star Kyle Busch, who tragically passed away back in May. He was just 41.
Now, a Maine-born driver who worked on Busch’s team is ready to take the 8 car into victory lane.
For the past five years, Windham native Derek Kneeland was Busch’s eye in the sky, working as a spotter for the cup star. Kneeland says his relationship with Busch was like a brotherhood.
“I was fortunate enough where I got to have a personal relationship with him,” Kneeland said. “He came up, and he ran several races with me in late models and stuff at Oxford and Lee Speedway, and we got to do a lot of cool things together.”
Kneeland says dealing with the sudden loss has been both painful and difficult.
“It’s still hard,” Kneeland said. “I’m having a hard time with it. The weekdays are the hardest. At the track is where I’m most comfortable.”
Kneeland will be at the track and behind the wheel Thursday night, competing in the Celebration of America 300, driving the number 8 car.
“You know, a few days after everything went down, his dad called me, and his dad is a man of very few words, and I said, ‘You know, I’m thinking about running the 8 or 51 as long as I have your guys’ blessing, I would like to do that.’ And he said, ‘Short track world knows him as 51, but the world knows him as 8,’” Kneeland said.
Kneeland says it will be an emotional race, but he’s confident he’ll have a special co-pilot leading the way.
“Hoping he’s going to be on my shoulder and give me the guiding way and but to win it for Kyle, I think that would put the stamp on it,” Kneeland said.
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