Going in July for a wedding. Tying to find a days worth of activities for 5 or 6 guys. First idea was fishing charter. Open to any ideas

Where in Maine? Portland?

There are several great hikes within 1-2 hour drive. Most of them would be in NH actually. Mt Chocorua is probably the closest/best bang for your buck that I've done. Mount Washington is farther. There is an observatory on top which you can drive to or you can hike up. Bald Mountain is aobut 2.5 hours away and also very cool. Acadia National Park is about 3 hours away and is supposed to have amazing views.

You could ferry to Peaks Island. If you could rent or charter a power boat you could go explore Ft. Gorges and island hop over to Chebeague Island or Great Diamond Island for lunch and fish up and down the coast. I think there are ferries to most of the islands as well.

You can rent kayaks etc at the Eastern Promenade and maybe at Willard Beach in South Portland.

Fort Williams park has the Portland Headlight. It's probably the most iconic light house in the area.

Higgins beach is pretty nice on a clear day. You could rent surfboards from Maine Surfer's Union. I think you can rent SUPs there as well.

Freeport has the huge L.L. Bean.

Overnight you could try to go to Baxter State Park and hike Mt Katahdin. It's personally my favorite hike I've done.

Honestly given a single day I would eat and drink my way through Portland if that's your location. If it is I can provide you with a list of places I wouldn't miss.

acadia is pretty cool or maybe a whale watching trip...

Sorry. About halfway between portland and Acadia on the coast

Boothbay?

Streetfighter 02 said:

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Boothbay?

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St George

Also thanks for the extensive lost. May see if people are willing to do a hike or rent some tackle and fish on the coast..

I actually thought about waiting for the forecast to get closer and maybe bring a surfboard if it looks like it's worth it.

So about 1.5 hrs from Portland.

Most of those hikes I mention above are about the same drive time from where you are.

If you want to go to Portland I recommend the following places for food:

The Holy Donut - Best donut in the world
Eventide Oyster Co. - Oysters and Lobster Roll (lunch or dinner)
OTTO pizza on East Congress St.
Amato's - Italian sandwich (Maine native favorite)
Big Sky Bread Company - bread, sandwiches, pastries, cookies
Scratch Baking - sandwiches, cookies, bad ass bagels
Willard Scoops in South Portland for ice cream
Front Room - Brunch
Early dinner - Street & Co, Fore Street, Central Provisions, Eventide

Otherwise I'd drive to a good hike (Acadia) or get on a boat with a cooler of beer. If you could get a sailing charter that might be even better. Don't forget your Nantucket Reds.

great rec on street and co....that place is awesome!

The beehive is a cool relatively short hike on Acadia NP that will give you a terrific view of the whole coast around you. Just don't do it if you have anybody in the group scared of heights...or do...if you want to see them cry.

It's the wrong time of year but if you get up wicked early from Oct-Mar you can watch the sun hit the first spot in the US on top of Cadillac Mountain.


If you're driving up from Boston in a rental I would exit in Portland and pick up a dozen chocolate sea salt from Holy Donut. Everyone will thank you!

My favorite is the scallops in Pernod.

For coffee I like Tandem and Bard. The Tandem on Congress St. The bakery there is great.

Hah coming from California but at least 1 or 2 guys have expressed excitement. Kinda funny

Climb Katadhin for sunrise

Streetfighter 02 said:

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If you're driving up from Boston in a rental I would exit in Portland and pick up a dozen chocolate sea salt from Holy Donut. Everyone will thank you!

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This is down by the harbor, right? Going to be driving up to Acadia, so is it really worth it to go downtown to pick some of these up after seeing Portland Headlight? Wife and I are suckers for good donuts...

I assume you'll be eating some lobster while you're there. Definitely find out if its soft shell. Very juicy and full of flavor...much more so than hard shell.

ToddyHill said:

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I assume you'll be eating some lobster while you're there. Definitely find out if its soft shell. Very juicy and full of flavor...much more so than hard shell.

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Big time. Thanks for the pointer. Going to have to book it from Portland when I land so may have to check out the portland recs on the way back to the airport

Precipice Trail in Acadia

My wife and I did it last summer





I've heard Beehive is pretty awesome too but I haven't hiked it myself yet....next time.

Beehive has very similar ledges and views.

Maybe an odd question, but what brand is that bladder she's wearing, and where'd you get it? That's about the shade my wife's wanting.

There is one in the Old Port which is the tourist-ish area and working waterfront. The original location is easier to get in and out of. Knowing what I know I would drive an hour out of the way for Willard Scoops ice cream and Holy Donut. Honestly at times I'm tempted to fly up just for those two things. Maybe the lobster roll with brown butter and a Walking Dead cocktail at Eventide makes that list as well. Those are the three spots I'll never miss on a trip to Portland. Also on Saturday mornings the farmer's market is pretty rad in Deering Oaks Park. You can walk there from Holy Donut pretty easily.

194 Park Ave, Portland, ME 04102 is the original spot

https://theholydonut.com/contact-us/

And take the knife edge route.


Edit: Cathedral trail to knife edge.

We went to Boothbay several years ago. Red's Eats in Wiscassett is supposed to be really good lobster rolls but every time we went through, the line was crazy. Also, the traffic through Bath sucked ass.

Topical from the OB:

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/06/14/news/midcoast/maine-woman-attacked-by-raccoon-drowns-rabid-animal-in-puddle/

Can confirm Red's Eats is excellent. Also Bard Coffee, Holy Donut, Standard Baking, Eventide, Duckfat are excellent choices. Some of the best microbrews in the country - Bissel Bros, Oxbow, Rising Tide, Maine Beer Co, Allagash (ok not really craft anymore). Maine Mead Co also really good.

Really enjoyed the Carriage Roads and Acadia Mountain at Acadia (we had our dog so beehive and precipice were off limits)

It is a 1L Cammelpack that I got at REI three or four years ago for her. I looked at it last night but there isn't any sort of model number it.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. It's almost only designed to carry the bladder and not much else. There is a small pocket to put a map or phone in and then the little 4x5 pouch that you can see in the photo (which doesn't hold much more than a small first aid kit). We both use the REI Flashpacks now for day hikes now - it's lighter, can hold a 2L bladder if needed and has waaaaay more space

You have to get a red snappah hot dog.

Awesome, thanks for the info.

And I think Streetfighter is referring to lobstah rolls. Eventide a good place for one? We are planning on stopping by The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport when we drive by the Bush compound, but I could easily change that to somewhere in Portland before seeing the lighthouse.

Mabel's is the place to go in Kennebunkport...get the lobsta savannah...you can thank me lata!

There is usually a lobster food truck at the lighthouse - it's super excellent. Bite into Maine. Eventide is a really good roll (but small for $)

A red snapper(ah) hot dog is a strange local thing. It's a hot dog with a thicker casing that is died red. It "snaps" when you bite into it. My buddy who grew up there won't eat them. It tasted surprisingly just like a hot dog to me.

Eventide is $$ for sure but hands down the best tasting lobster roll I've had. It's not traditional. It comes on an asian sticky bun and with brown butter vs mayo. I haven't had anything on the menu at Eventide that I didn't like. Tuna crudo is nails. I've heard the chicken sandwich is badass but I'm usually too busy eating oysters to worry about a chicken sandwich.


https://instagr.am/p/sa2aLmn2IP

If you want something traditional with a lighthouse and badass ocean view then Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth is a great spot. It's right on a rocky ocean outcrop and has a view of Two Lights Lighthouse. As far as traditional lobster rolls go I think they're all pretty much the same. Lobster, Mayo, Bun.

coastsrs said:

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Going in July for a wedding. Tying to find a days worth of activities for 5 or 6 guys. First idea was fishing charter. Open to any ideas

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You are going to be very close to Camden.

You'll be able to google that town and find a day's worth of hiking, whale watching etc very easily. There is also Cellardoor Winery there that's won some awards - however, if you're coming from California, it probably isn't going to keep up with whats available there.

A New England Clambake is worth the price of admission. I've not done more than google one in Saint George, but this one comes up and looks interesting. I'm sure there are others in the area that could be an option as well.

http://www.cabbageislandclambakes.com/clambakes.htm

Also, soft shell lobsters will be in season in July. They do taste better than the hard shells.

As for surfing, you'll need to head south of Portland for that. Higgins Beach or Scarborough Beach (both in Scarborough) are the two that I'd recommend.

You've got lots of food choices and all are good that I've seen. Stay away from DiMillio's in Portland. Not worth it.

LL Bean has the outdoor school where you can take canoeing, kayaking lessons or shooting lessons (although I don't recommend the archery in July as it is going to be wicked hot and the archery range isn't covered. The clay pigeon shotgun range is covered from my memory).

LLB Outdoor Discovery School

You could also look up white water rafting.

It's not a great time for swell in Maine. The best summer swell will come with a hurricane in the Atlantic. I'll ask my buddy where he used to raft guide. That's a pretty good idea. Also I've never been to Camden but a quick google shows you can charter a boat or set up pretty much anything you'd want.