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By Meadow Rue Merrill

US Route 1 is the most leisurely way to tour the coast of Maine; it winds through coastal villages and harbours from Ellsworth to Kittery. If you’re starting in Bar Harbor, Route 3 will take you to Route 1. For the quickest journey, take Route 3 all the way to the capital city of Augusta and zip down Interstate 95.

We’ve highlighted some of the most popular destinations, from Mount Desert Island to the southernmost tip of the state. Along the way, you’ll likely find evidence of the area’s earliest residents, from the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot peoples to the nation’s first boatbuilders and settlers; museums feature traditional Native American arts, and the streets of the earliest chartered city in America are a kind of walking museum.

Mount Desert Island, one of the most widely visited tourist destinations in Maine, is one of two departure and arrival sites for The CAT. It is also home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Wealthy rusticators such as the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts made this their summer playground in the 1880s. Artists later popularized it. But the island’s first inhabitants were the Native Americans who camped and fished along its rugged coast. Today the island is known for its natural beauty and shops.

Acadia National Park encompasses 47,000 acres of forest, ponds, rivers, lakes, beaches, and mountaintops. Its loftiest peak, Cadillac Mountain, is one of the highest points on the North Atlantic seaboard. Those not so keen on climbing can take a leisurely drive to the top. Anyone wishing to explore the island’s heritage might wish to stop by the Abbe Museum, which offers an outstanding display of Native American artifacts. The Mount Desert Oceanarium includes a hands-on lobster hatchery. 

Route 1 south will bring you through a scattering of small coastal villages including Bucksport, which boasts the area’s newest attraction: a 420-foot-tall lookout atop the recently finished Penobscot Narrows Bridge. Park and take an elevator ride to the top of the observatory with 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside, including Penobscot Bay, the Camden Hills and Mount Desert Island. There are only two other such bridge observatories in the world, and to visit the others, you’d have to hit Thailand or Slovakia. Nearby Fort Knox, in adjoining Prospect, offers a state park with an imposing granite fort from 1839, when Maine and Canada nearly went to war. Keep heading south on Route 1 and you’ll come right into Camden. This small jewel of a town is best known for its beautiful harbour and boutiques. Shoppers will find everything from local jewelry to designer clothing and maple syrup. The harbour is also the place to charter a boat or take a cruise to spot whales or puffins. Just north of the town centre, the Camden Hills State Park attracts plenty of outdoor enthusiasts. From the top of Mount Battie one can take in the entire harbour and views of Penobscot Bay.

Cruising about 20 minutes down the coast, Rockland is perhaps best known as the home of the Farnsworth Art Museum, which features the work of Maine artists including that of N.C. Wyeth and his son Andrew and grandson Jamie. The Rockland Breakwater makes a stunning walkway. Follow it nearly one mile across the harbour to a restored lighthouse. The town has a trolley as well as a train: the Maine Eastern Railroad operates restored vintage railcars and takes travelers as far south as Brunswick. Just two miles out of town, the Owls Head Transportation Museum features one of the finest collections of early airplanes and automobiles in the world. And the Maine Lighthouse Museum showcases a fine array of maritime objects including the country’s largest collection of Fresnel lighthouse lenses — beehive-shaped configurations of glass designed to magnify light.

Further on, a turn onto Route 27 will bring you to the popular village of Boothbay Harbor. Here children will enjoy exploring the Boothbay Railway Village, taking a ride on its antique narrow-gauge steam train. Whale-watching tours are available in the bustling harbour. A nine-mile boat trip will bring you to the famous artists’ colony on Monhegan Island.

Back on Route 1, Wiscasset, on the Sheepscot River, is so beautiful the entire village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also home to two Federal house museums, Castle Tucker and the Nickels-Sortwell House, both run by the preservationist society Historic New England. Some of the best beaches the state has to offer are just down the road: Reid State Park in Georgetown and Popham Beach, which also has a historic fort, in Phippsburg.

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, about 15 minutes south of Wiscasset, offers hands-on activities related to the state’s nautical history as well as special exhibits and narrated boat excursions. Just down the line, Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, with 610 acres of forested park, offers biking, hiking and camping.

Freeport, most easily reached by driving 15 minutes south on Interstate-95, is synonymous with shopping. The home of outdoor retail giant L.L. Bean boasts more than 170 retail shops. Nearby, the Mast Landing Sanctuary and Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park are both lovely places to relax. One of the state’s more unusual phenomena, the Desert of Maine, offers nearby sand dunes.

Maine’s economic centre, Portland -- about 20 minutes south of Freeport, is a favourite shopping destination. Portland is a main port of call for cruise ships and ferries.  The Ocean Gateway, the new Portland ferry terminal scheduled to open in May of 2008, is the place to board The CAT. Portland is also the place to catch a boat to the nearby islands of Casco Bay, where you can spend the day sunning on a sandy beach or strolling along scenic paths. The Casco Bay Lines ferry, which tours the islands several times a day, boards at the Maine State Pier. The Children’s Museum of Maine offers a place for little ones to explore. And the Portland Museum of Art features collections from the 18th century to the present.

Venturing down the coast through Kennebunk, Wells and Ogunquit, you’ll find long stretches of sandy beaches, lobster pounds, fried clam shacks, mini-golf, and beach-side campgrounds. Kennebunkport boasts the beautiful seaside Cliff Walk as well as some of the most exceptional dining in the state.

From here, Route 1 will take you to York, the first chartered town in the country, settled in 1642. York Beach is a favourite summer recreation spot with long, white sand beaches, surf shops and The Goldenrod,  a famous ice cream parlour. Nearby York’s Wild Kingdom is part zoo, part amusement park. No visit would be complete without touring the Museums of Old York, with some of the area’s oldest houses and taverns.

The southernmost point of Maine is Kittery, which offers more shopping with brand-name outlets and the ever-expanding Kittery Trading Post, a popular outdoor outfitter, which also stocks Maine gifts. Kittery Point also boasts fine coastal views. Fort McClary, a blockhouse dating from 1844, makes an enjoyable place to wind up your visit with a picnic and one last view of the Atlantic.