Maine

Picture a lake so wide and calm that the mountains seem to melt right into it. Flagstaff Lake looks peaceful enough today, especially with the Bigelow Range rising along the…

Breakfast in Southern Maine has a funny way of becoming the main event. I can tell myself I am just stopping for coffee and eggs, then somehow I am staring…

A great meal does not always come with a flashy sign or a dining room built for Instagram. In Lewiston, a plain storefront can lead to the kind of lunch…

A porch light glowing on an empty house can tell quite a story. In several Maine towns, more homes are being used as vacation properties and short-term rentals, changing the…

Maine may be famous for lobster, clams, and haddock, but eating seafood here does not always have to feel like a financial emergency. I have had enough seafood meals where…

An old wooden streetcar rolls through Maine woods glowing with fall color, its bell ringing as the tracks curve deeper into the trees. Then comes the surprise. At the end…

A restaurant inside an old mill already has character before the first plate reaches the table. Add the Kennebec River rushing past the windows, and the setting becomes part of…

A restaurant can become part of a town’s identity long before anyone thinks to call it historic. Along the Maine waterfront, one longtime diner has been serving hungry locals and…

October in Maine has a way of making even a simple drive feel like a getaway. The air turns crisp, summer crowds thin out, and the roads wind past hills…

A bowl of soup can be enough to change the direction of a road trip. Along a busy route toward Acadia National Park, an old brick building serves the kind…

A quick stop can turn into a much longer visit once you step inside this tall old building near the Pemaquid Peninsula. Handmade pottery catches your eye first, then shelves…

A rainy afternoon can disappear quickly inside a bookstore like this. Creaky hardwood floors lead past tall shelves packed with well-loved books, while old paper gives the whole place that…

Some places feel like they have a story in every room, and this old inn has had more than two centuries to collect them. The Kennebunk Inn sits right on…

Sticking around for more than three decades says a lot about a restaurant. This Brunswick favorite has been serving Indian comfort food since 1991, and it has become a familiar…

A loaf of bread does not usually stop people in their tracks, but this Maine bakery has built a reputation for making everyday baked goods feel a lot more interesting….

Fall in Maine has a funny way of stealing your attention, even when there is a hot plate sitting right in front of you. The trees turn red and gold,…

October has a way of changing the Maine coast. The lobster boats are still in the harbor, but the summer rush has eased and the whole shoreline feels a little…

October in Maine has a way of making you want to get out and do something. The air smells like woodsmoke and apples, the trees are glowing red and orange,…

A pizza score of 8.4 can turn a quiet neighborhood shop into a destination almost overnight. That is exactly what happened after Dave Portnoy stopped at a small Italian market…

What happens when a bakery refuses to let a printed menu make all the decisions? At this Italian-inspired spot in southern Maine, the pastry case can feel different every time…

A tiny roadside sign is easy to miss when you are driving through Maine, but this one is worth slowing down for. Just a short walk into the woods leads…

A quiet street in Blue Hill, Maine, is home to a place that looks like it belongs in a storybook. With its shingles, turrets, and steep rooflines, this 1880s landmark…

Portland, Maine has plenty of restaurants that can make dinner feel special, but this waterfront spot on Thames Street has a little extra pull once fall rolls around. The dining…

A morning on the lake can work up an appetite fast, and one longtime stop in Belgrade has been helping with that for decades. This small Maine market sits close…

You could walk right past this grand white house in Maine and never guess how much history is packed inside. Step through the door, though, and the first thing likely…

A brownstone palace on a quiet Portland street is getting wonderfully strange for one October day. Its tall tower rises above the neighborhood, while inside, painted ceilings and richly decorated…

Few roadside stops make the past feel this close. Deep in northern Maine, miles of gravel road lead to an enormous stone blast furnace and a rounded brick kiln standing…

There is something especially inviting about finding a good Italian dinner inside an old Main Street building. This southern Maine spot keeps things relaxed, with hand-tossed pizza, hearty pasta dishes,…

A quick coffee stop can easily turn into breakfast, lunch, and a little browsing at this cheerful local market. Walk inside and you might smell espresso and fresh bread before…

Ever walked into an antique store for a quick look and realized hours had disappeared? That is exactly the kind of adventure waiting inside this enormous Maine shopping stop, where…

A freezing Maine morning can turn a stack of flannel into the most tempting thing in the room. Once the windows start frosting over, sewing a thick quilt or soft…

Maine may be famous for lobster rolls, but there is another smell worth following when hunger hits. Somewhere beyond the usual food stops, smoke is curling out of pits and…

A breakfast plate that barely leaves room for the coffee mug is usually a pretty good sign. Maine has plenty of morning stops where pancakes arrive oversized, omelets come packed,…

Imagine watching someone climb inside a giant pumpkin, grab a paddle, and race down a river while hundreds of people cheer. That is only part of the fun at one…

Low tide is when this stretch of coast really gets me. The beach suddenly feels enormous, with wet sand shining under the sky and surfers waiting farther out. Then there…

Picture Tom Hanks jogging down a quiet coastal road, reaching a white lighthouse, then turning around and taking off again. That memorable Forrest Gump scene was filmed in a tiny…

Fall can turn this quiet Maine coastline into a busy migration lane. On a cool morning, blueberry barrens begin to glow red while warblers flick through the spruce and geese…

A maple tree glowing bright red beside a harbor full of white sailboats can make it very hard to keep driving. I know I would be the person pulling over…

A moose can completely change the mood of an October hike in northern Maine. One moment the trail is all red leaves, frosty boardwalks, and quiet woods. Then a huge…

A potato cannon is not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you picture a Maine fall farm, but that is part of the fun here. On busy…

A small white-and-black lighthouse waits at the end of a long granite breakwater, with waves splashing against the rocks on both sides. Gulls circle overhead, boats move through the harbor,…

Some road trips are built around beaches, while others are all about finding the right place for breakfast. In Wells, you can easily do both. This family-owned stop sits right…

There’s something about a cozy Italian dinner that can turn an ordinary night into a little event. In downtown Waterville, Maine, one family-owned spot serves up rich carbonara, golden eggplant…

A tiny glaze drip can turn a handmade mug into a bargain, and that is part of the fun at this central Maine pottery studio. During its three-day sale, shelves…

A really good bagel has a way of ruining the sad grocery-store version forever. Maine has quietly built a serious bagel scene, with bakers using wood-fired ovens, long fermentation, and…

A tiny walk-up bakery in Saco may be one of the easiest places in Maine to underestimate. I nearly did, right up until the smell of cardamom made changing plans…

Some of the best meals in Bangor come from places you might drive past without a second glance. Forget fancy tablecloths and fussy menus, because the Queen City’s real flavor…

The first thing that stands out here is how strange the ground looks. A narrow boardwalk stretches over soft moss, pink blooms appear in late spring, and tiny carnivorous plants…

Cash only, a small dining room, and breakfast plates that feel like they belong to another era give this Maine diner plenty of personality. It is the kind of place…

Twenty-five dollars can still buy a surprisingly good day out in Maine. That might mean stepping inside an old granite fort, climbing above a river, or wandering through a patch…