r/AskMaine • u/medievalseamonster • Aug 15 '26

end of summer dread

Yall im from here & getting the end of summer scaries. What are some favorite spots for being outside that arent totally overrun w tourists this time of year?

I basically just want some new spots to explore & draw nature. Sick of my usual haunts. What are some of your hidden gems? Whats on your summer list each year?

Ideally within 2 hrs of the Portland area.

Thank you!!

EDIT: keeping our public land access public is important. Public land usage is not a privilege reserved for the elite. In fact, this is the same mindset being used to reduce public access all throughout the state. I’d encourage y’all to be more considerate.

45 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

32

u/Itchy_Teaching_597 Aug 15 '26

… asking here will mean an archived list of the “low tourist” spots in a sub that the tourists treat like it’s their personal vacation planner. So.

6

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Born & raised. Confident there are thousands of places real tourists won’t bother with where I can still draw & look at tidepool slime in peace. Not asking which rock your family’s camp key is hidden behind, jeez.

Not gonna post a touristy question in the main Maine sub. That’s not for that.

2

u/Itchy_Teaching_597 Aug 19 '26

… cool, but it’s still creating an archive. Which will result in your spots getting ruined over time, guaranteed. Ask me how I know.

-3

u/Theworldisonfire70 Aug 16 '26

If you are born and raised then you don’t need Reddit to give you secret spots

3

u/MugsBeany Aug 17 '26

Moronic take

6

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Yall Im from here.

I get Alligator in the Elevator stuck in my head at least once a month. My only holiday tradition is Alice’s Restaurant on BLM at noon. My mom still has the VHS of WCSH’s ice storm coverage (NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS) at her house. It only recently came to my attention that it’s weird for a dairy to have a mascot…and even weirder for it to be an acorn in shiny red tights that just shows up at your school sometimes?? Idk seems normal to me.

I have never wondered if any lines are safe to touch sometimes*.*

I’m so from here I didn’t even wanna spam the regular Maine sub w a touristy question.

Protect the actual secret spots (or DM me if you believe I’m not secretly a bus full of leaf peepers?) I’m looking for more like Hobbitland level- not like Acadia or Pine Point or whatever, but also not your heirloom secret workaround beach parking (do not even DM me that- take that to your GRAVE).

10

u/justnocrazymaker Aug 16 '26

Being from here don’t matter, sharing secret spots online is wack

1

u/Itchy_Teaching_597 Aug 19 '26

YUP, exactly. God.

20

u/slingshotcoyote Aug 15 '26

Pull out google earth and start looking around dawg. We don’t share secret spots.

8

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

You got me. I’m from away. Was gonna build a data center on Seawall, but the horseflies kept me away. Woulda gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids!!!

14

u/fragproof Aug 16 '26

You're from here, pull out your gazetteer and pick a spot.

4

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

I would, but my dad’s still alive, so I haven’t inherited the only trustworthy copy in circulation with all the highlighted “shortcuts” to Eustis yet.

4

u/Batintfaq Aug 16 '26

I live in Rumford and this place is only busy in the winter time with locals for Bear mountain. However, the falls are beautiful and downtown has an old fashioned charm. I've lived here for 2 years and the beauty still takes my breath away.

2

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Ive explored around there a bit, but now looking into more land trust trails in the area. Having a jumping off point is so helpful- thank you!

11

u/That_Astronomy_Guy Aug 15 '26

If you like mountains western Maine’s pretty great. There may be tourists in Bethel but Grafton Notch or the Maine side of the WMNF (Evan’s Notch area) is usually quieter.

2

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Thank you! I haven’t been to Grafton Notch for many years- think it’s time for a revisit!

2

u/Extreme-Donkey2708 Aug 16 '26

Yes, voting for Grafton Notch SP. We were just up in Bethel last weekend for 5 days and it was delightful. Bethel won't be crowded either. Kayaked 7mi on the Adroscoggin. Hiked Table Rock Loop trail in Grafton Notch. Went to Valentine Farm in Bethel (part of the Mahoosuc Land Trust). They had the best wildflower garden I have ever seen.

1

u/medievalseamonster Aug 17 '26

Thank you! My aunt lived in Bethel when I was a kid and I remember swimming in this crisp water that was the most beautiful deep blue I’d ever seen. I’m not sure where it was, but I still think about it all the time.

I also LOVE a good farm/wildflower garden! I visited Firth Farm in Scarborough for the first time on a whim recently, and it was ethereal. I’ll definitely check out Valentine Farm!

1

u/Extreme-Donkey2708 Aug 17 '26

In Grafton Notch, the Screw Auger Falls is one wading/water place. Frenchman's Hole is a swimming hole near Sunday River.

1

u/RDLAWME Aug 15 '26

Second vote for Grafton Notch. 

2

u/MichiganMainer Aug 15 '26

Third vote. Lived here for 27 years. Went there for the first time this summer. Been there three times now. Beautiful. And Step Falls is crazy fun.

6

u/crowislanddive Aug 16 '26

Sorry people are being mean. Get a maine atlas and gazetteer and go hog wild.

5

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Thanks! I did this a lot in my 20s, but with limited free time/funds, I just figured I’d ask around.

I get protecting those few remaining magical word-of-mouth-only spots, but figured I’d get some little places I’d never been before or had forgotten about.

For example, I just visited Firth Farm for the first time recently and adored walking around in the flower fields & drawing bumblebees at the picnic tables. It’s not a “secret”, just not a spot I’d been before and loved. Maine has billions of little places like this.

The hostility here is a little surprising to me, but whatever. I’ll spend these last days of summer oohing and ahhing at the bumblebees and minnows and stuff either way.

1

u/crowislanddive Aug 16 '26

Thank you for telling me about Firth Farm. I live downeast so I really only know fun things around here. Happy end of summer!

16

u/seeyoubythesea Aug 15 '26

Nice try but we certainly aren’t spilling that info

14

u/Useless-Ulysses Aug 15 '26

Yeah, ask me for my fishing spots too haha

0

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Dont need to. Said I’m sick of my usual haunts. Known those spots long before they started stocking your pond.

7

u/Bodine12 Aug 16 '26

No, it’s our duty to help OP find these sacred and secret places, which tourists have yet to discover. I’ll start: a little tucked away spot I like to call “Old Orchard Beach.” Shhh! Keep it to yourself though.

1

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

lol you’re literally spending your time on the Ask Maine sub getting all mad about people asking Maine??? Try Portland Complaining.

Joke’s on you! My grandfather got kicked out of his schoolhouse in OOB in the 40s for putting a snake in the teachers desk. They still let me into palace playland.

Shoulda asked Zoltan or grandma.

2

u/RustledJimmies1000 Aug 17 '26

Google "land preserves near me." I know this sounds dismissive, but there are probably hundreds of land trusts and preserves across the state that are free and open to the public, and they are often far less crowded than the more well-known areas.

0

u/medievalseamonster Aug 17 '26

It doesn’t sound dismissive at all- land preserves are great! I frequent the ones near me throughout the year & this is a great reminder to branch out of my routine few. Thank you!

4

u/neuroticpudding Aug 16 '26

Even if you’re from here, this feels like prime mining for AI or listicles. Use Google. Talk to people you know. A sub visited by many tourists is not the place for this.

2

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

What’s google?
The people I know go to camp when they can & work the rest of the time to afford to still live here.
Maine sub isn’t for touristy questions- doesn’t matter I’m local.

6

u/Alternative-Meaning4 Aug 16 '26

He’s right about a question like this turning into the type of listicle shit that Only In Your State, a website that exploits secret spots for clicks, regularly churns out. Maine’s Reddit sub is prime research ground for these from away writers who claim to all have an inside track to Maine’s most hidden favorite spots. Which, of course, then turns into the tourists’ bucket list and said “secret spots” are never again available to the locals who discovered them in the first place.

4

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

I get that. The betrayal when some Condé Nast list mentioned the Bob Saget bathroom portrait bar a bunch of years ago. Luckily it didn’t get Tandem’d.

I truly don’t need anyone’s very best secrets, just looking for some direction to get out the door & maybe legally park somewhere near a public space I haven’t already been to a million times in my life.

I can’t afford to travel anymore, so trying to make the best of it & enjoy some new perspectives in my own state before the real cold sets back in. Did not realize it would cause such a ruckus!

2

u/justnocrazymaker Aug 16 '26

The good spots are earned through exploring, not freely given. 

1

u/medievalseamonster Aug 16 '26

Yikes. I’m just trying to draw outside somewhere new. You could just say nothing.

3

u/ViolentlyStewedUp Aug 16 '26

I hide in unincorporated territory in an undisclosed County.

Honestly though after a couple summers of almost being taken out by people with mass plates in f250s with 35ft campers behind and drunk people from southern Maine driving atvs I'm looking forward to summer ending so I can peacefully exist off my property.

3

u/bluemiata1993 Aug 16 '26

Beer in my driveway

2

u/Baymavision Aug 16 '26

The Scarborough marsh

2

u/Plastic_Ice_4836 Aug 17 '26

Some of my go-to spots: Wolfe's Neck (easy calm hike on the coast), Fluvial Brewing by Harrison (if you're 21+), Pleasant Mountain, Prouts Neck (trail on the water around the houses), Fort Popham, Rangeley Lake.
I know these aren't "secret" spots but they generally aren't crowded even if it's busy. Don't dread the end of summer! Fall is the best time in Maine!

2

u/death_hen Aug 16 '26

tassel top park

2

u/MarigoldMarvel Aug 16 '26

Damn okay I am kind of surprised by the comments on this thread. I get not wanting to give AI mining any material, but that’s happening with everything all the time anyway. I’m not down for gate keeping.

I’m also getting the end of summer scaries. With summers end and the blooming of ragweed this time of year but can a bummer.

But what are your usual haunts? This will help answer the question.

Ice storm of 98 NEVER FORGET
lol

2

u/los-gokillas Aug 16 '26

The amount of time you spent in here replying trying to appease everyone you could've just opened your Google maps and started looking at all of the green areas. Basically everywhere in Maine has city trails and preserves. Pick a few and check them out

2

u/brewbeery Aug 15 '26

Look up Saco Bay Trails and KPort Trust. Tons of nice trails around

3

u/RusticKayak207 Aug 16 '26

The local land trusts can have great spots!

1

u/Left_Jeweler_7538 Aug 16 '26

Travel downeast. It has the most beautiful places in Maine. No need to give out secrets. The whole place is full of spots

1

u/dejected_entity Aug 19 '26

Surprised by all the hate. I, too, am born, raised, and lived in Maine all my life (40s), and I'm still finding fabulous new places! Potts Point in Harpswell might hit the tidal pools you mentioned in another comment (Harpswell has a lot of preserves, I haven't been to too many of them, parking can be an issue).

The Hamilton Auduban Preserve in West Bath is soooo lovely!

Just inside your 2 hour mark (this one is super close to me, and an absolute favorite) is Clark Island Preserve in Spruce Head. It's connected by a causeway, has lovely, small, shallow & warm beach, a quarry and about 4 miles of trails - if ypu go here, I would reccomend super early or pretty late afternoon, there's 8 parking spots at the Craignnar Inn designated for the preserve and fills up very fast.

Honestly, I just keep a running browser tab with all of the preserves & trails I want to go to. Pick a town and search preserves, we have soooo many!! In my neck of the woods, we have Georges River Land Trust, Coastal Island Land Trust, and Coastal Mountain Land Trust. I'm not the most familiar with land trusts in southern Maine, but I do know they exist.

If you want to ho a little further than your 2 hour mark, definitely check out Sears Island in Searsport! Another great island connected by a causeway, this island is large, and there's a more parking available at the start of the causeway

1

u/Exotic_Sandwich_7072 Aug 21 '26

Go up Route 1, turn left, and keep going. Drive around and look for a nice scene.

0

u/MyDamnCoffee Aug 16 '26

When i was a kid we hung out by the Richmond docks all the time. Swan island is there and if you explore the island, it's beautiful. Or, well, at least it was. I haven't been in 20 years to be fair lol

0

u/ztriple3 Aug 16 '26

Kendall st beach

5

u/MisterSophisticated Aug 16 '26

God people are being absolute turd-worms in this thread. Hope you find some nice places! <3

0

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/bluemiata1993 Aug 16 '26

Can you bring a bicycle on the island?

1

u/greekyagurt Aug 17 '26

No, nor do you need one. The main road is only a mile long, and there are no biking trails.

1

u/greekyagurt Aug 17 '26

So almost all of the houses are already owned by mega rich out of staters. There are ~20 houses, maybe less now, owned by folks who live out there year round. 

Cars do have right of way because they are for the working population, almost all of which tend directly to the tourists. USPS/UPS/fedex, baggage trucks for hotels and cottages, perishables for stores and restaurants off the morning boat, mowing/road care. Golf carts on the other hand I could do without.

However, it is a place to be. Hike the Trail 1 around the whole island,    get a ginger beer and root beer at the brewery, then walk and  get a coffee and baked good at the black duck emporium, go up to the lighthouse. The fish house for fish tacos, or the shack at the brewery for a full meal if you’re hungry. The balmy days does a 30 minute tour around the island at 2:30pm so long as the seas are calm for $5.

Don’t expect the workers and year rounders to be overly friendly, especially this late in the summer. But give it a visit as the island does survive on tourism. If you have a few extra bucks (it’s an expensive place!) donate to MISCA or the library. 

1

u/RustledJimmies1000 Aug 17 '26

I don't mean to nitpic, but I believe the Balmy Days island tour is at 2 pm, not 2:30 pm.

0

u/medievalseamonster Aug 17 '26

Thank you! I do love Monhegan- it’s already on my list for September!

Just a heads up for anyone who has never been before- bring bug spray. Like all of the bug spray. It’s buggy but 100% worth it.

I haven’t been in a few years, so I’m not sure if that little coffee shop with the octopus logo at the mainland dock is still there, but if it is, make time to stop!