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Cadillac Mountain sunset (Unsplash)📷 Asaf R asafyrov, CC0

Road trips in Maine

8 road trips and 25 hand-picked places in Maine, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping.

Trip guides
8
Places
25

Campsites in Maine 282

Trip guides

Road trips through Maine

Maine’s Route 1 – white lighthouse near body of waterPhoto by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash
1
Coast & island drives

Maine’s Route 1

172 mi6 stops4 days
Moosehead Lake and Katahdin: Maine’s North Woods – Mount Kineo - panoramio (2)© Susan Popielaski · CC BY-SA 3.0
15
National park loops

Moosehead Lake and Katahdin: Maine’s North Woods

179 mi7 stops4 days
Maine’s Midcoast peninsulas: Bath to Pemaquid and Owls Head – Sculpture of the Wyoming, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine - 20130917© Jacklee · CC BY-SA 3.0
1
Coast & island drives

Maine’s Midcoast peninsulas: Bath to Pemaquid and Owls Head

118 mi8 stops3 days
Acadia and Downeast Maine to West Quoddy Head – Bar Harbor – USA - Thunder Hole - panoramio (1)© giggel · CC BY 3.0
1
Coast & island drives

Acadia and Downeast Maine to West Quoddy Head

111 mi8 stops4 days
Granite, tides and the first sunrise – by camper through Acadia and Maine’s Down East coast – Cadillac Mountain sunset (Unsplash)© Asaf R asafyrov · CC0
1
In-depth road trip guides

Granite, tides and the first sunrise – by camper through Acadia and Maine’s Down East coast

142 mi11 stops5 days
Lighthouses, lakes and moose country – by camper from Maine’s Midcoast into the Western Mountains to Moosehead Lake – Bathurst waterfront 1© Diablo2003 · Public domain
1
In-depth road trip guides

Lighthouses, lakes and moose country – by camper from Maine’s Midcoast into the Western Mountains to Moosehead Lake

309 mi11 stops6 days
Fall color: the Kancamagus to Acadia – Sabbaday Falls Trail, Kancamagus Hwy, Waterville Valley - panoramio (1)© Bob Linsdell · CC BY 3.0
112
Things to do in…

Fall color: the Kancamagus to Acadia

336 mi6 stops4 days
Maple red, birch gold and lobster buoys – by camper through New England’s Indian summer – Parker's Revenge from the British View (b7e0118d-4b98-48f0-a0e0-57eb18f4a497)© NPS Photo · Public domain
112
In-depth road trip guides

Maple red, birch gold and lobster buoys – by camper through New England’s Indian summer

665 mi14 stops8 days
RouteSuggested daysDistanceDrivingStops
Maine’s Route 14172 mi3 h 05 min6
Moosehead Lake and Katahdin: Maine’s North Woods4179 mi3 h 11 min7
Maine’s Midcoast peninsulas: Bath to Pemaquid and Owls Head3118 mi2 h 06 min8
Acadia and Downeast Maine to West Quoddy Head4111 mi1 h 59 min8
Granite, tides and the first sunrise – by camper through Acadia and Maine’s Down East coast5142 mi2 h 32 min11
Lighthouses, lakes and moose country – by camper from Maine’s Midcoast into the Western Mountains to Moosehead Lake6309 mi5 h 31 min11
Fall color: the Kancamagus to Acadia4336 mi6 h 00 min6
Maple red, birch gold and lobster buoys – by camper through New England’s Indian summer8665 mi11 h 52 min14
Editor's picks

Places worth the detour in Maine

Cadillac Mountain sunset (Unsplash)© Asaf R asafyrov · CC0
Editor's pick
Views

Cadillac Mountain

Bar Harbor, ME
Portland Head Lighthouse flags© Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Editor's pick
Views

Portland Head Light

Cape Elizabeth, ME
Mount Kineo - panoramio (2)© Susan Popielaski · CC BY-SA 3.0
Editor's pick
Nature

Mount Kineo

Rockwood, ME
Gulf Hagas – a large white water tower with a greenvillee logo on itPhoto by Matthew Ball on Unsplash
Editor's pick
Nature

Gulf Hagas

Greenville, ME
Baxter State Park, Togue Pond – ChimneyPondLT© Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Editor's pick
Nature

Baxter State Park, Togue Pond

Millinocket, ME
Bellhouse, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol, Maine - 20130917© Jacklee · CC BY-SA 3.0
Editor's pick
Views

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Bristol, ME
West Quoddy Head Light – Lighthouse Late Afternoon -- West Quoddy Head Lubec (ME) September 2017 (39738193182)© Ron Cogswell from Arlington, Virginia, USA · CC BY 2.0
Editor's pick
Views

West Quoddy Head Light

Lubec, ME
Nubble Light – Cape Neddick Light York ME 2 20220918© Niranjan Arminius · CC BY-SA 4.0
Editor's pick
Views

Nubble Light

York, ME
Blackwoods Campground – Polar Seltzer - Orange Vanilla - Aluminum Can (52953511215)© Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0
Camping

Blackwoods Campground

Bar Harbor, ME
Lily Bay State Park – brown wooden house in the woodsPhoto by Emmy Gaddy on Unsplash
Nature

Lily Bay State Park

Greenville, ME
Sculpture of the Wyoming, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine - 20130917© Jacklee · CC BY-SA 3.0
History

Maine Maritime Museum

Bath, ME
Dried seaweed in the sand, Popham Beach State Park, Maine, US (PPL1-Corrected) julesvernex2© Jules Verne Times Two · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nature

Popham Beach State Park

Phippsburg, ME
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Pac Mania (52675321340)© Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0
Nature

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Boothbay, ME
Owls Head Light – Maine-00054 - Owls Head© Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0
Views

Owls Head Light

Owls Head, ME
Bar Harbor – USA - Thunder Hole - panoramio (1)© giggel · CC BY 3.0
Nature

Thunder Hole

Bar Harbor, ME
Bar Harbor – USA - Jordan Pond House - Acadia-Nationalpark - panoramio© giggel · CC BY 3.0
Nature

Jordan Pond

Seal Harbor, ME
Schoodic Point, Acadia, ME (34238631290)© Doug McGrady from Warwick, RI, USA · CC BY 2.0
Views

Schoodic Point

Winter Harbor, ME
Reid State Park – You Wouldn't Believe Some The Things We've Seen (21042334374)© Paul VanDerWerf from Brunswick, Maine, USA · CC BY 2.0
Nature

Reid State Park

Georgetown, ME
Views

Mount Battie, Camden Hills State Park

Camden, ME
Dock Square – Dock-square-1© Captain-tucker · CC BY-SA 3.0
History

Dock Square

Kennebunkport, ME
Marginal Way – Ogunquit Public Library© Captain-tucker · CC BY-SA 3.0
Nature

Marginal Way

Ogunquit, ME
Nature

Grafton Notch State Park

Newry, ME
Old Port, Portland – Old Customs House© Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0
History

Old Port, Portland

Portland, ME
Farnsworth Art Museum – Alvan Fisher - The Falls Of Niagara (1820) - Closeup (49445847942)© Alvan Fisher · Public domain
History

Farnsworth Art Museum

Rockland, ME

FAQs

What are the best road trips in Maine?

Popular routes include Maine’s Route 1, Moosehead Lake and Katahdin: Maine’s North Woods, Maine’s Midcoast peninsulas: Bath to Pemaquid and Owls Head and Acadia and Downeast Maine to West Quoddy Head. CampingSpirit has 8 trip guides that pass through Maine, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map.

Which places in Maine are worth a detour?

Our editors recommend Cadillac Mountain, Portland Head Light, Mount Kineo, Gulf Hagas, Baxter State Park, Togue Pond and Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.

Nearby

New Hampshire 3Massachusetts 7Vermont 2Rhode Island 2Quebec 8Connecticut 2New Brunswick 3Nova Scotia 5