Planning trip to Maine

[Fmlatham]

I am planning a trip to Maine from south Alabama the end of July. Looking for any suggestions of route to take and campgrounds/sites to visit.

[RPR]

We made the trip from S. Alabama up through there into Nova Scotia. Will try to post copy of spreadsheet shortly.

[RPR]

We were in our Class C following brother in law in their Class A so we stayed were they preferred. Did a lot of site seeing. This is a screen shot of were we stayed. We left them in Maine and went to Nova Scotia, Quebec and back down into Vermont, NH, NY, PA

[Fmlatham]

Thanks so much for the spreadsheet. That should be a big help.

[Pfflyer]

We went to Bar Harbor from south of Atlanta via I95. If you don't like tolls this isn't the route for you. We stayed at the Oceanside KOA and really enjoyed our stay. Free bus ride to town so we didn't need a toad. Lobster bake at the camp our first night was awesome but have to admit after 2 days I was sick of lobster.

[TaftCoach]

We've stayed in Acadia several times. We take our time getting there using the Natchez Trace and Blue Ridge Parkway.

[Kim Gass]

Mainer here. Been camping a lot in state over the last three years.
Bar Harbor is not Maine.. Its a pox in the summer. It is very nice in May and June and better yet in the winter when its mostly closed.
Inland Maine is so overlooked..the touristas stay on the coast. In the summer the locals run to Rangeley or Eustis for the mountains and the lakes.
Cathedral Pines Campground in Eustis-Stratton. Yes it is remote
Even remoter is Seboomook Wilderness Campground. If you want moose and wildlife this is the place to be. The campground runs on a generator and there are generator hours. Its only accessible by dirt roads. The shortest is 33 miles from Rockwood and a longer dirt road is 70 miles from Millinocket.

Pine Grove Campground is a good base to stay to travel into Baxter State Park and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Its a very quiet clean riverside campground off rt 11 a couple of miles north of Medway.

Sunset Point in Harrington is just exquisite. Lofty bay views. Near Blueberry World, near lobster and all that stuff. Its east of Ellsworth which means most tourists don't get that far. This is working lobster country with a lot of hiking. It is also a short drive to the mountains inland just north of Bar Harbor which have the same sort of geography as Acadia but no crowds at all. Great country for paddling.

Cobscook Bay is my favorite State Park. No hookups but the scenery is magnificent. Its near Eastport and Lubec and the Roosevelt Peace Park in New Brunswick and West Quoddy Head.

Pemaquid Point is known for its iconic lighthouse and views and now our Steller Sea Eagle. Pemaquid Point Campground is just a little inland but close to everything.. Take a boat to Monhegan Island for a day from New Harbor. Hardy Boat Cruises does the Monhegan run as well as in the summer a cruise to the Puffin Colony nearby.

Shoud you have to go to Bar Harbor, parking is not free and Acadia NP requires timed reservations to go up Cadillac Mountain.
The best way around Acadia is to park at the visitor center in Hulls Cove and take the Island Explorer around to sightsee. It does stop in Bar Harbor so there is a way around parking. However it has not run since Covid hit so I don't know about the upcoming summer.

The best campground is Schoodic Woods Campground but its on the Schoodic Peninsula and it has electric and water and is a NPS campground. Schoodic is spectacular and very much less visited as its an hour from MDI on road and 45 min by ferry. Winter Harbor is the town and its got some good restaurants and the Pickled Wrinkle( a restaurant favored by locals) is in Birch Harbor about three miles away.

South of Portland is of course beach country. We like it in the winter because the snowy owls visit. In the summer parking can be difficult. Its also known as Massachusetts extension.

A mail boat ride around Casco Bay to the many islands is a fun thing to do or whale watching out of Portland.

[Kim Gass]

if you are up here the weekend of August 13 take in the lobster boat races in Winter Harbor https://schoodicchamber.com/craft-fair-boat-races/

There is a racing circuit all summer long for lobster boats up and down the coast.

[Fmlatham]

I appreciate all the input so much. We have a 39’ Jayco eagle tt and we pull it with a 3500 dually with an 8 ft bed so have some concerns about routes we aren’t familiar with. It’s going to take me a lot of research and planning to get this trip set up.

[RPR]

We were up in the area in 2019. Maybe the locals can advise on what roads to stay off of. The winters are rough on the roads. I admire you hardy souls that live there.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by RPR

We were up in the area in 2019. Maybe the locals can advise on what roads to stay off of. The winters are rough on the roads. I admire you hardy souls that live there.

Too early to tell. March reveals the new frost heaves. The US highways are usually OK. We are not hardy btw we just are different! State Highway 17 between Rumford and Rangeley used to be a kidney massager ; its just got one bad two mile stretch now.. or last fall it did.

With that large and high a unit overpasses are probably on your mind. There are few overpasses other than on the interstates.. 195 295 and 95. .Secondary roads dont use those much at all. I can think of only one in Bethel and its nice and high.

Roundabouts are sprouting up around Portland and sometimes a PITA with a large unit. I would not travel local streets in Portland or Augusta ( Augusta has two high speed move fast rotaries)

We have very few truck stops. Kennebunk rest area on the Tpk mile 25 and Cumberland exit 58 Irving at Exit 75, the travel plaza in Gardiner exit 102 off 95, and Dysarts Exit 180 are some of the few. We do not have Pilot Flying J's. Getting into gas stations may be a challenge. I would research those.

There is a reason we have few large units in our State. Most of the campgrounds are heavily forested and the large units are a difficult fit. I mentioned Cathedral Pines and it does have some large spaces but.. there is a short stretch on one of the loops where its a slalom course with trees eight feet apart on an s track.

I and another mentioned Pine Grove in Medway. I have seen a large unit there but there is a huge bump at the edge of the driveway and the campers said they had a tough time.

I would get a copy in paper of the Delorme Maine Gazetteer on Amazon. It shows you what roads are dirt and which are paved. I would avoid logging roads as its an expensive repair should you bottom out on a pothole or a rock. And no motor club will send in a repair person to the North Maine Woods.

So your research should be examining potential pit stops and also campgrounds that will accommodate your rig. And the Gazetter is a godsend . Careful examination of that could have saved a camper with a 45 foot motorhome from winding up in two ditches across a road when he misjudged just how sharp that turn was going to be when he missed the first exit to the KOA on Mount Desert Island ( KOA) , the next right also leads to the KOA but with a 135 degree band.

There is a Sunset Point in Lubec ocean side that is wide open and will take big rigs.

South of Portland there are many more big rig campgrounds.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

With that large and high a unit overpasses are probably on your mind. There are few overpasses other than on the interstates.. 195 295 and 95. .Secondary roads dont use those much at all. I can think of only one in Bethel and its nice and high.

Roundabouts are sprouting up around Portland and sometimes a PITA with a large unit. I would not travel local streets in Portland or Augusta ( Augusta has two high speed move fast rotaries)

We have very few truck stops. Kennebunk rest area on the Tpk mile 25 and Cumberland exit 58 Irving at Exit 75, the travel plaza in Gardiner exit 102 off 95, and Dysarts Exit 180 are some of the few. We do not have Pilot Flying J's. Getting into gas stations may be a challenge. I would research those.

There is a reason we have few large units in our State. Most of the campgrounds are heavily forested and the large units are a difficult fit. I mentioned Cathedral Pines and it does have some large spaces but.. there is a short stretch on one of the loops where its a slalom course with trees eight feet apart on an s track.

I and another mentioned Pine Grove in Medway. I have seen a large unit there but there is a huge bump at the edge of the driveway and the campers said they had a tough time.

I would get a copy in paper of the Delorme Maine Gazetteer on Amazon. It shows you what roads are dirt and which are paved. I would avoid logging roads as its an expensive repair should you bottom out on a pothole or a rock. And no motor club will send in a repair person to the North Maine Woods.

So your research should be examining potential pit stops and also campgrounds that will accommodate your rig. And the Gazetter is a godsend . Careful examination of that could have saved a camper with a 45 foot motorhome from winding up in two ditches across a road when he misjudged just how sharp that turn was going to be when he missed the first exit to the KOA on Mount Desert Island ( KOA) , the next right also leads to the KOA but with a 135 degree band.

There is a Sunset Point in Lubec ocean side that is wide open and will take big rigs.

South of Portland there are many more big rig campgrounds.

Great post, a lot of info here. Maine is on our list for next fall.

[Kim Gass]

Lake Pemaquid Campground near Damariscotta has big rig sites. The area is known for seafood and lighthouses and boat tours.

Juist outside Boothbay( another quaint town) Shore Hills CG accepts big rigs.. Most of the sites are in a field across from the railway.
Moosehead Lake is a must see. Northern Pride Lodge may be able to accommodate your rig..The 18 mile road from Greenville is bumpy in spots though. A steam boat tour of this lake is well worth it with all the mountains.