Road Trip! From NY to Maine

Bryans12v · April 26, 2011

Planning a road trip (girlfriend and I)up to Maine and was wondering if anyone can recommend a must see along the way. We have no route set yet but i do want to see the following. Cape Cod/Nantucket/Franconia Notch and Acadia Nat Park.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

ssimmonsphoto · May 1, 2011

When are you doing it? There are a TON of places that are definitely photo worthy, but it is hard to tell depending on the time of year.

denisegoldberg · May 1, 2011

And how much time do you have?

You already have Acadia on your list - don't forget the Schoodic Peninsula. It's part of the park but a bit further north on the mainland, and it's gorgeous. http://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/upload/schoodic.pdf

Another favorite spot of mine is the Wells Reserve.

That's just a start, you could spend a long time wandering from New York to eastern Maine.

--- Denise

Bryans12v · May 1, 2011

Wow! Thanks so much everyone! Without ever having been up north, its hard to find all the great "photo worthy" places!

We are departing on Saturday May 8th and have the whole week and weekend, till the 15th. Id like to spend a day or two in a couple of the more breathtaking area and see the drivable stuff (like the mountains) in between.

Ive done alot of road trips but never on this short of notice and little time to plan, also to mention never north. The girlfriend has to 'bid" for vacation at her job and got the short end of the stick this year so were trying to make the best of it.

I really appreciate all the help everyone. All of your suggestions are going to make this an amazing experience for the two of us and I thank you sincerely! Any more ideas, please feel free to mention!

eoren1 · May 1, 2011

I'm partial to Portland Head Light - http://www.portlandheadlight.com/ - best at high tide...I think...(haven't shot it enough yet to decide)
Old Orchard Beach can be very neat at sunrise

Bryans12v · May 2, 2011

eoren1 wrote: »

I'm partial to Portland Head Light - http://www.portlandheadlight.com/ - best at high tide...I think...(haven't shot it enough yet to decide)
Old Orchard Beach can be very neat at sunrise

Thanks Eyal, they are now both on the list of places to stop!

eoren1 · May 2, 2011

Bryans12v wrote: »

Thanks Eyal, they are now both on the list of places to stop!

Here are two favorites of Portland Head and Old Orchard Beach shot by a photographer I met last year on a photowalk:
http://brianmatiash.com/blog/portfolio/?album=1&gallery=5
-Pictures 2 and 3

knapph · May 4, 2011

Here are a few photos of Maine for you to look at: http://www.stonecoastphotography.com/Places/Maine. Lighthouse photos are here: http://www.stonecoastphotography.com/Collections.

Going over to NH and then to Maine, or the other way around, is going to eat into your time if you want to see Cape Cod and Nantucket also. That is a lot to bite off. As much as I like the White Mountains I would save that leg for another trip (much better in the fall over there) and stick to the coast and even then I think that would be tight for travel time. I am not sure about the time it would take to get out to Nantucket some of the SmugMuggers from MA would need to fill in that for you but, I do not think that is something you would want to rush.

For the Maine part of the journey, I would first head up to Acadia via I-95 to Bangor and then across from there to Mt. Desert. You can take the slower trip back down Rt. 1 if you have time after seeing Acadia.

You may be able to find a place to stay when you get there but it would be better to call ahead. On Acadia, drive the park loop, go to the gardens (Asticou Azalea Garden and the Thuya Garden) in Northeast Harbor if you like flowers to see what is blooming. The beach near Thunder Hole is a good place for sunrise shooting. You might be able to get a sunset from Cadillac Mt. but the weather usually makes that iffy. If you try for a Cadillac Mt. sunset, do not try to get one from the summit instead go the the first overlook going back down the mountain (I think it is the Blue Hill overlook) - better shooting from there. You can also get some nice views from the top of Cadillac if you walk down the side from the summit to the right of the parking lot as you first enter (the South Ridge trail I think). Jordan Pond near the Jordan Pond House is a good place for shooting and to get a bite to eat. Walk around the pond a bit, it's nice. For a different look at Jordan Pond climb North and South Bubble. The climbs are short but steep in places and the views are great. Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is good shooting - take the trail to the far end of the parking lot from the entrance to get to a good view of the lighthouse. Across the water from Bass Harbor is Bernard another good place for early morning shots. You will need to scout for a parking place if you want to be there for early shooting. I think the parking at the town landing is reserved for working folks and they can get a bit grumpy if they get there early in the morning to take their lobster boat out and find someone "from away" (that would be you) in their parking place. The Otter Cliff area on the park loop road is another good place to do some shooting. I'll second what someone else said about seeing Schoodic Peninsula. Lots of great rocks and water to see.

My wife and I like to go to Two Cats in Bar Harbor for breakfast and Havana for dinner. Jordan's restaurant in Bar Harbor is another good place for breakfast.

If you are the lighthouse type of person then Portland Head is a great place as someone has already mentioned. The lighthouse is in a town park; the gates open at sunrise and are closed at sunset. You need to be ready to shoot when you get there as they are sometimes a bit slow to open the gates and you can get tight for time. If the weather is not too foggy the sunrises can be great. This time of year we like to shoot from the north side of the lighthouse for sunrise. There is a trail that runs along the cliffs that will take you to some good places to shoot. There is another lighthouse offshore from Portland Head - Ram Ledge light. You can sometimes get a good shot of it also. Two other lighthouses in town are Spring Point Ledge light and Bug light (aka Portland Harbor light). Look for them on a map. Lots of old buildings in downtown Portland, "the Old Port". If you are a fan of art, the Portland Art Museum is a good place to visit. There are a lot of art galleries in the area around the museum.

Portland is full of great places to eat. One of our favorite with great views is the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth. Out on the rocky coast and there are two more light houses there as a bonus.

Bring some good shoes and be prepared for cold winds. We always go out with fleece jackets and rain parkas even in the summer - you never know what the weather is going to do. If you get out on the rocks near the ocean watch the seaweed, it is very slippy. And, also keep an eye on the waves, they can surprise you. I got wet last week and I thought I was being careful.
Guess that is enough for now. Let me know if you have questions. Have a great trip.

Knapp Hudson
Portland, Maine

Bryans12v · May 5, 2011

Wow. Knapp, thank you so much! This information is priceless and greatly appreciated. Im glad you think I should hit Acadia for the first part of the Maine trip. I was thinking about doing it this way also as I didnt want to be crunched for time while enjoying the park. I am packing the tent and a few blankets in hope for a warm night. My significant other is 4 months expecting and is a little fussy about camping.

I am a lighthouse person and Portland Head is second on my list of must see's on the trip but I am also a mountian person and TWM's are third.

The more I learn about the Northeast, the more I realized 1 week is not long enough for me to see everything.

I thank everyone again for all the tips!!

Also to mention, Im thinking about wiping Nantucket from the trip. Its really expensive (around $200) to get the car onto the island from what Ive gathered. I know there are buses, etc but I would have to carry way to much for her on top of my camera gear to make it enjoyable for the day, IMO. If you know of an easier way to see the island, Im all ears!! Or should I say eyes!

eoren1 · May 5, 2011

I would forget about the Cape and Islands for this trip. Traffic getting there can be miserable...
Since you're a lighthouse guy, you may want to hit the one in York, ME as well.

Nubble Light - I've only shot this at sunset/dusk and am not sure how it looks at sunrise

Portland Head

If you have an iPhone, I strongly recommend getting TPE (tells you where/when sunrise/set and moonrise/set will be) as well as Tidegraph. The tides up here are huge and completely change landscapes.

knapph · May 5, 2011

Lighthouse Guide
In case you do not know about this site: http://www.lighthouse.cc/me.html. It gives directions to the lighthouses and lets you know if you can get to the lighthouse. Near the bottom of each page is a previous and next link. Next takes you to the next light going North.

Road Trip! From NY to Maine

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