Maine road trip advice.

Mark Davenport

Mark Davenport

Active member
I'm flying from Michigan to Maine on July 16th to pick up my new lab pup. I'm driving back and looks like I'll be coming back starting near South Thomaston Maine, then New Hampshire, Mass., Conn. New York and then thru Canada. The drive will be from 3 to 5 days depending on stops, Are there any must see's along the way you guys can suggest???

Or if anyone wants to meet up for a cold one, I'd be willing to get side tracked. :)

Thanks, Mark
 
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The moosehead lake region is beautiful , and there are a few nice roadside taverns to have a cold one in Greenville on the southern end of moosehead, There is also LL bean in Freeport on the coast and a little to the north is the arcadia national park . NY end you got both lake Champlain and lake George in the Adirondacks , if you come to Long island ill join you for a cold one! Enjoy your journey
 
There's a lot to see, but it would be helpful to know what your interests are. For example, if you're a decoy carver, you'd want to stop at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Of if you're into fly fishing, the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, VT should be on your list, etc.

Whatever you do, try to take secondary roads through northern New England. You'll get a much better sense of the area and its history than you will on an interstate highway.
 
DIf at Beans, check out the Outlet store down the hill first, before the main building. They sell all the returns there. Might have defect or just returned... Kittery is neat, lots of guns, cloths and rec stuff.
 
If your route through NY is going to take you into Canada - I'll assume you plan to cross at the Niagara Frontier.

as said above, what are your interests? There is a lot of American history to see between Ticonderoga, down the Mohawk valley, all the way to Fort Niagara

if you fly fish and are entering NY from CT - roll through the Catskills and stop at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum near Roscoe, "Trout Town USA"
as Sparse Grey Hackle said "Gentlemen remove your hats, this is it" there were trout in Walton's England "But this where they painted spots on him and taught him to swim"

also if you take the northern route - the Clayton decoy show in July 18 & 19
 
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You are visitiong my friend David E. There is a marsh called the Waldo Tyler right there that he lives on.. Try to bring some binoculars and go to the look ut on buttermilk lane. Many shore birds and waterfowl, but this time of year isn't the best. Looking at a light house or hitting the Bath museum(boatbuilding). So much to do.
Frank
 
Mark, curious who the breeder is? I used to run labs in the hunt tests in New England.... was a member of Lake Champlain Retriever Club, and Labrador Retriever Club of Greater Boston.
 
Before you leave the Thomaston area, head north just a few miles to Camden and spend a day or two at Camden Hills State Park and the surrounding area. If you like hiking, the state park has a number of trails up coastal mountains with great views. I like Bald Rock Mountain and Megunticook Mountain, and the trails up Maiden Cliff are spectacular but the view is over inland lakes, not the coast. If you want the short and easy version, drive your car to the top of Mt. Battie for a truly spectacular view of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay.

In the region you'll find a bunch of restaurants and shops in Belfast, Camden and Rockland. Ducktrap Bay Trading Company in Camden has nice decoys (bring your wallet!) and Ducktrap Decoys up the road in Lincolnville (just the other side of the state park) has some too. You have your pick of food, from nationally recognized gourmet "farm to table" (Primo in Rockland, again, bring your wallet) to lobster rolls on the dock. (Take the long drive down from Thomaston to the end of the peninsula at Port Clyde and check out the Port Clyde General Store and Dipnet Restaurant.)

If you want to get out on the water, or if you are into birding or painting or just great sightseeing, take the ferry from Port Clyde about 15 miles out to Monhegan and spend a day hiking the trails on the island and visiting the many artists studios.

If it was me, I'd stick to the Camden region and avoid the longer drive up to Acadia National Park. Acadia is gorgeous, but getting out there in the mid-summer tourist rush can be frustrating. But the mountains are bigger than the Camden Hills, and it is spectacular. Two ways to avoid the crowds up there are to take the ferry out to Isle au Haut or drive up to the Schoodic Peninsula. Both are parts of Acadia, but much less visited than the parts of the park on Mount Desert Island. If you go up to Schoodic, Stonington is great little fishing village worth a visit.

If you are thinking of the Canadian route home and want a very pretty drive with maybe some brook trout or landlocked salmon fishing, head up either Route 201 to cross the border at Jackman or Route 27 to cross at Coburn Gore. Either route will take you through some remote timberland, and I'd be happy to provide some of my brook trout spots via pm. (The better ones are mostly fly fishing only.)

Or, it you are headed over to NH and Vermont, head west on Route 2. It's the quickest way over to Montpelier and Burlington and will take you through some very nice Appalachian scenery in western Maine and New Hampshire. For a longer but more scenic route, head north on Route 26 from Bethel, up through Grafton Notch State Park (mountains, cliffs, waterfalls, the "toughest mile" of the Appalachian Trail), and back down to Route 2 after passing through Errol and Gorham, NH. Lots of fishing on that route, too. Or a longer detour would take you up Route 17 to Rangely, Maine, one of the nation's oldest destination fishing towns, where you can find great fishing for landlocked salmon and brook trout, and great views. The "Height of Land" view over the Rangely Lakes is worth the drive by itself.

Oh, and take the ferry across Lake Champlain instead of driving around. Definitely worth it for the Green Mountain and Adirondack views.

Once you get out of northern New England, someone else will have to help you.

Here's hoping the pup doesn't get carsick!
 
If you follow Jeff's Route it would be almost criminal not to stop and fish. The Magalloway, the Rapid, the Kennebago, there is some of the best Brook Trout fishing in the country.

While you are right there, in S. Thomaston hit the Owls Head Transportation Museum, and Owls Head Sate Park. If you want a Beach go to Birch Point. Personally if I were your tour guide I would stop at the Prison store on Route 1 in Thomaston proper. Some go though in 15 minutes others need to rent a uhaul to get there stuff home.

Personally I have always Liked the Lobster Pound in Lincolnville for a good shore dinner. Steamers, Lobsta stew, and then a lobsta, followed by desert. Throw the salad away so you have room for the good stuff.
 
Ditto the fishing, and the Lobster Pound in Lincolnville.

PS--Dave, still haven't run into you at a KVTU meeting. We have to meet up some time.
 
There's a lot to see, but it would be helpful to know what your interests are. For example, if you're a decoy carver, you'd want to stop at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Of if you're into fly fishing, the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, VT should be on your list, etc.

Whatever you do, try to take secondary roads through northern New England. You'll get a much better sense of the area and its history than you will on an interstate highway.
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He's really just into hockey.
I'm not sure if he does anything "outdoorsy" anymore.

Mark is it?... What search engine brought up this site for you?
 
I'd really like to hit any waterfowl, duckboat and decoy oriented museums etc. but I also like the suggestions made in the posts and am looking forward to laying out the plan over the next few weeks. Toting a 7wk old pup around may limit me somewhat i'm sure. I appreciate all the input.

Frank, yes it's David. He has the specific bloodline I'm wanting that's linked to the line of my current lab.

Hi Dwane, Joshuas all grown up now, so it's time to get stuff off the back burner, albeit slowly.
 
You might consider a trip to Swan Island. It is located at the upper reaches of Merrymeeting Bay. The state will boat you over, then you walk around the island, you can at least look at the rice flats that made the bay famous, and still hold a ton of ducks.

Every Maine hunter should experience an opening day on the bay. It is a zoo, but it is that way because there are thousands of ducks.
 
I'll second rt 26 through western Maine. Beautiful area and plenty of good fishing. My wifes family has a farm in Norway and the fishing all along 26 is great if you stop and poke around.......
 
Jode, rented a house on Little Pennesssswasee Pond. Scout la off Morril Rd. Had a great time, great town. Fishing was ok, had fun driving around the area...
 
Wow, small world.......penneseewasee is hard to get dialed in , best in summer is smallmouth at night on top. We are heading to a cabin off north pond this summer. About 5 minutes from the farm above penneseewasee and the fishing last year was unbelieveable. Wore the kids,out until they couldn't reel anymore! Lol.

For trout I like the little androsscogin from rt 26 west towards west Paris. My brother in laws property back to this section and in cooler years the brook trout bite well clear thru summer. If your ever in the area again you should try and find the ice caves, really neat formations that are refrigerator cold even on a midsummers day.
 
Wow, small world.......penneseewasee is hard to get dialed in , best in summer is smallmouth at night on top. We are heading to a cabin off north pond this summer. About 5 minutes from the farm above penneseewasee and the fishing last year was unbelieveable. Wore the kids,out until they couldn't reel anymore! Lol.

For trout I like the little androsscogin from rt 26 west towards west Paris. My brother in laws property back to this section and in cooler years the brook trout bite well clear thru summer. If your ever in the area again you should try and find the ice caves, really neat formations that are refrigerator cold even on a midsummers day.

Good grief, how does a Jersey guy know about a local secret like the ice caves??? LOL!
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