Maine Coast

The 3,000 miles of Maine's convoluted coastline provide countless coves and promontories that have drawn inhabitants and visitors for centuries. Hunting, fishing, and farming were practiced by native peoples well before colonists arrived, and they continue to play an important part in Maine's economy as well as its cultural life. Fisheries, from the famous lobster to cod, mackerel, and other fish, keep ports in business, and on coastal roads one is never far from a clam shack. Some coastal towns have developed cachet through the years, from the elegant resort town of Bar Harbor to precious Camden, but towns like heartbreakingly remote ...

The 3,000 miles of Maine's convoluted coastline provide countless coves and promontories that have drawn inhabitants and visitors for centuries. Hunting, fishing, and farming were practiced by native peoples well before colonists arrived, and they continue to play an important part in Maine's economy as well as its cultural life. Fisheries, from the famous lobster to cod, mackerel, and other fish, keep ports in business, and on coastal roads one is never far from a clam shack. Some coastal towns have developed cachet through the years, from the elegant resort town of Bar Harbor to precious Camden, but towns like heartbreakingly remote Eastport offer more rugged solitude. It's a state full of personal discoveries to be made - rake your own wild blueberries in Stockton Springs, stumble across a skilled chef in a remote village, discover a potter's studio in Damariscotta, find your soul in the crashing waves of Harpswell Point, learn ships rigging and old tools at countless museums.

About the Expert

Juliette Rogers is coauthor of the guidebooks Eating New England: A Food Lovers Guide to Eating Locally, Secret Providence and Newport, and two Thomas Cook guides on France.