More Ways to Explore in Maine
More ways to explore while you are visiting Maine. Our list in far from all encompassing but will give you a great start to planning that special experience while visiting Maine. Follow the links to find that special activity worthy of adding to your collection of lifetime memories.- Traveling with kids? For a good day of fun try visiting an amusement park such as Funtown Splashtown USA or Aquaboggan, both in Saco, Maine; Palace Playland in Maine’s famous Old Orchard Beach or York's Wild Kingdom in York.
- Looking to take that perfect photograph of quintessential Maine? Try one of southern Maine's numerous lighthouses: There are within an easy drive of Portland. Go to our lighthouse map for easy to read directions of a great land based lighthouse tour.
- Browse through an antiquarian bookstore in the Portland area.
- On your way to Freeport to visit LL Bean? You must stop and check out the world's largest revolving globe, at the headquarters of map maker DeLorme in Yarmouth, Maine.
- View the outstanding collection of American and European paintings and other works at the Portland Museum of Art: Maine's largest and oldest public art museum. Winslow Homer's restored studio is the museum's most exciting recent addition.
- See Maine in a unique way: from a hot air balloon! Balloons Over New England has flights available near Kennebunkport.
- Paddle the quiet waters of the Saco River with Saco River Canoe and Kayak in Fryeburg, Maine.
- Pick a winning harness racing ticket at Scarborough Downs late March through mid-December.
- Take in a spectacular star show or laser light display at the University of Southern Maine's Southworth Planetarium in Portland.
- Shop 'til you drop at the outlet stores in Kittery or Freeport or explore the unique boutiques in Portland's Old Port, and don't miss the L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine: It never closes. Ever.
- A perfect rainy day activity for kids of all ages. Spend the day at the Children's Museum of Maine in Portland, where hands-on exhibits--including a lobster boat, space shuttle, and tidepool touch tank--will fascinate and entertain them.
- Step back into the Victorian Age on a guided tour of the beautifully furnished Victoria Mansion in Portland, open May through October and for special holiday tours in December. The mansion is one of the best examples of Victorian restoration there is.
- Take a walk along Casco Bay on the Eastern Promenade Trail, or walk the one-mile perimeter trail on Mackworth Island, offering views of Portland and the islands of Casco Bay.
- Cheer on sports teams including the Portland Pirates hockey team at the Cumberland County Civic Center or the Red Sox farm team, the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team at Hadlock Field or the Boston Celtics D-League team, the Maine Red Claws basketball team at the Portland Exposition Building.
- Explore an old 18th-century fort such as Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth, Fort McClary in Kittery or Fort Popham in Phippsburg (near Bath).
- Enjoy quality theater productions at John Lane's Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Portland Stage in Portland or The Portland Players, also in Portland.
- Tour the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, the birthplace of influential poet and famous Portland son Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
- Maine has over 3500 miles of coastline but only a few sandy beaches. Take time to walk barefoot along one of the fine sandy beaches in southern Maine.
- Make our islands one of your destinations. Our favorite is to take a Casco Bay Lines short trip over to Peaks Island and spend a few hours biking around the island and following up the fresh air with a nice lunch and pint of Guinness. Or try a scenic cruise, or, for a real taste of Maine, book passage aboard a two-hour Windjammer voyage aboard a historic tall sailing ship.
- See a life-size chocolate moose and indulge your sweet tooth at Len Libby Chocolates in Scarborough, Maine. Imagine that, 1700 lbs of pure indulgence in the shape of a moose.
- Get back to nature in one of the beautiful parks or nature preserves in southern Maine, such as the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells or the Maine Audubon Society's Gilsland Farm in Falmouth or Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough.
- Peruse the year-round Portland Farmers' Market, named one of the top 10 markets in the country, for locally harvested and produced foods.
- Experience an odd natural phenomenon at Freeport's Desert of Maine, a 40-acre natural desert.
- Learn a bit about regional history at one of southern Maine's many museums, including the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath or the Museums of Old York in York.