Coastal Maine road trip in a van

Dia duit agus fáilte – that’s Irish for hello and welcome – to my blog. Today, I want to share with you one of our favorite van life experiences from 2021 – our coastal Maine road trip in the van.

When I am asked where is my favorite place that we have visited while living in the van, my answer is quick and simple – Down East/Coastal Maine. I fell in love with the area in the summer of 2021 and would happily visit every year for the rest of my life. I would even call this place home if we could get our kids to move to the east coast.

Whether you live full time in your van or you plan to rent a van and go on a road trip adventure, you can choose nowhere more fabulous to explore than beautiful Down East Maine. The whole area is an outdoors-lover’s paradise – plenty of hiking, the Atlantic coastline and beaches, friendly little towns with art and music festivals and lots of great places to park and sleep in a van. And you cannot forget Acadia National Park and countless lighthouses; a coastal Maine road trip in a van will fill your heart with joy and awe.

I hope the road trip ideas below inspire you to explore the area. We spent three weeks in Down East Maine before heading to New hampshire and Vermont and you can easily adapt our suggested itinerary to fit your schedule and include the outdoor activities you most love.

Coastal Maine road trip tips

If you’re still considering or planning for van life, be sure to check out this post. Need help with storage or want inspiration? You’ll find lots of great info and advice for van life on my blog.

Like any road trip, there are a few tips to make sure you’re well prepared.

• Do any van maintenance before you head off on your adventure.
• Fill up on water, DEF and propane (if you use them.)
• Make sure you have the following van life essential apps:
  • iOverlander (free) – we use this regularly to find sleeping spots
  • Harvest Hosts (paid) – membership allows you to stay in all sorts of cool places around the country. We’ve slept at vineyards, breweries, olive farms and more.
• Stop by your favorite store if you have certain items you cannot live without; lots of Down East Maine is small towns with small grocery stores. We always do a Trader Joe’s run for snack bars and GF muffins and swing by Sprouts for our favorite coffee before we head to more remote areas.

Coastal Maine Road Trip in a Van

We visited Down East Maine twice in 2021 – the first 10-day trip in June celebrated Kidlet #2’s 30^th birthday, the second 3-week coastal Maine road trip exploration in August/September was just the two of us hitting trails and enjoying ocean views.

The best time of year to visit is June-October. Crowds are the worst during July and August, especially near Acadia. If I had to make a specific recommendation, it would be to arrive at the very end of August and plan to visit Acadia after Sept 1^st. An added bonus – if you can stay a month or more, you will be able to experience the world-famous New England “leafy season.”

The suggestions here follow the map from the southern border with New Hampshire up to the border with Canada and the Bay of Fundy.  With a special bonus for the hikers reading this 🙂

Visit Nubble Lighthouse

Nubble Lighthouse sits at the edge of York, on a tiny island across the water from a large parking lot, delicious restaurant, ice cream stand and small gift shop. The first time we visited we stayed overnight but later discovered that local laws prohibit anyone sleeping in their vehicle within city limits.

It is easy and delightful to spend a quiet day, spread a blanket, climb down to the water’s edge or if you’re lucky, set up your canopy, chairs and table and enjoy the shade with great views from your great parking spot.

• Arrive early in the day, sunrise is not too early!
• Figure out the best parking spot (the ones on the end offer more room for your canopy.)
• If you have bikes, take them for a spin through the neighborhood, even into York center.
• Spend the day relaxing, reading, doing whatever it is that makes your heart sing.
• If possible, stay for the sunset; you can get westerly views.

Visit Portland

On our second coastal Maine road trip, we found ourselves a fabulous overnight spot in Portland with views of the park and ocean, along Eastern Promenade. We spent four nights on the flat road near Fort Allen Park, moving the van during the day so we didn’t get on anyone’s nerves! It was delightful to stop moving and catch a breath and we fell in love with Portland.

Reasons we loved Eastern Promenade

• There is a great walking and cycling trail along the water just below Eastern Promenade.
• Dogs are allowed off leash in the enormous park, as long as they are under voice control. There is also a dog beach – check the hours.
• The road fills with food trucks with all sorts of delicious options – perfect for a treat picnic on the grass.
• You can walk to local restaurants and bars.
• People are really friendly and no one bats an eye when you exit your van to watch sunrise.
• There are lots of beautiful shady spots to catch up on reading or writing, yoga or napping.
• Check out the kayak rental place below the park and explore Casco Bay.

Things to do in Portland, Maine on your van road trip

• We typically cook and eat in the van but Portland is fast becoming known for its great eateries. Quick tip, wait till you’re further up the coast to indulge in Maine lobster.
• Explore the many breweries for an end of day cold one.
• Visit one or more of the lighthouses in the Portland area.
• Depending on current Covid restrictions, consider checking out the Portland Museum of Art, Victoria Mansion or Portland Observatory.
• Catch a local ferry to one of the nearby islands – Peaks, Chebeague and Great Diamond all have restaurants if that’s your thing. Take your bike on the ferry to explore further into each island.
• If you prefer upscale sailing, skip the ferry and enjoy a Casco Bay sunset cruise.

From Portland to Acadia NP

When it’s time to leave Portland, put Land’s End gift shop in the GPS and drive the hour to this out of the way spot where you can indulge in homemade fudge from the shop and enjoy more spectacular views. We spent a wonderful afternoon chatting to some locals and hanging out in the sun. The boondocking apps suggest it is easy to spend the night at this beautiful spot.

Quick tip: arrive later in the day if you’re planning to stay overnight and you can enjoy both the sunset and sunrise.

We inadvertently timed our visit to Wiscasset perfectly and were able to enjoy a night of live music on the waterfront as part of their Schoonerfest. Check here for dates of events. After scoping out our sleeping spot, right in downtown, we wandered around and explored this charming small town. You could easily spend a day or more relaxing in this lovely town; there are restaurants, plenty of nearby hiking (check the AllTrails app) and the views along the water are very pretty.

Belfast was our next stop. As an Irish lass, I was excited to explore this namesake town and found it much quieter than the original!! Again, we hit pay dirt with an overnight sleeping spot right beside the water and stayed for several nights before one of the locals we met invited us to park in her garden for two more nights. Belfast has bars, restaurants and a wonderful 6+ mile trail that is perfect for Maggie and me or for biking. We stayed longer than planned but when life slows and you have time to rest and breathe, it is important to enjoy the time.

There are plenty of other options along the way – by using the van life apps for sleeping spot suggestions and checking local festival calendars, you will create a trip of a lifetime.

Acadia National Park

If you have a choice when you visit the park, choose June or after Sep 1^st; July and August are so busy it will detract from your visit. That said, if all you have are July and August, then make the trip and work around the crowds by getting up bright and early and exploring some of the less heavily trafficked hikes and scenic spots.

Just a note – when we did our coastal Maine road trip in August, we chose to jump straight past Acadia and enjoy the rest of the Down East Maine coast first. We spent a week in Acadia on the way back south, in September, once all the crowds had disappeared.

The best place to start planning your Acadia visit is at NPS and here are our top three must-sees in the national park:

1. Buck’s Cove – an 8-mile hike on the Schoodic peninsula. This hike has it all: forest, hills and the ocean at the turn around point.
2. Beehive-Champlain – 6 challenging miles, including ladders and the views are spectacular. Get there as early as possible to avoid lines at the ladders.
3. Cadillac Mountain, preferably at sunrise. You’ll need a reservation if you want to drive. The hike is well worth the effort.

Other things to do in Acadia

• Bar Harbor – loads of restaurants, shops and galleries. Our favorite breakfast was 2 Cats and we thoroughly enjoyed family game night at Leary’s Landing (what’s an Irish girl to do???)
• Go sailing. Getting out onto the water is the perfect way to explore the area and truly appreciate the incredible natural beauty.
• You must try Maine lobster! We thoroughly enjoyed a casual family meal at The Travelin” Lobster.

From Acadia to Lubec

We chose to hug the coast line and enjoy lots of hiking and ocean-time as we headed towards the Bay of Fundy and Canadian border. Our three favorites were:

1. Machias heritage trail – an easy 6 miles along the river
2. Cutler ocean view trail – great views around every corner
3. McClellan Park – we watched sunrise a short walk from our campsite. Reservations recommended.

If lighthouses are your main attraction, we loved Quoddy lighthouse which also has a perfect spot to enjoy a picnic and time to rest. More lighthouses here.

Lubec

This is a tiny town but well worth the visit. There are five restaurants to choose from, though they are not all open every night so be sure to check if you have your heart set on something in particular. I’d also recommend reservations to guarantee you can get a table.

It might feel there is not much to do when you get here and maybe that is what we loved so much about the place. We walked and explored, tasted yummy ice-cream and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The locals are very friendly and we really enjoyed our time in this village. We stayed at the harbor (great views and wonderful dark skies and silence) and were told by the harbor master that everyone is given one night and then asked to leave!

Check out this page for events and more for the region.

Eastport

We nearly skipped this part of our trip because we figured Eastport might not be so different to Lubec. I am glad we chose to visit this lovely town, right on the water with phenomenal views, wonderful people, lots of restaurants and galleries and we arrived in time for a native American celebration.

We asked a local police officer where we could park overnight and he said, “Anywhere, just read the signs carefully and obey them!” We slept on the pier, definitely our most picturesque sleeping spot to date, and felt like we had hit the lottery. The night skies were filled with stars, there was complete silence and we woke in the morning to the best alarm possible – local fishermen bantering back and forth.

I could spend a week in Eastport if we are ever lucky enough to visit again. The featured photo of this post is from our sleeping spot on the pier in Eastport.

A bonus side trip

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to visit Down East Maine was to summit Mt Katahdin, the state’s highest peak. Mt Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (one of my bucket list items) and is well known as being a very challenging hike even though it tops out at only 5267 ft.

Mt Katahdin is located inside Baxter State Park which is an amazing protected wilderness. This means that there are lots of restrictions you might not expect:

• No dogs allowed inside the park. Even though Maggie is a service animal and can go anywhere with me, we elected to house her in a local overnight boarding facility to protect the wilderness. Honestly, she would have hated the hike and might not have even made it to the top, given the amount of scrambling required.
• Vehicles are restricted by size. It is easy to request, and receive, a permit for your oversized vehicle. You must do this ahead of time (I’d recommend a week at least) and have the printed permit with you on arrival at the park.
• Parking reservations are needed. We reserved (and paid for) two days of parking as we were not sure if we would need a second day due to weather, my health hiccups or a change in plans.

Check out the park website well ahead of your planned visit to ensure you have access to the park and Mt Katahdin when you want it. You could easily plan to stay in Baxter State Park for several days and not run out of things to do.

Summit Mt Katahdin

To date, we have summited 14 of 51 highest points (50 states + Washington DC) Not sure how many we’ll get around to but it is a fun goal if you love hiking and want a challenge.

Final thoughts

I feel very grateful to have visited 45/50 states; I have discovered so many wonderful places on our travels, experienced extraordinary history and art, met friendly people and tasted some delicious food across the United States.

We still make the family baked oatmeal recipe from a delightful B&B in Pennsylvania from 1998 and we all remember the blustery family gathering on the beach in San Diego in 2013. Georgia O’Keefe’s artwork in Santa Fe (2013) left me breathless and my first (1994) visit to The Grand Canyon impacted me so greatly I burbled and sobbed at the grandeur.

I have experienced wonder and awe in many corners of this country but nowhere has captured my heart as completely as Down East Maine. We could easily spend a month there every year, we both felt we could happily live in Portland and I know that our coastal Maine road trip in a van is barely touching the surface of all that Maine has to offer.

I hope this inspires you to explore this gorgeous part of the world; be sure to share any experiences and tips in the comments below.