You haven’t been to Maine until you’ve visited these small towns

Mainers like to say you’re not a “real Mainer” unless you were born in Maine, which I was. And by their strictest standards, I still don’t qualify because my dad was from Massachusetts. But I can tell you the reason why Mainers are so obsessed with who’s from here has to do with keeping Maine the way it was—because lately the state has changed a lot.

In the past five years, as 126,400 new residents (mostly remote workers from big cities) poured in—growing the population to 1.4 million people—the line between local and outsider has become even more pronounced. The state welcomed noted restaurants like Twelve and Aragosta at Goose Cove, and James Beard-winning ZU Bakery, and grew its award-winning convoy of breweries and food trucks (go to Belleflower and Mr. Tuna). All of a sudden, Maine was trendy.

But, the Mainers who were here first still take their slogan, “the way life should be,” to heart.

Anyone lining up in traffic to get into the most northeasterly state is never just passing through. People come here intentionally, and if you make it past southern Maine’s border towns and thriving Portland, you’ll get know another side of Maine: The lobstermen hauling traps along the rocky coast and the blueberry pickers raking the last low-bush barrens. You’ll canoe rivers through the country’s densest forests like the Wabanaki did before anyone, and ferry to your choice of islands (there are more here than in Alaska). 

(Why this small US city packs a big culinary punch)

In a state larger than most of New England combined, Maine’s true character can be found down dirt roads without traffic lights and inside warmly lit farmhouse inns with uneven creaky floorboards and frosted windows.

Brooklin

The seven villages overlooking the crag and islands of the dreamy Blue Hill Peninsula have long attracted writers, wooden boat builders, and artists—to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, for one. Those willing to drive three hours up the coast from Portland earn their views, and some genuine peace and quiet.

E.B. White said, “I would rather feel bad in Maine, than feel good anywhere else” before moving to the coastal Brooklin, Maine farmhouse that inspired Charlotte's Web.

“The Blue Hill Peninsula has a pretty astounding group of writers, artists, and sculptors and I’ve always considered boat building really a type of very precise sculpture,” says E.B White’s grandson Steve White, who owned and ran the Brooklin Boat Yard for over 30 years.

“People used to come to my grandfather’s house, knock on his door, and ask, ‘Is Mr. White here? ‘No, he’s not,’ he’d say, pretending he was the caretaker,” remembers White, whose nephew is still carrying on the craft at another wooden boatbuilding operation, Rockport Marine. "He'd take me fishing or turtle hunting or to catch squirrels and skunks and raccoons, stuff like that. To me, he was just grandpa.”

(10 of the best state parks in Maine)

The peninsula is still home to an evolving collection of businesses by the makers who live here. Sleep in the cozy Brooklin Inn, swing by Stonington Harbor, one of the state’s main lobster ports, and savor seasonal fare at Devin Finigan’s acclaimed Aragosta. On your way out, grab a slice at Tinder Hearth, paw through prints and books and downtown Blue Hill, and stay a last lovely night in an 1800s former sea captain's home, the Blue Hill Inn, or overlooking Cadillac Mountain at Surry’s Under Canvas. Note: If you’re here in August, don’t miss the world’s largest wooden boat regatta, the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, which Steve White started 40 years ago.

Monhegan Island

An hour-long ferry ride from Boothbay Harbor or Port Clyde will take you back in time to Maine's artist’s colony on Monhegan Island, still the part-time home to artist Jamie Wyeth. What makes these mostly undeveloped 400 acres so special is also its fishing community. Monhegan is the only spot in Maine where lobstermen have exclusive fishing rights—but only if they become year-round residents and fish through Maine’s freezing winters.

This rugged beauty carries over to the island’s trails and footpaths—no cars permitted—to some of New England’s steepest cliffs and galleries by plein air artists like Alison Hill. At the trail's end you’ll conveniently find Monhegan Brewing Company, run by lobsterman Matt Weber, who doubles as the island’s constable, and his wife, Mary. Finish off the day with a meal and one of the best sunsets on the east coast at the Island Inn.

Rangeley

Rangeley was a summer fishing destination long before skiers were flying down Saddleback Mountain. In Maine’s western mountains on crystal clear lakes, Cornelia "Fly Rod" Crosby tied her world-famous fly fishing knots a century ago (on view in Rangeley Outdoor Sports Heritage Museum). For fresh air addicts, Rangely still has it all.

Maine’s best roadside fall foliage views can be found from Height of the Land or Quill Hill, and the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, the Appalachian Trail, runs right up Saddleback. Stay at the Rangeley Inn & Tavern, eat with the locals at Sarge’s Sports Pub & Grub, and hit the waterfalls—Angels Falls and Smalls Falls—on the way home.

Camden

On a cloudless day from the top of Mount Battie, over the lobster boats and the country’s oldest fleet of Windjammers, you can see 80 miles out to Acadia National Park. This is quintessential Maine. Penobscot Bay will also take your breath away, from the fishing boat of Maine guide Don Kleiner, who will help you cast your line before idling past a lighthouse prettier in person than photographs, and an actual coastal scene on view at NYC’s Modern Art Museum painted by Mainer Andrew Wyeth. 

Visit Camden Opera House while strolling the historic Riverwalk and Public Landing then end the day with elevated local seafood looking back at the harbor and mountains from Natalie’s inside Camden Harbor Inn, one of Maine’s luxurious colonial farmhouse hotels (where nobility came by steamship in the 1800s). Before heading home—Camden is a quick hour-and-a-half drive back down to Portland—visit neighboring Rockland and its Farnsworth Art Museum and eat at Long Grain or The Alna Store.

Bar Harbor

This small town isn’t exactly a secret. Visitors have been heading to Mount Desert Island since the protection of Acadia National Park and its carriage roads in 1915. After cruising by the country’s remaining puffins or working up an appetite on the Beehive Trail, enjoy a classic lobster dinner at Stewman's Lobster Pound. Hit the clay tennis courts Harborside Hotel or the spa at the historic Bar Harbor Club, built by J.P. Morgan and frequented by Joseph Pulitzer. Try glamping at Terramor under the stars, before catching the country’s first sunrise from the top of Acadia.

Pro tip: Escape the crowds and ferry over to the charming fishing village of Winter Harbor, which offers lesser-seen dramatic backside views of Cadillac Mountain.

(This is the most scenic route through Acadia National Park)

Brunswick

Brunswick and its surrounding brackish rivers, coves, inlets, and bays are a busy habitat for sustainable catch by Mere Point Oyster Company and Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. No wonder the seafood is so fresh at the Noble Kitchen & Bar at The Brunswick Hotel. Nearing the town center, you’ll find the Maine State Music Theatre, a vanguard of the state’s theater scene since 1959, while newer spots like The Abbey and Flight Deck Brewery are also worth the visit.

What really makes this lesser-visited college town so captivating is its waterfront location—because when people talk about Maine’s incredible beaches, they’re usually referring to nearby Popham Beach State Park. Don’t leave without combing the coast on Bailey Island or harvesting and slurping out on the water with Love Point Oysters.

Greenville

Watch the sun sink into Moosehead, Maine’s largest lake, from an Adirondack chair on a wrap-around porch at the 1891 Blair Hill Inn. Ditch your phone for a few days; this is Maine the way it used to be—when local kids rode floating logs across the lake for fun. Board Katahdin Cruises and cross a lake carved out by glaciers in the last ice age to Mount Kineo to learn about the commercial logging operations that dominated Maine until the 1970s (90 percent of the state is still forested).

Want to spot a moose? Rise and shine for a moose tour. Your chances here are pretty good, as Maine has the most moose in the lower 48. On the way out, take a last detour to where the state's famous white water rafting rivers meet at Moxie Falls, which inspired Maine’s unofficial drink, Moxie Soda.