Autumn in New England...

Destination: Portland, Maine.

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Our week long trip to New England proved that NE falls are some of the most beautiful. Travels were easy into the Portland Airport as it is only minutes out of town. We rented a car so we could drive up to Acadia National Park during our stay, but if you are planning on just staying in Portland, I would say a car is not necessary. Parking is limited and very expensive in the city and our Lyft/Uber rides were very cheap as the city is not very large and many places are walkable.

Stay: We used AirBnB because we love staying with the locals. We had a great experience staying just outside of the harbor in a neighborhood only a 15 minute drive to anything we had planned.

Car: We rented with Enterprise, honestly because Taylor found a good deal. No particular type of car is needed for this trip, so we went by price.

To Do: There are so many things to do in Portland, but the FOOD culture was really emphasized to us during our stay. Portland recently received Bon Appetit's "Restaurant City of the Year", which we were told about multiple times and we could definitely tell! We had a number of places we wanted to try and I honestly don't think you can go wrong anywhere, but we will highlight some of our favorites.

• SAIL aboard the Frances. We chose a sunset wine sail. I honestly didn’t even need the wine, I was so excited and mesmerized by the boat itself. We booked through mainesailingadventures.com as I fell in love with the story of the Frances and it seemed like the smaller, more local company.

• EXPLORE the Old Harbor: shops, restaurants, boats- enjoy the smell of the sea.

• FERRY to Peaks Island. Easily accessible in the Old Port. Pay attention to the ferry times. The ferry is a short 20 minute ride and cheap ($7/person round trip). Peaks Island was easy to explore. Rent a bike to bike around the island for $10 for the hour from a self service bike rental shop just down the street from the port. Don’t forget to grab a map with your bike to follow the path around the island (it takes about 1 hour with stops).

• WALK the Eastern Promenade for a view.

• Head the South Portland to experience Fort William’s Park and the Portland Head Lighthouse. Don’t miss Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse just down the road from Fort William’s Park.

• Don’t miss the L.L. Bean boot and outlet just outside of Portland in Freeport- we pit stopped here on our way to Acadia.

EAT/DRINK: *note: pay attention to open hours of restaurants and bars. We noticed they seem to close earlier and have limited hours some days.

• You have to try a Holy Donut. These potato donuts are to die for, Taylor was obsessed with the seasonal Apple flavor!

• Tandem Coffee and Bakery: a cute flipped gas station/laundromat turned to a coffee shop. Get there early because the line is long and the menu is short, but the coffee is great.

• Duckfat: They aren’t kidding when they talk about these fries. We had the poutine and it did not disappoint. We also tried their tomato soup and were googling the recipe shortly after. They also have paninis and a few other things on their menu if you are looking for more of a meal.

• Terlingua: A small, BBQ-Tex Mex joint in one of favorite localish areas of Portland. Be sure to try some of their BBQ, but don’t miss out on the fish tacos!

• Flatbread Company: We tried to stay away from the more touristy restaurant areas (aka the Old Port), but after our sail, we needed warmth and pizza and this place was a great option nearby. Would highly recommend their wood fired pizzas.

• Sisters Gourmet Deli: for a quick lunch/sandwich- they have many to pick from and a small, hometown feel.

• The Portland Hunt and Alpine Club: very cute, trendy bar with delicious cocktails.

• Oxbow Brewing: just happened to stumble upon some live music as well.

• As well as many other distilleries and breweries in Portland- you can’t go wrong!

• Maine Mead Works: similar to a winery, this place makes honey wine. We tried a flight of all their flavors, definitely a fun stop!

• Bite Into Maine: Try a lobster roll at this food truck after scoping out the lighthouse, located in Fort William’s Park.

Destination: Acadia National Park

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Just a few hours northeast you’ll find Acadia and here’s the low down:

Take Highway 1 for the scenic route. It takes a little over 3 hours, rather than 2.5 hours on I-95, but the small New England towns and coastline make it a beautiful drive.

Stay: Again, we stayed in an AirBnB because we love staying with locals. For even more fun, we chose to stay in a yurt located in a couple’s backyard. The yurt was located in Trenton, ME, a 20 min drive to the park and Bar Harbor.

To Do: Step one, be sure to get yourself a real map, as we had limited cell service in multiple parts of the island. There are plenty of things to do on Mount Desert Island and our highlights include:

• DRIVE Park Loop Road. To explore the park and enjoy the scenery.

• HIKE: Our hikes of choice were: Precipice, Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, the Beehive Loop, Jordan Pond Cliffs up to Sargent Mountain and Wonderland.

1. Precipice: fun, challenging hike with iron rungs and ladders. 1.4 miles. A popular trail with great views at the top. Come back down the Champlain North Ridge Trail or the Orange and Black Path.

2. Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail: Our hike to catch the first sunrise in the U.S. It was a very early morning (2:45 am wake up, to start hiking at 3:30) and a 2 hour hike up in the dark with headlamps, but the sunrise was worth it! It is very cold and windy at the top, be sure to pack your layers! And be ready for a midday nap. If you want to skip the hike and still catch the sunrise, you can drive up to the summit, or take the easier, shorter North Ridge Trail.

3. The Beehive and Bowl: We only completed the Beehive and came down to a portion of the Bowl as we wanted to catch the sunset at the time. The Beehive was another hike with iron rungs and ladders, but was a little less intense and scary than Precipice. If you want to test the waters, I would recommend this hike first!

4. Jordan Pond Cliffs and Sargent Mountain: Was HARD. The cliffs portion was fun and challenging, similar to Precipice with climbing, iron rungs, etc. But the most difficult part was climbing straight up Sargent Mountain. The summit was worth the climb, but our legs were DEAD.

5. Wonderland: An easy hike near the South west harbor near the coastline. A much needed easy hike after a few days of very hard climbs.

• EXPLORE the Northeast and Southwest harbors- small, quiet areas of the island with small shops and cafes. Be sure to check out all of boats in the marina!

• VIEWPOINT at Otter Cliff on the southern point of the island.

• LISTEN to the waves crash at Thunder Hole. It's best to check out 2 hours before high tide. A quick visit with a parking lot nearby.

• BEACH at Sand Beach. It's close to the Beehive trail head, a small sand beach with a couple of other trail heads nearby.

• JORDAN POND and Jordan Pond House. Don’t miss the view of the Bubbles, you can also get a closer look by actually hiking them, however we did not do this hike after the Jordan Pond Cliffs.

• RENT bikes, kayaks, or other equipment to explore the park from another point of view. These are all accessible at a variety of shops in Bar Harbor.

EAT/DRINK: *pay attention to open hours, as many restaurants have limited open hours.

• 2 Cats: a delicious, much needed breakfast after our sunrise hike. Give their pancakes a try, the blueberry are popular but the apple cinnamon are amazing!

• Atlantic Brewing Company: There is a location in Bar Harbor that has food as well. The beer at this location is also their “testers” we were told. Try a flight there and then on a separate day go to the actual brewery a few miles away and do their free tour and tasting of their classic beers.

• Lobster ANYWHERE is a must.

• Side Street Cafe, Cafe This Way, Trailhead Cafe, Independent Cafe- all worth the try for breakfast or lunch.

• Lompoc Cafe: they have a great, diverse menu. Be sure to try the Beehive- an appetizer with goat cheese, drizzled honey & toasted bread! We also loved the pickle snack appetizer.

Overall, our trip to Maine was great! If going in the fall, don’t forget to bring lots of layers and practical footwear. Temperatures can be quite variable throughout the week, but enjoy all the fall colors they produce!

Happy hiking,

Steph and Taylor