We originally planned to fly to Maine, but with horror stories of the rental car shortage circulating online, we opted to drive. Despite three and a half driving days, we still packed a lot into our trip.

We took off early on Friday, September 10th to drive to my parents’ house and join my family for dinner.

Day 2: The next morning, we were on the road before 5am, set on making it to Portland in time for lobster rolls. We arrived at the harbor just before sunset to enjoy Maine’s most famous dish.

I had mixed emotions about traveling on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, given the profound losses so many people experienced that day, as well as impact they had on my life, goals, and values. It seemed like I should be doing something in remembrance instead of taking vacation. As we drove along the highway and I remembered that day, I was heartened to see so many flags hanging from overpasses and construction cranes.

Day 3: We arrived at Portland Head Light just after dawn to see one of Maine’s iconic features, the first of several lighthouses we’d visit on our trip.

We took our time traveling to Bangor, opting for the longer drive along Route 1 rather than taking Interstate 95. Our first stop was the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge. I get motion sickness, so I wasn’t able to take more than a few steps out onto the bridge before turning around.

We walked across a more modern bridge over the Kennebec River near Bath. The modern bridge replaced the deteriorating bridge (below) that was nonetheless still very picturesque (in an industrial sort of way).

We didn’t realize how long the jetty to Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse was–approximately 3/4 of a mile. It was incredibly windy in the Penobscot Bay, which made the trek quite challenging.

Our final stop on our meandering drive to Bangor was Camden Hills State Park, where we hiked Mount Megunticook for views of the bay. We got our first glimpse of the early fall colors from the summit.

Day 4: We left Bangor before dawn to arrive at Acadia National Park in time for our 7am entry to Cadillac Mountain. Like many national parks, Acadia is crowded. Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak in the park, is accessible by car, so to manage the traffic, NPS implemented a ticketing system. We reserved our time slot in advance, which was fortuitous since the tickets that day were sold out.

Afterward, we hiked Acadia Mountain, which is on the “quiet side” of the park. The trail, and all of Maine, we discovered was rocky. Every hike we did in this state was some form of rock scramble. My feet, ankles, and legs were extremely sore by the end of the trip. The views were worth it, including this one of the sound.

Our next stop was the Bass Harbor Light Station. I just couldn’t get enough of the lighthouses!

We chose to visit Maine in mid-September to avoid the “leafer” crowds later in the month. We knew we wouldn’t catch peak, but, for us, the trade-off of quieter parks was worth it. We did find some early fall colors, including these on the island.

Afterward, we drove along the Maine coast, which was one of the scenes that attracted us to Maine.

Day 5: We chose to stay in Bangor rather than Bar Harbor or elsewhere so we would have flexibility to adapt to the weather. We’d planned to go back to Acadia on Day 5 and visit Baxter State Park on Day 6, but the weather on Day 6 was looking rainy. So we changed course and headed to Baxter a day early.

We hiked along Kidney Pond to Sentinel Mountain.

Our first view from the loop atop Sentinel was a bit disappointing–the views were lovely but blocked by trees.

As we continued around the loop, however, the views got better and better…

…including this view of Mount Katahdin, the highest point in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

No, we did not hike Katahdin. To hike Katahdin, you have to get a parking pass, which are in limited supply. Maine residents can reserve early, and by the time we were able to get a pass, there were none left. When we arrived at the park, however, we learned that there are always no-shows and, if we wanted, we could hike to the end of the AT. We weren’t prepared. We didn’t have enough time, and we were still quite sore from the previous day’s rocky hike.

After hiking Sentinel Mountain, we drove to Daicey Pond…

…and hiked to the Little (below) and Big Niagara Falls.

Day 6: To avoid bad weather in Acadia and Bangor, we drove south to Portland. This time, we went to Bug Light (below) before touring the Portland Museum of Art.

We took Route 1 again toward Bangor, stopping at Doubling Point, a small lighthouse at the end of a residential street.

We then made our way to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Apparently, you need a reservation to tour the gardens, but, fortunately (because it’s well off the main roads), it was a slow day, and they let us in. It was surprising how many plants and flowers were in bloom despite it being well into September.

Day 7: We were back at Acadia, driving along the coast in the early morning.

We hiked to North Bubble…

…and South Bubble, two dome-shaped mountains near Lake Jordan.

Then we went to Thuya Landing and Terraces, part of the Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve.

The Asticou Azalea Gardens (below) are also part of the Preserve.

I managed to grab the last daytime entrance ticket to Cadillac Mountain, so we were able to drive up again and see the views on a sunny afternoon.

Day 8: To break up the drive home, we decided to spend a day in Milford, Pennsylvania. We also chose to take the scenic route there through New Hampshire and Vermont, rather than taking the interstate. We stopped at Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains (below) where we did a short hike to an overlook of the mountains, which were starting to show their fall colors.

Continuing on, we stopped at Beaver Pond.

Day 9: Milford is a small town near the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area. There are dozens of hikes in the area, and we took our first one to Raymondskill Falls.

Our second hike was the Milford Knob trail, which offered (very hazy) views of the town.

We hiked the Buchanan Trail to Hackers Falls…

…to the Cliff Trail and an overlook.

Along the trail, we were constantly attacked by mosquitos, leading me to decide that if we got sick after the trip, we’d want to be tested for both COVID and malaria. It was still a good hike, and we loved the area.

We drove to Grey Towers, the former home of Governor Gifford Pinchot, the first director of the U.S. Forest Service, which was closed to the public due to COVID. The grounds were open, and we spent some time wandering around until it became too hot.

Tired from the walking and heat, we drove to the Hawks Nest Overlook in New York and the Riverwalk, where we snapped a few photos of the Mongaup River before it flowed into the Delaware.

Day 10: That’s it. We hit the road at 5am to get home around 1pm, take a nap, and start working on our photos.

(c) 2021 J. Atwater. All rights reserved.