Coastal Maine: An RV Road Trip Guide

Casco Bay Area

Portland Head Light

Start your journey by visiting a historical icon: Portland Head Light. As the oldest and most photographed lighthouse in Maine, Portland Head Light is an acclaimed coastal landmark. Completed in 1791, the lighthouse towers over a rocky coast adjacent to Fort Williams Park. Nearby activities include a children’s garden, hiking trails, a small beach, and a lighthouse cruise. 

For those looking to explore Fort Williams Park in-depth, there’s a wide range of recreational activities available to visitors– kiteflying, beach exploration, hiking the Cliffside Loop, touring an arboretum, and more. 

For those interested in further adventures in this area, the nearby town of Portland, ME, is a hub of activity and offers a range of fun activities and fine dining options for visitors to enjoy.

Wolfe’s Neck State Park

A 47-minute drive north from Portland Head Light will bring you to Wolfe’s Neck State Park. Although this landmark is only a five minute drive from Freeport, ME’s bustling shopping district, the park’s marshes and open fields allow visitors to embrace peaceful nature scenery.

The park's signature residents are the ospreys who nest on nearby Googins Island. Other features of the area include white pine and hemlock forests, a salt marsh estuary, and the rocky shorelines on Casco Bays and the Harraseeket River. Popular activities include birdwatching, cross-country skiing, hiking, wildlife viewing, snowshoeing, and more. There is also one-hour guided nature programs, which are available to visitors, weather permitting.

Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Camping

Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Camping is only a five-minute drive from the park and close to downtown Freeport. This 626-acre, 150-site campground offers 30-amp electric and water hookups for its RV sites. Leashed pets are permitted. Amenities include an on-site Farm Cafe, bike and kayak rentals, farm-based activities, hiking trails, and more. Enjoy your first evening in Maine by relaxing and roasting some marshmallows!

Mid-Coast Area

Boothbay, ME

The town of Boothbay, ME, is a one-hour drive from Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Camping. Many of Maine’s boatbuilders are still found here, and the harbors are full of beautiful boats of all varieties. Highlights of this area include:

1) The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which opens every spring with 35,000 tulips in bloom on the nearly 300 acres of walking trails and unique themed gardens.
2) The Boothbay Lights Festival, which kicks off the winter holidays.
3) The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, where visitors can watch live performances.
4) Can’Fish’s Cruises, which takes visitors on boat tours to experience Boothbay Harbor’s whales, puffins, seabirds, marine wildlife, and lighthouses.
5) The Boothbay Harbor Region Sculpture Trail, a year-round, public art exhibit that features 18 sculptures, all within walking distance of one another.

Camden Hills State Park

A one-hour drive north, Camden Hills State Park is a scenic location known for its Mt. Battie vista, which offers sweeping views of Camden, Penobscot Bay, and surrounding islands. On a clear day, visitors can see Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Popular activities at Camden Hills State Park include hiking, birdwatching, and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter.

This beautiful Maine state park is located a few minutes north of Camden, a quintessential New England town featuring shops that are within walking distance to the working harbor. Harbor cruises, whale and puffin watches are available daily.

Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA

Conclude the day with an idyllic evening at Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA. This campground provides pull-through and back-in RV sites so campers can easily park their vehicles. Additionally, many sites have full hookups or water and electricity.

Campground amenities include propane, bike rentals, fishing, firewood, a pavilion, WiFi, a snack bar, and more.

The Acadia Area

Acadia National Park

Start the day strong with a visit to the nearby Acadia National Park, which is located on Mount Desert Island and only a ten-minute drive from Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA.

This crown jewel of the North Atlantic coast protects the natural beauty of the highest rocky headlands along the Atlantic coastline of the United States, an abundance of habitats, and a rich cultural heritage. Acadia National Park is visited by 4 million people a year who enjoy Acadia’s 27 miles of historic motor roads, 158 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads.

Activities include bicycling, birdwatching, stargazing, boating, tidepooling, swimming on Mount Desert Island, hiking (or driving) Cadillac Mountain, and visiting the park’s historic structures, lighthouses, memorial paths, and bridges.

Mount Desert Campground

After a day full of Acadia adventures, relax at Mount Desert Campground, which is located in the heart of Mount Desert Island, mere minutes from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.  Visitors are welcome to hike the mountain trails or biking along the carriage roads.  Sightseeing, shopping, and dining experiences are available at nearby local towns, including Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor. (Or you can cook in your RV!).

Note that dogs are only permitted during the off season. RVs with a maximum of 20 ft are allowed. Amenities include kayak and canoe rentals, electric and water RV hookups, WiFi, deepwater moorings, picnic tables, and hot showers.

 

The Bold Coast Area

The Bold Coast

Along the way to the next destination, Quoddy Head State Park, enjoy the  Bold Coast National Scenic Byway, a 147-mile driving route that showcases rugged cliffs, dense forests, and panoramic ocean views. 

This area also gives visitors a taste of Downeast Maine culture by highlighting quaint fishing villages, local artisans, farmers’ markets, art galleries, small-town festivals, and other community events.

Quoddy Head State Park

Situated along the Bold Coast, Quoddy Head State Park encompasses 541 acres at the tip of America's easternmost peninsula, offering opportunities to visit a historic lighthouse, picnic and hike up to 5 miles of scenic trails. From the candy-striped West Quoddy Head Light, Maine's easternmost lighthouse, visitors can look out over Quoddy Channel (which divides the U.S. and Canada) to the towering red cliffs of Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, Canada. 

The Park offers some of Maine's best wildlife-watching. Visitors in summer may spot humpback, minke, and finback whales offshore. During spring and fall migration periods, hundreds of shorebirds congregate near the Park's western boundary at Lubec Flats and Carrying Place Cove. Birding opportunities continue into winter, with sea ducks, murres, and razorbills offshore and frequent bald eagles.

An easy, one-mile round-trip walk leads to a unique coastal plateau bog, with sub-arctic and arctic plants rarely seen south of Canada.

Cobscook Bay State Park

Conclude the Maine adventures at Cobscook Bay State Park, a half hour drive from Quoddy Head State Park. This 888-acre park has 106 campsites (for both for tenting and RVs) and borders Whiting Bay, a sheltered inlet within the larger bay. The park offers a boat launch for those with the experience to handle boating in challenging conditions (with rapids created by fast-moving tides).

Showers, playgrounds, and picnic areas are available, and information on accessible locations within the park can be found here. Leashed pets are permitted. Campers can enjoy the nearby beaches and partake in birdwatching, camping, canoeing, sea kayaking, and hiking along the local roads and pathways.