New England's largest State, Maine possesses more than 6,000 lakes and ponds, as well as hundreds of mountains, including Mount Katahdin, dominating the State with its 1,586 m of altitude.

For those who love outdoor activities, Maine is an all-year-long holiday destination - its parks, its coasts, and its isles never stop welcoming anyone who wants to visit Maine.

Take a walk on the Appalachian Trail, or explore hundreds of outing excursions in the State : from a slow-rhythm ballad up to the risky, adrenaline-rushing mountain climbing.

Start from York : Mark Twain used to spend his holidays there. Nubble Light is a blinking lighthouse guarding the entry to the port.

Take a few kilometers to the north, towards the summer stations of Ogunquit and Kennebunkport, then continue the journey towards Orchard Beach, one of United States's longest beaches.

Portland
The State's largest city and its principal port is located on the beautiful Casco Bay. A pretty port city, especially known for its famous lobsters, Portland was firstly developed in the 18th century, thanks to the ship construction and the wood transportations taking place there. The English bombed the city in 1775, and in the next century, a big fire almost destroyed the city.

You can find there the house where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, lived in the 18th century.

Augusta
Maine's Capital, on the Kennebec River, about a few miles from the coast, in the south, in the 17th century Augusta was once an advanced commercial post, established by the English colonists of Plymouth Colony origins - within the city, they protected themselves against the Indians of the region.

Every village of the coast has each a point of interest :

Yarmouth, the old Indian cemetery.

Brunswick, the seat of Bowdoin College - its list of alumni comprises author of the Scarlet Letter Daniel Hawthorne and fellow poet Henry Longfellow.  It was also in Brunswick that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Bath, city of the large 19th century shipyards, an excellent marine museum.

Boothbay Harbor, sailing ships and regattas, the Playhouse Museum filled with souvenirs of the theater.

Friendship, land of freedom for the seals frolicking along its marina.

Bar Harbor, the entry to Acadia National Park, Maine's precious pearl, with 110 km2 of rocky and marine scenery of Mt. Desert Island. It is a protected territory where birds and wildlife live freely. And you can choose to observe them closely, by camping or doing outdoor excursion there.

Eastport, the biggest spring tides area of Atlantic Coast, and the departing point to Campo-Bello Island, where Franklin D. Roosevelt once owned a summer residence.

York Village is a small town possessing many well-conserved colonial buildings. The Old Goal, its prison, is New England's oldest public building constructed in 1653.

The Moosehead Lake Elk Feast

The Elk Feast is held every spring in Greenville.

One of Maine's attractions of the year, the feast is devoted to this cute animal. Inside the program : promenade with the elks and elk-observation classes, as well as artisanal products exhibition, a game day for the youth and many activities on the Moosehead Lake.

Autumn in Maine

September and October are the perfect time to visit Maine, for its vivid-colored Indian summer, making Maine one of America's most beautiful places in autumn.

Also the monsoon period, from Castine to Caribou, from Kingfield to Kittery, all Maine celebrates the harvest season. The vast color palette created by mother nature in this season is accentuated by fields of red apples, golden corn and orange pumpkins.

Photo credits : Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland -

Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of commerce