Lovely visit to the Portland Observatory…read more We had intended on a self-tour but were told that self tours would start at 4:30pm...and that before that time, you would have to take a toured guide up the tower. As there was a scheduled guide about to start soon...we opted to take the guided tour. At that time (mid-week in late August around 12pm) there were only four of us on that tour. Our tour guide, an older woman, was wonderful. As we ascended the tower during the 45-minute tour, we stopped off at each floor and she explained a bit about the tower and its history. Lots of interesting facts! We made it to the top to take in some amazing views of the area. Tours are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 6-16 and free for those 5 and under. The stairs (there are about 100) throughout the tower are spiral-ish...so be careful of your foot placement on the narrowed parts of each step while ascending and descending. Street parking signs can be a bit tricky in the area reading "...no parking on the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th ___day of the month..." Be sure to properly read those signs and park accordingly.

My plans only have me in town for two days, so I asked my local coworker one sight I had to see…read morewith a short time frame, and was sent here. Just a fun little local tip. The history itself is cool enough: this was a lookout for ships coming into the harbor before radio, and is the oldest currently standing in the USA. But I really appreciated the elevation for getting a good look of the downtown and harbor area, walking around the tower in the breeze and seeing the ocean peaking through the islands in the harbor. Worth the $10 to the top. (Note: the stairs are steep and there's no room inside for an elevator. We're talking large curving internal staircases. Maybe not for those with mobility issues.)

Height of Land reminds me a lot of the Queen's View in Highland Perthshire overlooking Loch Tummel…read more Sweeping views that take your breath away? Height of Land here in Maine delivers just that too. The viewpoint, on the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway, offers a sprawling panoramic of Rangeley Lakes and the surrounding mountains. There are plenty of places to park, but be sure to get out of your car and read through the placards which offer loads of information about the local wildlife (loons! moose! trout!), heritage of the space, and history of conservation efforts. Regardless of when you come (want a thousand shades of green? come in spring! want lupines and wild flowers? come in summer! want an unforgettable foliage experience? come in autumn! love glittering snow? come in winter! even during a rainstorm when we couldn't see much of anything we found it to be an incredibly special place [maybe that's because it reminded us so much of Scotland]!) Finally: please drive thoughtfully. The Appalachian Trail (AT) crosses here.

In case you're wondering if this is a good spot for stargazing, the answer is yes. We came on a…read morenight there was potential for aurora viewing and unfortunately it didn't pan out. But the viewpoint has an excellent northward exposure and very dark skies so on a clear night this would be a good place for seeing stars, meteor showers, or aurora. There were also several other stargazers in the parking lot when we went (around 11pm).