This is a gorgeous mile-long beach in Cape Elizabeth, ME. Our family visited here in July 2026…read moreduring a stay in South Portland (about a 15 minute drive away). This state park has lovely views, gentle waves, and a family-friendly vibe. Admission fee is $8 per person for out-of-state residents. This state park has lots of pluses. First, the sprawling parking lot is huge. On peak summer days, you will be able to find a spot. Second, a public restroom and changing station are available next to an L.L. Bean daily rental box for umbrellas, beach chairs, etc.. Third, the right side of the beach is less crowded where you can walk over to the rocks. The only blemish is a faint sulphuric smell on the right side (perhaps due to the seaweed). Also, the water temperature is a bit cold (low 60s) to be comfortable in July - but that's generally the case with Maine beaches. Overall, we would visit this state park again!

Parking close to the beach. A great place to go for warm spring day. Great views Ang lots of room…read morefor walking.

I remember going here as a kid and I took my youngest son almost a decade ago. We wanted to do the…read moresummit trail and climb Bradbury Mountain. Definitely not a big challenge but it was fun. I grew up in Lewiston so this park is close by. I will have to take John next time we're in Maine. Lots of other trails to explore.

From my original review: "'You know what I love about this place? It's low risk, high reward.'" We…read moreoverheard an older woman tell her husband this as they approached the summit. And as we stretched out on the rocks enjoying our picnic in the the warm sun, taking in the view of what seemed to be endless forests, bodies of water, and islands, we couldn't have agreed more." A decade later this is still true. If you're looking for an easygoing, very accessible way to go hiking and get some fresh air while wandering Maine's woods, take in the changing leaves of autumn or the abundance of blossoms and wildflowers in the spring, Bradbury - located just thirty minutes from Portland - is hard to beat. According to their website, Bradbury Mountain State Park was one of the original five state parks in the state of Maine, acquired by the Federal government in 1939. The mountain is open year round from 9am until sunset and offers a variety of hiking trails that range from very, very easy ("wide gradual ascents", "well packed and fairly flat") to slightly more challenging ("steepest ascent, but not difficult to hike", "areas with sharp turns"), from .2 miles to 1.5 miles (or more if you want to build your own adventure here - which is very easy to do because this state park's trails are now abundantly well marked; expect lots of maps throughout to let you know where you are AND lots of wooden signs pointing you in the right direction). You could easily do it all in one half day or break up your walk and come back another time, especially considering it's an easy, convenient mountain with an elevation of just 485 feet. Dogs are allowed on leashes, horses are allowed on certain trails. There are bathrooms. You can check out an old cattle pound. Explore for geocaches. It's a cute little mountain, and I'm so happy it's right in (proverbial) our backyard.

While vacationing in Maine, we were able to see a few lighthouses. Not as many as I had hoped, but…read morethe few we saw were great. Pemaquid Point was one of them. This lighthouse was first constructed in 1827 and again rebuilt in 1835 due to poor construction of the first tower. The lighthouse became fully automated in 1934.

This lighthouse felt extremely remote to me because we'd been driving from Camden and visited two…read moreothers prior to this. This one was about 30 minutes one way off the main road and was isolated from much else. There is a cute inn very nearby and a small town with an ice cream shop and a few stores and art galleries. It's charming and if you are staying anywhere nearby, this is a great spot to come and visit during the day, go through the museum and enjoy the grounds. We visited later after it was closed at 5pm so, parking was free, and we were free to roam around on the rocks and enjoy the views. This lighthouse by far had some of the best rock and views. Very pretty and you can get up close and personal with the lighthouse here.

I loved this lighthouse!…read more The road directly to it is very narrow and definitely can get backed up with cars looking to park during crowded times. Luckily - we drove past the first parking lot right up and found a spot directly in front. Friendly volunteer staff took photos for me and you are able to go up and into the lighthouse for free and walk around in the gift shop which has some nice items and jewelry and collectible pins and magnets. The grounds of this lighthouse are lovely and you can easily walk out onto the rocks to get pictures from below and on the sides. There is a small memorial off to the left for all the keepers of the light who have been lost at sea. Excellent visit and very beautiful and photogenic lighthouse.

Excellent museum with history of the area and lighthouse. This is the lighthouse Forrest Gump ran…read moreto in the movie! The volunteers were really helpful and friendly.

It is a moderately easy hike to Squirrel Point Light. It is about 1.3 miles out to the lighthouse…read moreand back. Squirrel Point Light is located on the east side of the Kennebec River approximately 10 miles from Bath. The path is well marked but there are some roots along the way to be careful of. We saw a deer. The lighthouse and keepers house are not open to visitors and are in need of some repair. Citizens for Squirrel Point is a nonprofit which is working to preserve the buildings and the grounds of this historic lighthouse. The river view is pretty from the lighthouse. The is a small parking area at the beginning of the trail.

This is a short 15-30 minute hike out and back. It's a great little lighthouse and nice view of the…read moreKennebec River. We saw a couple of seals, and beautiful trees and other greenery as well. This was our first here and we will be back, you should check this place out.

Just at the very tail end of the day, we raced to see our final lighthouse of this Saturday tour…read more Arriving just at sunset, it is located at the end of about a mile or so of dirt road that could use some love from the local town transportation department. Yes, it's private property. And if they want to keep people off it, they can do what the folks at the Hendrick's Head Light did - post signs and enforce them. Located on the Kennebec River, the lighthouse was established in 1898 and remains an active aid to navigation today. It points out a sharp turn in the river for those going to or from the Bath Iron Works. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The light station includes a tower, keeper's house, shed, and oil house. The tower is an octagonal wood frame structure, finished in wooden shingles, with an iron walkway around the lantern chamber. It is accessed via a three-span footbridge. Around the base of the lighthouse, there are some spots where you can walk out to get different angles. Some interesting driftwood on the ground if that's something that interests you. [Review 14897 overall, 399 of 2021, number 79 in Maine.]

We visited this historic lighthouse on our recent vacation, but as others have previously mentioned…read moreI would not return because it feels like you are, and in fact you are, in someone's backyard. I have no idea how or why such an arrangement arose, but it is is odd to say the least. Also, the access road is not not well maintained so be aware. The lighthouse itself is very interesting and it affords a nice view of the Kennebec river.

We came to see the trolls! We made a night away of coming to the Botanical Gardens to see five of…read moreThomas Dambo's troll installations and stayed to appreciate everything else. The Trolls: there are 5 trolls on an easy path on the outskirts of the Gardens. If all you want to do is see the trolls, an able bodied person could manage in about an hour. If you're slower or need assistance, it would take longer. There is a shuttle for those who want/need it to get down to the trolls farther out. There's a ton more to do than just see the trolls though. Everything else: There's a bunch of stops throughout the Gardens that kept our 3 kids (8, 11, 12) occupied. We spent a lot of time building fairy gardens, enjoying the view at the dock, and we walked out to the Guardian of the Seeds installation. The grounds themselves are meticulously maintained and it would be beautiful to walk around any day.

We loved visiting this garden and were delighted that we could use our AHS reciprocal membership…read morehere. The trolls were certainly the highlight, enormous in scale and wonderfully set up as a scavenger hunt activity for both adults and the kids. The children's field guide was also an excellent way to keep the littles excited and searching. We loved all the wooded paths and thoughtful and well curated immersive areas from the sensory garden to the area with music inspired by the local outdoors. The children's garden is also well put together, themed after local books and with an interactive activity each, which was such a neat idea. We only wished that the maps were a bit clearer (ie they differed even better the children's map and the main one, one did not list names of the trolls, etc). We spent 2.5 hours here on our way between Bar Harbor and Portland and wished we had more time and lived closer!

I love the views! It's great for a picnic and a little bit…read moreof history. There's plenty of open space for you to hang out with family or friends and enjoy the ocean views and breeze. While it may be controversial, I'm glad they moved the food trucks to the lower lot. It's less crowded when you arrive and less crowded near the food trucks - meaning only people getting food are in the area, vs people walking/running through with animals and kids that aren't going to the food trucks. It's also less noisy not being next to the generators. We love the food trucks there and will continue to enjoy them while also enjoying the peaceful hill. The kids in the family really enjoy the canons and the playgrounds. The times we have gone the playgrounds have been clean - thankfully no needles or trash anywhere to be seen.

The Eastern Promenade is a popular place to take a walk in Portland and see the water. There were…read morelots of people so we had to search for parking but it wasn't bad. We walked down to the Portland Paddle area. You can reach the water but there is not a beach there. Some people find a place for a picnic on the grass. Others ride bikes around the Promenade. The views of Casco Bay are good.

We had such a great family day at the Park today. Nice, shady picnic table close to the…read morebeach/water. Clean grill at our site. Plentiful bathrooms. Snack shack. We swam, walked to the sand bar, and had a barbecue. Everyone (ages 10 - 62) had a wonderful time. Lines were long to get in but they moved as fast as possible and it was a hot day - everyone had the same idea.

In July 2026, our family stopped by Sebago Lake SP on a drive from Portland, ME to the White…read moreMountains. It's a popular lake that was crowded with many kids and families on a small beach. If you are seeking peace and quiet, I would look for other options. But the water in the lake was relatively warm (ideal for swimming compared to the frigid waters of Maine's coastline). Also, the water was very clear and clean. One interesting note is that Sebago Lake provides the water supply for the entire city of Portland, ME. The tap water there had a delicious, clean taste from the fresh water of Sebago Lake.

A lovely place to stay near Damariscotta. Comfortable rooms, delicious breakfast and friendly…read moreowners. Bobby and sherry made us feel welcome while visiting family. Grounds feature a deck, pond, gardens, and watercraft. We stayed in the pink suite which had a queen size bed and an adjoining room with 2 twin beds. Great for traveling with kids/family.

An Absolute Wedding Treasure…read more When we decided to get married, we wanted to avoid the ridiculously high costs of weddings, and wanted a smaller, "family & close friends only" event, but still wanted a special day, of course. We toyed with the idea of a backyard wedding with "bring food as your gift" on the invite, ditching all the little expensive extras, but it wasn't coming together, especially when Mom fell sick. How lucky we were that a relative suggested the Mill Pond Inn, which was three houses down the street from their home in Nobleboro. It's a cliche, but The Mill Pond Inn is indeed a treasure. Bobby and Sherry are fantastic. We visited the place the summer before our wedding. A few months later, when we first talked with Bobby about our wedding schedule, he said "nah, you don't wanna do that" to a few of our ideas, and, as we were looking at each other during the phone call and realizing he was right, we decided to let him and Sherry run the show. What an *absolute* *relief*! We didn't have all the hassles that other folks warned us about when planning weddings. It was all just handled, and handled well. The food was great (we picked the menu, Bobby and Sherry did the rest . . . and we highly recommend bringing in their neighbors, Leigh and Sharon, who did a pre-ceremony oyster bar with local oysters for the guests as they arrived). Bobby and Sherry dealt with everything but the flowers (and there was a local florist that handled that) and music (we chose a playlist that we played over their sound system). There was *none* of the pre-wedding stress that we'd heard about from so many people. That itself was worth every penny! Speaking of which, the budget Bobby proposed was more than workable (yet another relief). All told the cost was well *under* what we'd budgeted. All we had to do was get invites out (tell your guests to bring swimwear -- the kids and a few adults had an absolute ball jumping into the pond and swimming during the meal and on into the afternoon). Part of the deal was that you had to rent out the entire place, but it was no problem filling the rooms with out of town relatives, and we in fact ended up reserving rooms in one of the homes across the road, which was right on the lake, which gave an added bonus of having lake access for a couple of days. Bobby and Sherry even accommodated Mom, who was in a wheelchair, by letting us bring and set up a portable AC in the front room -- she was very concerned about overheating in her condition, and this made her feel much safer. The day could not have been more magical. It was hot, but they knew where the shady spots were, and we set up so that the chairs and the gathering were in the shade when is was time for the ceremony. The setting was beautiful, and the weather cooperated (though Bobby had contingency plans in case of rain). We give Mill Pond Inn our highest recommendation -- we've given them permission to use our wedding photos, and we gave them our number if you want to hear it directly from us! David & Natalie