Jill McGowan

Clothing designer Jill McGowan's Great White Shirt has been featured on Martha Stewart and in publications ranging from Real Simple to the New York Times. "I draw a lot of my inspiration from Maine," McGowan says. She grew up here and designed her line with the Maine ethic in mind. "It's a practical-minded state, weather-driven, and has to work," she says.

McGowan designs and makes her seasonal clothing collections in Portland and sells them at more than 300 specialty shops nationwide, as well as in her shop on Main Street in Freeport. Among her favorite activities in the area and beyond are:

• Shopping the more than 100 specialty stores and outlets in Freeport, especially L.L. Bean and Cole Haan

• Biking the Eastern Promenade Trail, which edges Portland Harbor and delivers great views—one of many walking and biking trails created and mapped by Portland Trails.

• Foraging the many specialty food markets in the city and the Farmers Market on Wednesday in Monument Square

• Hiking the easy 1.5-mile perimeter trail rimming Mackworth Island, connected to Falmouth by a causeway—keep an eye out for former governor Percival Baxter's stone-circled pet cemetery

• Camping on an island in the Rangeley Lakes region during the summer—choices here include commercial campgrounds, with full facilities for RVs; Rangeley Lake State Park; and dozens of wilderness sites.