Bangor

In Bangor, the 31-foot statue of legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan still stands tall over what was once the “Lumber Capital of the World.” In the 1830s, the city was home to more than 300 sawmills, and the Federal-style mansions constructed during the lumber boom still stand in the Broadway region. Horror novelist Stephen King resides in this neighborhood, and many scenes from his books and movies were taken from actual sites in Bangor. Nearby is the Maine Forest and Logging Museum, an authentic reconstruction of a logging and milling community, preserves the area’s rich lumbering heritage. However, the cultural and historical offerings of this city on the Penobscot River go well beyond the lumberyard. The 19th century buildings of the West Market Square Historic District encompass the downtown shopping district, and the lovely Mount Hope Cemetery is the nation’s second oldest garden cemetery.

About 500 members of the Penobscot, once the largest tribe of the Abenaki Confederacy, still live on the Indian Island Reservation just north of the city. The museum on the island houses authentic tribal artifacts. Bangor is also home to an impressive number of museums and theaters. The Maine Discovery Museum is the largest children’s museum north of Boston, and the city’s Penobscot Theatre Company hosts the Maine Shakespeare Festival each summer. To the west of Bangor, the numerous waterways of the Sebasticook Valley provide an ideal getaway for anglers and paddlers.