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Touring Loops
Discover the exciting variety of places and faces that make up the great state of Maine! Our eight unique regions offer breathtaking fall landscapes, historic towns and villages, vibrant arts communities, exciting events, and wonderful dining, lodging, shopping and outdoor adventure opportunities. There’s so much to see and do, we've designed ten Maine Driving Loops for you.
For information on each of Maine’s mountains-to-the-sea driving loops, including directions, loop highlights and things to see and do along the way, click on the links below.
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Antiques and Boutiques
Begin in Kittery where popular outlet stores make this a key stop for shoppers. Kittery is also home to the historic community of Kittery Point, which served as a vacation destination for many respected 19th-century artists and writers, including Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).
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Maples and Mountains
You can begin this breathtaking tour by taking Route 11 to the Naples Causeway on Route 302 in Naples. With its boardwalk feel and turn-of-the-century shops and restaurants, you’ll think you’ve been transported back to the early 1900s.
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Franklin Heritage Loop
Begin this spectacular foliage tour from Route 133 in Livermore Falls, where Norlands Living History Center in Livermore brings rural 19th century New England to life. The center has six buildings depicting a crossroads community.
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Lakes and Leaves
Start this loop in Skowhegan, a Native American name that means “To Watch For and Catch Salmon.” Skowhegan is a quintessential rural Maine community, where you can immerse yourself in the flavor of a real hometown.
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Apples and Arts
Start in Augusta, the state capital and site of historic Fort Western, the beautiful Blaine House, which serves as the Governor’s residence, and the Maine State Museum. View Maine’s first inhabitants, like Mammoths, Mastodons and other ice-age creatures.
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Windjammers and Water Views
Begin in Brunswick, Maine’s oldest college town, where Bowdoin College was founded in 1794. Maine Street is a full 12 rods wide—just as it was when the town was laid out in 1717. Today, it’s lined with quaint shops brimming with nautical themes.
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Acadia Harbors and Heights
Start this tour in Bangor, the gateway to the Bar Harbor Region. While here, you can visit the Mount Hope Cemetery. This spot is the second oldest garden cemetery in the nation and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stephen King found it so fascinating that he used it as a back-drop for the filming of his movie, Pet Cemetery.
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Downeast Villages and Vistas
Begin this tour in Ellsworth, where you can tour the amazing Colonel Black Mansion. Built in 1862 with laborers from Boston and bricks shipped all the way from Philadelphia. Also in Ellsworth, the Stanwood Homestead Sanctuary is a spectacular 130-acre nature preserve that shouldn’t be missed.
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Museums, Parks, and Peaks
Start this tour in Bangor, the gateway to The Maine Highlands region. Swing by the Cole Land Transportation Museum, which displays just about every mode of transportation known to Mainers, from baby carriages to locomotives.
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The County Circuit
Before starting your North Country tour in Houlton, railroad and history buffs may want to stop off in Oakfield (exit 60 off Interstate 95) to check out the beautifully restored Victorian Train Station and Oakfield Railroad Museum (museum open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day).
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"Gems of 26"
The road less traveled holds many secrets, and the "Gems of 26" are most certainly worth a visit. The "Gems" consist of 7 unique points of interest nestled neatly along picturesque Route 26 in western Maine, between the towns of Gray and South Paris. Located within minutes of each other, with an early start you could visit them all in one long day or you could plan a stay at the Poland Spring Resort, a comfortable midpoint, and spend more time exploring these treasures.
