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Text reads: Maine travel guide, what to do according to a Mainer (end text) As a Mainer, I pulled together a Maine travel guide including specific things to do and places to go, as well as general things to do in Maine in October specifically.
in Lifestyle · October 5, 2021

Maine Travel Guide: What To Do According to a Mainer

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in Lifestyle · October 5, 2021

Maine Travel Guide: What To Do According to a Mainer

I could go on and on about my home state of Maine in general – and I definitely do – so I figured I would compile a Maine travel guide for those of you visiting my home state. I grew up in the Portland area, although my mom is from the Bangor area and my dad is from the midcoast. And I have spent most of the last year and a half in the central Maine woods! 

The first section of this post is about what to do in Maine specifically, but the second section is what to do in Maine in October in general. October is a great time to be in Maine!

Text reads: Maine travel guide, what to do according to a Mainer (end text) As a Mainer, I pulled together a Maine travel guide including specific things to do and places to go, as well as general things to do in Maine in October specifically.

Maine Travel Guide: What To Do in Maine According to a Mainer

Visit the Old Port – The “Old Port” is the historic neighborhood of Portland on the water. The Portland website says “the Old Port is both a working waterfront and a local shopping, dining, residential, and entertainment district” (x). There is incredible shopping and eating! 

My favorite restaurants in the Old Port are Flatbreads, DeMillo’s, Becky’s Diner, Gritty McDuff’s, Fore Street, and Sebago Brewing Company. Other great restaurants (I hear; I can’t eat there) are Holy Donuts, The Porthole, and Gilbert’s Chowder House.

Portland Head Light – Don’t let the name fool you; it’s not in Portland. This is in my home town of Cape Elizabeth, in Fort Williams Park. In addition to one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world, the park is 90 acres and features rugged walking paths, ocean-side paths, beaches (not good ones if you want to lie out), picnic areas, and so much more (x).

If you visit Maine in general, you should be renting a car if you’re not driving up. Maine is not a state with tons of public transportation. And if you visit Portland and want to see the Portland Head Light, you absolutely need a car. There’s almost no public transportation in Portland – let alone to get to a different town – and you won’t be able to get to Cape from Portland with public transport. 

Maine Indie Bookstores –  Here are some awesome bookstores in Maine that you should check out! 

Print: A Bookstore is located on Congress Street in Portland.

Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops has locations all across the state in Bar Harbor, Damariscotta, Boothbay Harbor, Freeport, and Portland. The picture below is one I took at the Portland location!

Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café is located in Camden and it’s absolutely adorable. It’s like my ideal version of a bookstore.

The Briar Patch Bookshop is one in Bangor that I haven’t checked out but really want to. They specialize in children’s books through high school, but they do have books for grownups. 

Text reads: 10 places to go + things to do in Maine (new post) Maine travel guide, travel guide for Maine, portland maine travel guide, bar harbor maine travel guide, what to do in maine, what to do in bangor maine, what is there to do in portland maine, what to do in maine in october, what to do in maine october, what is there to do in bangor Maine

Coffee by Design – This is a Maine-based coffee company with locations all across the state. There are 3 locations in Portland (the one on Diamond Street is the one we go to the most) and one located inside the LL Bean headquarters in Freeport. 

LL Bean Headquarters – Look, what’s the point in coming to Maine if you don’t go to LL Bean HQ? I can’t emphasize enough how huge this location is. Like many Portland-area teenagers, I worked at one of the outlet stores in Freeport one summer … the one across the street from LL Bean HQ. The LL Bean Flagship is freaking ginormous and it is everything you could want from the LL Bean Flagship. 

Shopping in Freeport – Also, go shopping in Freeport. There are tons of stores! These shops include:

  • American Eagle Outlet
  • Dooney & Burke 
  • Eastern Maine Sports 
  • Fjallraven 
  • J. Crew Factory 
  • Levi’s Outlet
  • Polo Ralph Lauren Factory 
  • Sea Bags 
  • Sperry 
  • The North Face 
  • Under Armor Factory 
  • Wicked Woopies 
  • Banana Republic
  • And so much more

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Young’s Lobster Pound – If you make your way to midcoast Maine, make sure you go to Young’s in Belfast. There are tons of picnic tables and it’s picnic-style – aka you can bring birthday cake, soda, beer, and more, which is what we do for my nan’s birthday every year – in addition to getting incredible seafood.  

Geaghan’s Pub and Brewery (DISCLAIMER: this is my uncle’s restaurant) – Geaghan’s is a Bangor institution! And I’m not just saying that because my Uncle Pete is one of the owners (along with his brothers and nephew). They make incredible breakfast, so be sure to check that out. 

And if you’re a beer fan, check out the tasting room! I’m told Geaghans Bros Brewing is delicious, but as I can’t drink and I can’t have gluten I can’t tell you from experience. The Tasting Room is “open to the public for tastings, growler and crowler fills and merchandise sales” (x).

West Market Square Artisan Coffeehouse – This is my family’s go-to coffee spot in Bangor. It’s absolutely delicious and we will go out of our way to get coffee there!

Skiing – If you’re going to Maine in the winter, you should definitely check out the ski spots. I grew up going to Shawnee Peak, but there are the most popular (and bigger) mountains of Sunday River and Sugarloaf. 

Text reads: what to do in Maine in October (end text) Maine travel guide, travel guide for Maine, portland maine travel guide, bar harbor maine travel guide, what to do in maine, what to do in bangor maine, what is there to do in portland maine, what to do in maine in october, what to do in maine october, what is there to do in bangor maine

What To Do in Maine in October (In General)

There are tons of things to do across Maine in many different places. Here is a list of what to do in Maine in the fall according to me, a Mainer.

Pick apples – Find an orchard wherever you want! This list is from Maine Pomological Society, which is a nonprofit made up of tons of apple orchards.

Drink apple cider 

Eat apple cider donuts 

Pick pumpkins

Eat pumpkin foods

Go through a corn maze – Down East Magazine has a great list of the best corn mazes in Maine.

Hike through pretty areas – Find a Maine State Park here! There are 48 and you can use the tool at that link to find one by searching by name, by single gas tank trip from your/a location, or by region. 

What do you want to do in Maine this fall?

Like this post? Check out: 

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Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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Live for yourself 💖 _______ Video: a series Live for yourself 💖 

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Video: a series of videos featuring Kate. This includes her working on a laptop, drinking, showing off her dress, and opening her kindle.
Week 20 of #2025Weekly ⁣ ⁣ I did very little l Week 20 of #2025Weekly ⁣
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I did very little last week! So little I forgot to schedule this post. I the week at my parents’ while recovering from my infusion. Thankfully I had a fluffy nurse to help! And then I spent the rest of the week catching up from what I missed while dealing with my infusion. ⁣
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I don’t think health problems are “deserved” I don’t think health problems are “deserved” or a punishment but I do think if I didn’t have mine I would have the time and energy to take over the world, so … 

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Video: Kate runs a hand through her hair. White text reads “How I feel knowing that God gave me chronic health issues because I would be too powerful without them”. The audio says “cause I’m too messy and I’m too fuckin clean they told me to get a job”. Kate is a redheaded white woman wearing a green dress with white flowers on it, a black shawl, a silver Celtic knot necklace, and round tortoiseshell glasses 

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The most common question I get about sharing my ex The most common question I get about sharing my experience with chronic illness is "How do you deal with it?" These 3 quotes are sources of inspiration and indicative of how I do it. ⁣
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1. "Guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it, but be intentional about it." - Davd Duchemin⁣
I am SO intentional with my time. Even when I (rarely) do spur-of-the-moment fun things, I'm doing mental calculations of how to make it happen. ⁣
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2. "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton⁣
That's what my blog and advocacy work is. I figured out who I am: someone who helps other patients, who shares her story, who tries to change the world. And I'm doing it on purpose. ⁣
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3. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but power, love, and self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7 ⁣
I will be afraid some times (we all will) but my spirit is not one of fear or timidity. My spirt of power, love, and self-discipline enables me to keep fighting for myself and others. ⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshots of Bluesky posts written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat.bsky.social. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. The text on each post is one of the quotes mentioned above.
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Here are just some of the things that make me happ Here are just some of the things that make me happy. Share yours in the comments!⁣
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▪ Being home in Maine⁣
▪ Spending time with family ... especially when we get to dress up!⁣
▪ Baking. It's really nice to make a finished product that then gets to be enjoyed! (Not to mention that when I cook or bake I can make meals and donuts and cookies that I can eat)⁣
▪ Medieval stuff but ESPECIALLY weird medieval stuff⁣
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Obviously I know that I'm more than my illnesses - just because I don't have a ton of followers doesn't mean that this isn't a curated account with a purpose - but this is who I am outside of the Internet.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Week 19 of #2025Weekly ⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ CT scan rea Week 19 of #2025Weekly ⁣
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1️⃣ CT scan ready ⁣
2️⃣ Hours after having a panic attack because, among other things, I need another root canal. ⁣
3️⃣ Infusion time, thank God⁣
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3️⃣ Kate takes a selfie in an infusion chair. She's wearing a blue t-shirt, white blanket, round tortoiseshell glasses, and orange mask. ⁣
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Some things I've done for this so far:⁣ ▪ Gett Some things I've done for this so far:⁣
▪ Getting professional haircuts on a regular basis⁣
▪ Got a Kindle and therefore reading more⁣
▪ Making bread regularly, even though I'm bad at it ⁣
▪ Doing my best to keep houseplants alive⁣
▪ Regularly looking for more recipes to try making and not relying on the ones I already have⁣
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"I realized recently that, big picture, this is the best my health has been since I got sick. When I got my infection in 2018 that impacted my whole body until 2023, I wasn’t diagnosed with one of my illnesses and 3 of my diagnosed ones weren’t controlled to the level they are now.⁣
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Some housekeeping! 1) I am not sponsored. 2) These Some housekeeping! 1) I am not sponsored. 2) These were recommended by my foot surgeon. When you have RA affecting most joints and tarsal coalitions, good sneakers are essential. 

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