Maine for the Long Weekend
Southern Maine is where most people start. Within an hour of Portland Jetport, you can be on a sand beach in Wells, on the summit of Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton, or paddling on Sebago Lake. The region is the most developed and most accessible part of Maine, and that is the appeal: a real outdoor weekend without the long drive north.
The geography here is gentler than the rest of the state. The mountains top out around 2,000 feet, the coast is dominated by long sandy beaches rather than granite cliffs, and the lakes are warm enough to swim in by mid-June. Families, day-trippers, and visitors short on time get more out of southern Maine than they expect.
Sebago Lake is the second-largest lake in Maine and the source of Greater Portland’s drinking water. The state park on the north end is the busiest park in the system on summer weekends. If you want quieter water, head to one of the smaller lakes in the Bridgton area or visit Sebago in the shoulder seasons.
Getting There
Most of southern Maine is within an hour of Portland and within two hours of Boston. I-95 and US Route 1 are the spines.
