A Summer Week in Maine - where should we stay??

[Anonymous]

I have never been up to Maine before. From all of the various posts, it sounds like a wonderful place for a family reunion of sorts. My family of 4, my sister's family of 5, and our 70-year-old parents will be meeting in Maine for a week next July. Kids range in age from 6 to 12. We would like to stay in just one place for the week. (I'm envisioning each family unit in their own cabin or condo or something along those lines rather than a large rental house.) Everyone prefers a coastal town. Everyone loves nature, the younger set likes hiking. Accessibility to fun day trips would be a plus, but not necessary.

Any thoughts on what town?? Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[Anonymous]

We loved Stonington on Deer Isle. It was peaceful, had rocky coast and some beach and swimming ponds. It was also possible to get to Acadia NP for the day which is incredible.

[Anonymous]

Why did you capitalize "summer week"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you capitalize "summer week"?

Ha! I didn't even notice that. Maybe because I was taking a break from lesson planning and my brain was still in "outline" mode.

[Anonymous]

Stay on Mount Desert Island if your budget allows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay on Mount Desert Island if your budget allows.

That was our initial thought. It just looks gorgeous, as does Stonington. Does the Acadia area get terribly crowded in the summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay on Mount Desert Island if your budget allows.

That was our initial thought. It just looks gorgeous, as does Stonington. Does the Acadia area get terribly crowded in the summer?

Bar Harbor and many trailheads do, but the west side of the island much less so. There are plenty of trails that aren't that crowded. The Rangers will advise you.

[Anonymous]

It's one big house, so perhaps not exactly what you want, but my family stayed here this past summer with a big group like yours and it was spectacular:
https://www.vrbo.com/340408

We had my family of five, my sister's family of four, and my brother and his wife in the main house; my parents in the 70s stayed in the "carriage house" also on the property (connected by a breezeway to the main house. Like yours, the kids in our family ranged from ages 6 to 12. The house was big enough that there were many wonderful rooms and nooks and crannies (and, outside, separate areas of benches or chairs or tables, walking paths and a veggie garden) to explore and we never felt that we were all on top of each other.

We had been to Boothbay Harbor a number of times before so we knew it was a great place for kids-- hiking, kayaking (this house has kayaks and its own dock), boat trips, aquarium, shopping, etc. I highly recommend it. And it's only an hour north of Portland, so it's so much more accessible than Mt. Desert Island (which is also gorgeous, but a bigger hassle to get to).

[Anonymous]

I just found these cabins which look great for a family reunion of sorts.

http://www.acadia-cottages.com/

[Anonymous]

My family loves Ogunquit!! The marginal way is an awesome walking path along the cliffs of the ocean.

[Anonymous]

Ogunquit is like hundreds of other places.

Acadia is like nowhere else in the Eastern US.

[Anonymous]

Friends have a small cottage directly (as in, feet from) on a lake. There is nothing so amazing as waking up and the water being RIGHT THERE. Nothing to schlep & no sand to even rinse. Don't stay anywhere other than at a house right on a lake. Visit Bar Harbor for the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's one big house, so perhaps not exactly what you want, but my family stayed here this past summer with a big group like yours and it was spectacular:
https://www.vrbo.com/340408

We had my family of five, my sister's family of four, and my brother and his wife in the main house; my parents in the 70s stayed in the "carriage house" also on the property (connected by a breezeway to the main house. Like yours, the kids in our family ranged from ages 6 to 12. The house was big enough that there were many wonderful rooms and nooks and crannies (and, outside, separate areas of benches or chairs or tables, walking paths and a veggie garden) to explore and we never felt that we were all on top of each other.

We had been to Boothbay Harbor a number of times before so we knew it was a great place for kids-- hiking, kayaking (this house has kayaks and its own dock), boat trips, aquarium, shopping, etc. I highly recommend it. And it's only an hour north of Portland, so it's so much more accessible than Mt. Desert Island (which is also gorgeous, but a bigger hassle to get to).

wow, that place looks amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ogunquit is like hundreds of other places.

Acadia is like nowhere else in the Eastern US.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family loves Ogunquit!! The marginal way is an awesome walking path along the cliffs of the ocean.

NP. We are thinking of doing a few days in Ogunquit (staying at a hotel, maybe the Meadowmere or Beachmere) then spending a week at a rental in Acadia. Could you please sell me on Ogunquit? I thought that doing both would give us a nice taste of Maine.