Perched in the top-right corner of the US, Maine is wrapped in a snuggly hug from Canada and bravely faces the crashing Atlantic. If bracing sea air, glorious pine trees, and fresh-from-the-ocean seafood is your thing, you’ll want to visit asap.
Maine’s 5000 miles (8000 km) of coastline mean there are dozens of lighthouses, ample excuses to get out in a boat (kayaking along the Maine Island trail, anyone?), and opportunities to see puffins, seals, and whales in their natural habitat.
Or set your sights on the forest! The Pine Tree State is perfect for honing your Disney princess skills with moose, black bears, white-tailed deer, river otters, foxes, and other furry forest creatures.
When you’re ready to get cozy with a book, there’s the poetry of Longfellow, the delight of Charlotte’s Web, and the malevolent Pennywise, who is the terrifying and brilliant invention of Maine’s number one literary hero, Stephen King.
In this episode, we get hungry for lobster rolls and Maine blueberries, learn some funny island names, and honor a delightful ambassador to Maine. Then we recommend five books that took us to Maine on the page, including a Gothic coming-of-age story, two vastly different (but unputdownable) memoirs, a literary crime novel, and a sweet story about the magical power of love and the Northern Lights.
Read the full transcript of Maine: Lighthouses, Lobster Rolls, and the King of Horror.
Perhaps you’d like to listen to some Maine folk music while you dig into these links.
And some photos to set the scene…
Get oriented! Maine The Magazine is an excellent resource for food, culture, travel, and life in Maine — and here’s a handy list of 11 things you should know about living in Portland.
Stephen King fans, we got you covered! Here’s a deep guide to Stephen King’s Maine, the Atlas Obscura listing for his house, and the website for the 5-star Stephen King tour.
Maine is The Pine Tree State! Here’s a history of Maine forestland and all you need to know about that enormous Paul Bunyan statue. (Pssst, there are lots of Paul Bunyan statues around!)
Everything you need to know about the iconic lighthouse Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth. But maybe you want more?
Here’s an opinionated list of 15 best lighthouses in Maine, a lighthouse driving tour, and the Visit Maine Big Guide to Maine Lighthouses You Must Explore.
You like islands? Maine has 3000 of them, according to this Wikipedia list. Here are 7 islands you don’t need a boat to explore, tips for sea kayaking and camping along the coast, and 5 weekend paddling trips along the Maine Island Trail.
Mel mentioned our Jamaica episode in reference to towns with interesting/delightful/funny names.
Maine wildlife! Puffin tours. Whale watching. Seal guide.
Maine’s literary legacy — and Longfellow’s poem My Lost Youth.
Hungry? Here’s the story of how a Mainer invented donut holes, the rules for making a lobster roll, and a recipe for needhams candy and a Gastro Obscura story about needhams. (Pssst, this children’s book The Hole Story of the Donut by Pat Miller is adorable.
Lots of people think Bite into Maine is the best place to eat a lobster roll.
Statement 2: In 1977, a man spent three days in Bangor, Maine believing he was in Toronto, Canada. Here’s the Wikipedia entry for our hero Erwin Kreuz and the newspaper story The bizarre tale of the world’s last lost tourist, who thought Maine was San Francisco.
Statement 3: In the early 1900s, Maine couple invented life-hacking. Meet Lillian Gilbreth, the genius in the art of living.
Sarah Blake is the author of Grange House. Here’s her website, a Q&A about how she wrote the book, and an excerpt of the novel.
Michael Finkel is the author of The Stranger in the Woods. Here’s his website and Twitter — and here’s an Atlantic piece about the hermit Christopher Knight. Before Finkel wrote the book, he wrote GQ’s most-read story ever.
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Top image courtesy of Annie Niemaszyk.
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