When to go & weather

Weather

Covered by glacial ice some 25, 000 years ago, Maine is a geographic adolescent. The glaciers, which finally receded about 12, 000 years ago, certainly left their mark on the state. Maine boasts nearly 6000 lakes and ponds (the largest of which is Moosehead Lake), close to 5000 salt-water islands and another 5000 rivers and streams. Its highest point is 5267ft-tall Mt Katahdin (Penobscot for ‘greatest mountain’), with another 10 mountains surpassing 4000ft (and over 100 above 3000ft). These lie in the White Mountain Region, which covers northwestern Maine.

Maine’s best known region is the coastal lowland, which runs from 10 to 40 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean with sandy beaches in the south, jagged inlets in the center and rugged cliffs in the north. Further into the interior lie the eastern New England uplands which, as far as Mainers are concerned, means fertile farmland, where local crops – particularly potatoes – flourish.

In summer coastal Maine tends to be more temperate and less humid than inland Maine because of ocean breezes, but in the winter those same winds can turn awfully bitter. The interior receives its share of snow and arctic blasts. Spring is fleeting and arrives late, and as such, the tourist season on the coast doesn’t really open for business in earnest until May. In the fall, blue-sky days tend to be crisp, providing the prefect backdrop to the reds and golds of autumn. Fog in Maine is as iconic as its coastal brethren the lighthouse, and it can arrive at any time along the seascape. It tends to come thicker and more frequently the further east you travel.