Maine comes chockablock with primo weekend getaways, which are a fine way to sample the awesomeness of the snowy season in the Pine Tree State. Here’s a guide to enjoying your weekends during the long and lovely winter in Vacationland!
Some Topnotch Winter Weekend Destinations Across Maine
There’s no way we could possibly list all the standout possibilities for a winter weekend getaway in Maine, but we can sure give you a representative sample to get the trip-inspiration juices flowing!
York & Surrounds
Among the gems of the southern Maine coast, York—aka “The Yorks,” comprising the York Village, York Harbor, York Beach, and Cape Neddick communities—is a swoony place to visit in winter. On a weekend stay here, you can stroll the uncrowded wintertime sands of the extensive beachfront, go snowshoeing in the sublime coastal forest of the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Region, and soak up the cozy charms of cafés, restaurants, and shops.
And naturally you’ll want to pay your respects to the iconic Cape Neddick Light Station, called colloquially the “Nubble Light,” handsomely set on pint-sized Nubble Island. Built in 1879 and easily viewed from shore—particularly from Sohier Park—the lighthouse is especially dazzling during the yuletide stretch of the calendar, when it’s lit up with Christmas lights.
Acadia National Park
The most popular tourist attraction in Maine, Acadia National Park is a U.S. (heck, a global!) treasure, protecting as it does a stunning swath of seashore and coastal heights overlooking the Gulf of Maine. Winter is an amazing time to visit, with miles and miles of trails and the famous historic Acadia carriage roads open to hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and (along certain routes) snowmobiling. This is the time of year when the 1,527-foot eminence of Cadillac Mountain, the loftiest point directly on North America’s Atlantic shore between Nova Scotia and Mexico, catches the first rays of sunlight in the mainland conterminous U.S. (The summit road, as well as much of the Park Loop Road that provides access to it, is closed to cars in winter, but snowmobilers can use it, and meanwhile there’s also trail access to the top for on-foot winter trekkers.)
The town of Bar Harbor is the gateway to Acadia’s Mount Desert Island portion and a fabulous home base for a winter weekend.
Camden Hills
The Camden Hills of MidCoast Maine are another “no-brainer” sort of winter-weekend destination. That’s not least because this little coastal range, located right in the backyard of Camden and Rockport, includes one of Maine’s premier ski resorts: the Camden Snow Bowl, whose Ragged Mountain slopes uniquely allow you to carve lines with a view of the blue Atlantic, unlike any other on the East Coast. Among its winter-sports attractions, the Snow Bowl hosts the wooden, 400-foot Jack Williams Toboggan Chute, one of the last of its kind in the country, with a runout onto iced-over Hosmer Pond.
There are also abundant cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and winter-hiking routes to explore in the marvelous Camden Hills State Park and its adjoining protected lands, which encompass some spectacular bald summits and dramatic rock ledges.
Rangeley Lakes Region
The Rangeley Lakes country of Maine’s western highlands is a recreational paradise year-round, no question. And winter brings a slew of delicious possibilities: from snowmobiling and ice-fishing—there are six whopper-sized lakes here, including the fourth-biggest in Maine (Mooselookmeguntic Lake) and scores of smaller water bodies—to both alpine/slopeside and Nordic snowsports at Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort. A jam-packed weekend of winter recreation—or, alternatively, a slower-paced escape simply marinating in the snow-cloaked scenery—awaits!
Carrabassett Valley
The highest-elevation incorporated community in Maine, Carrabassett Valley, is a winter-lover’s paradise. Lorded over by some of the tallest peaks in Maine, including 4,250-foot Sugarloaf Mountain (the state’s second-highest summit after the Katahdin massif) and 4,228-foot Crocker Mountain, the charming town is the springboard for Vacationland’s biggest ski area. Also one of the largest in the entire East, Sugarloaf Mountain Resort encompasses the full spectrum of downhill challenge, including Black Diamond trails, and its Nordic center is the biggest in Maine. Spare some time to check out the Maine Ski & Snowboard Museum in nearby Kingsfield!
Bethel
“Maine’s Most Beautiful Mountain Village” (as the tagline goes) sits amid the Mahoosuc Range, an extension of the White Mountains that rears above 3,000 feet not far from town. Skiers and snowboarders flock to Bethel to savor the pleasures of the Sunday River Ski Resort, which has Maine’s second-greatest vertical, as well as other conveniently situated snow sports destinations such as the Mount Abram Ski Area and Black Mountain of Maine. Nordic-skiing and snowshoeing opportunities abound as well, with the expansiveness of the White Mountain National Forest and Grafton Notch State Park helping form Bethel’s hinterland.
Moosehead Lake
If ice-fishing is on your to-do list for a weekend idyll in Maine, it’s difficult to top the largest lake in the state! Covering some 117 square miles, Moosehead Lake gets its name honestly: The outline of this glorious waterbody does indeed resemble the profile of a well-antlered bull moose. Anglers drill through the ice to target such trophy gamefish as landlocked salmon, lakers, and brook trout.
There are plenty of other lakes and ponds in the near vicinity ripe for ice fishing, plus many opportunities for snowmobiling and Nordic sports. Lakeside Mount Kineo, meanwhile, offers some of the best (and most challenging) ice-climbing in Maine. Several delightful towns, such as Greenville, can provide winter accommodations along Moosehead Lake.
Katahdin Area
The elevational and (arguably) scenic highpoint of Maine, the glorious 5,267-foot massif of Katahdin, forms a signal landmark of the North Maine Woods and one of the crown jewels of the entire Appalachian Range. In winter, it’s all the easier to imagine the bygone Pleistocene glaciers that whittled its knife-edge arêtes and gouged out its yawning cirques. Gaze upon its frosty grandeur during a winter visit to primitive Baxter State Park (nearly 210,000 acres in area) and the adjoining Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument (87,500 acres), which together form one of the Northeast’s premier wildland complexes.
A weekend is insufficient to do justice to this big landscape but certainly offers an irresistible taste, what with the extensive opportunities for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. Winter camping and backcountry hut stays are the perfect way to experience the spectacular stargazing (and maybe Northern Lights viewing) that has earned the national monument International Dark Sky Sanctuary status. Just be sure you know what you’re doing and are well-prepared for a winter wilderness experience!
Aroostook County
Covering close to 7,000 square miles, Aroostook County—or simply “the County,” as many Mainers refer to it—is sometimes referred to as the “Crown of Maine,” reflecting its sheer vastness in the state’s far north. Better than 2,000 miles of snowmobile trails lace through its woods and wetlands, and some of the state’s best cross-country and snowshoeing trails provide exploration of 800-acre Aroostook State Park, glowered over by Quoggy Jo Mountain. Presque Isle, the biggest city in the County and mere minutes from the state park, makes a great weekend “base camp.”
Seasonal Events to Check Out
The winter calendar in Maine is packed with competitions, festivals, and other events, and these happenings serve as a great excuse to make a weekend out of it in one or another corner of this magnificent state. Here are just a few possibilities!
Ski/Snowboard/Sliding Races
Given how many mountain resorts and miles of Nordic-friendly trails there are in the Pine Tree State, it’s no surprise winter’s busy with snowsport races, contests, and showcases. Examples include Sunday River’s Santa Sunday (with skiers and snowboarders donned out in Santa costumes, of course); the Vertical Challenge at Saddleback, the Great Caribou Bog Classic (a Nordic race outside of Orono); and the U.S. Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl.
Snowmobile Events
You’ve also got more than a few snowmobile races and shows to check out during the Maine winter. Some high-profile events include the Snodeo in Rangeley and the SnowBowl in Aroostook County.
Ice-Fishing Derbies
Ice-fishing derbies go down on waterbodies and waterways all over Maine during the winter and early spring, and they can be a fine means for getting to know this unique form of angling if you’ve never tried it before. The biggest in Southern Maine, for example, is the Sebago Lake Rotary Ice Fishing Derby, going strong on the state’s second-largest lake for decades.
Festivals
A veritable smorgasbord of winter festivals makes the season a mighty lively one in Vacationland, from the beachfront of Southern Maine all the way up into the North Maine Woods. All we can do here is offer a sampler pack of examples to demonstrate the variety of themes and experiences.
To wit: There’s the Biddeford WinterFest in (you guessed it) Biddeford; the Somerset SnowFest (which includes the mighty unusual spectacle of equestrian skijoring), the Belfast Ice Festival (showcasing some gorgeous ice sculptures), and Norway, Maine’s Snowshoe Festival, complete with an on-snowshoe fashion show.
Maine’s alpine resorts offer plenty of festivities in addition to ski and snowboard races. Sugarloaf, for example, is its own hopping live-music venue throughout the season, with well-attended parties including the Electric Mountain Festival and, looking beyond to spring (because why not?), the long-running Reggae Festival. The February Festival at Saddleback is also a lot of fun.
Winter Weekending Around Vacationland
Get your winter on to the max with weekend trips to Maine, which, if you ask us, wears the season better than just about anywhere else. (OK, we may be just a little bit biased…)
