Maine with the Family (and the Dog): Coast, Lobster & Acadia
Everyone's invited, including the dog
There's a moment on the Maine coast, usually around your second lobster roll, where it just feels easier to relax. The kids have found tide pools, the dog has found a beach, and the grown-ups have found a picnic table overlooking a working harbour.
For families who don't want to leave anyone behind, Maine is one of the most rewarding road trips in the US. The hotels welcome dogs, the parks welcome dogs, and many of the best lobster shacks are outdoors anyway. It also delivers the cool sea air and pine forests that make it a natural summer escape.
This route pairs two very different bases: a polished beach resort near Portland, then glamping on the water near Acadia National Park. Here's how I shape it: where to stay, what's worth your time, and the dog-friendly details that make it work.
Getting there, and when to go
This is a road trip, so the journey is part of the fun.
From the UK: Fly nonstop from London to Boston in around seven hours, pick up a car, and you can be in Portland in about two hours. Ending the trip back in the Boston area makes a convenient final night before the flight home.
From the US: Many families drive up through New England, breaking the journey with a night along the way. Others fly into Portland, Maine, or Boston and start the road trip there.
Travelling with a dog from the UK: Bringing a pet into the US has its own import rules and airline requirements, so check these well ahead.
Summer, from late June to early September, brings warm days, cool nights and the full lobster-shack season. Early autumn is quieter, with crisp air and the first autumn colour. Many seasonal restaurants close after mid-October.
Where to stay
I split the Maine coast into two long stays, so nobody is packing every morning, with a night either side to break up the drive.
Inn by the Sea, Cape Elizabeth
Photo courtesy of Inn By the Sea
Inn by the Sea is the polished half of the trip. It's a boutique beach resort ten minutes from Portland, sitting right above Crescent Beach, with a boardwalk down to the sand. Its one-bedroom beach suites have a separate living room with a sofa bed, a full kitchen, a fireplace and a patio with a water view, which is room enough for a family to spread out. In summer, there are daily children's activities, morning yoga, evening fire pits with s'mores, a heated pool and complimentary bikes. It's dog-friendly too, with pet-friendly patio suites. One honest note: dogs aren't allowed on the beach right in front of the inn, but several dog-friendly parks and beaches are within about 15 minutes.
Under Canvas Acadia, Surry
Photo courtesy of Under Canvas
The second half is all about the outdoors. Under Canvas is a glamping camp on 100 waterfront acres along a tidal bay, about 35 minutes from Acadia National Park. Suite tents have proper beds, a sofa bed, a private bathroom and a wood-burning stove for cool Maine evenings, and there's a restaurant on site. Mornings along the camp's private shoreline are a highlight, and the camp can arrange guided kayaking straight from the water's edge. Honest notes: the tents have no electrical outlets, just limited USB charging, and the paths are uneven, so check that the setup suits everyone before you book.
Breaking up the drive
On the way north, I like a characterful boutique hotel in a New England college town for the first night. At the end of the trip, a pet-friendly hotel in Cambridge, across the river from Boston, makes a calm final night before the flight home, and some offer accessible rooms with roll-in showers.
Every family's mix is different, from teenagers to toddlers to four-legged travellers, so if you'd like me to match the right rooms to yours, that's exactly what I do.
What to see and do
Portland and Cape Elizabeth
Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light: Maine's most photographed lighthouse sits beside a 90-acre park built around an old military fort. The ruins fascinate children, the views across Casco Bay are spectacular, and the grounds welcome dogs on a lead.
Two Lights and Crescent Beach state parks: Both are within ten minutes of Cape Elizabeth and welcome leashed dogs. Two Lights is all dramatic granite headland, and Crescent Beach is a long, gentle stretch of sand.
Portland: One of America's great small food cities. Wander the Old Port's cobbled streets, browse Sherman's Books, and visit the Portland Museum of Art for its Winslow Homer seascapes, the perfect introduction to the coast you're driving through.
Kennebunkport: About 40 minutes south, with long, calm Goose Rocks Beach, galleries and fudge shops around Dock Square, and views across to Walker's Point.
On the way north: a clambake on an island
Break the drive to Acadia in Boothbay Harbor for one of Maine's great traditions. A boat cruises around the harbour, then drops you on a small island where lobsters and clams are steamed over open fires between layers of seaweed, served with chowder, corn and homemade blueberry cake. Book well ahead, and bring cash.
Acadia and Mount Desert Island
The carriage roads by bike: Acadia has 57 miles of car-free, crushed-stone carriage roads with granite bridges, forest and lake views, and dogs are welcome. Rent bikes and a trailer for the youngest (or the dog), then loop Eagle Lake and stop for a picnic.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse: The island's most dramatic coastal viewpoint, followed by a drive through Southwest Harbor and its working waterfront.
The Schoodic Peninsula: Acadia's quieter mainland section has the same pink granite slabs plunging into the Atlantic, but with far fewer visitors. The tide pools are a highlight for children, and the trails are dog-friendly. Finish with lunch in the fishing village of Winter Harbor.
A slow day: Stay at camp for morning yoga and s'mores, or drive to Corea, a barely visited fishing village stacked with lobster traps, then swim at Donnell Pond's sandy lake beaches.
Eat & drink
On this trip, lobster is less a meal than a daily ritual.
The Lobster Shack at Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth: Lobster rolls, chowder and fried clams on the rocks, served here since the 1920s.
Eventide Oyster Co., Portland: Famous for its brown-butter lobster roll, and dog-friendly on the patio.
Tandem Bakery, Portland: Not to be missed for breakfast pastries.
Nunan's Lobster Hut, Cape Porpoise: A no-frills converted workshop near Kennebunkport, serving lobster since 1953. It's cash only, bring your own wine, and arrive early, as there are no reservations.
Rococo Ice Cream, Kennebunkport: Small-batch, inventive flavours that children will ask for every day.
Beal's Lobster Pier, Southwest Harbor: A working lobster pound on a working wharf. Pick your lobster, grab a picnic table and watch the boats come in.
Thurston's Lobster Pound, Bernard: A two-level deck over Bass Harbor, loved by locals.
Jordan Pond House, Acadia: Tea and famous popovers with mountain views, and dog-friendly outdoors.
Toddy Pond Farm, Monroe: A reservation-only, farm-to-table dinner in a restored 1800s barn, with wood-fired pizza and live music on weekend evenings. It books up fast.
Many of these are outdoors and welcome dogs, but always check before you go.
Good to know
Dogs: Keep them on a lead in Acadia and state parks, check beach rules, which often change in summer, and budget for pet fees at most hotels. A pet-friendly restaurant guide is useful for planning meals.
Cash: Many classic lobster shacks and the island clambake are cash only.
Book ahead: Popular dinners, the clambake and Acadia's busiest areas fill up in peak summer, and some park roads need timed vehicle reservations.
Layers: Even in summer, Maine evenings and boat trips can be cool, so pack a fleece.
Entry requirements: UK travellers need an ESTA to visit the US.
Plan your Maine road trip with me
A road trip like this works because of the details: the suite with a patio for the dog, the clambake booked on the right day of the drive, the cash in your pocket for the lobster shack, and the rest day that lets everyone breathe.
