![]() Take the teenagers for a campus visitįor older teens on the verge of college, some of the state’s best art museums are connected to Maine’s three highly regarded universities. Embrace the nostalgia at Old Orchard BeachĪnother favorite is Old Orchard Beach, a resort town with a nostalgic boardwalk, amusement-park rides, beach volleyball and arcade games. If your teen would rather watch someone else exert themselves, Portland has several minor-league sports teams – Portland Sea Dogs baseball, Maine Mariners hockey and Maine Celtics basketball, all of which offer classic stadium concessions and mascot antics for low ticket prices. Some places, like North Country Rivers resort in Bingham, offer all of these activities and more in one place, including snowmobiling and moose-spotting hikes. In warmer months, explore the ocean, freshwater favorites like Sebago Lake or even roaring rivers like the Androscoggin by canoe, kayak and whitewater raft. Take sporty offspring to ski, snowboard, ice skate and ride ski bikes and fat bikes in the winter at Sugarloaf Mountain. (Make sure to get some pics for Instagram at the working dock behind Harbor Fish Market.) Or head to Glidden Point Oyster Farms in Edgecomb, where teens and older can learn to shuck their own freshly harvested oysters. In warmer months, explore rivers like the Androscoggin by canoe, kayak and whitewater raft © Cappi Thompson / Getty Images Best things to do in Maine with tweens and teenagers Taste Maine’s world-class cuisineīook a walking tour with Maine Day Ventures, full of local history and food samples in maritime cities like Boothbay Harbor and Portland. Navigate a corn maze, pet the animals in the petting zoo, take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon and, of course, pick your own apples, berries and flowers at Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant. Sunflower Farm Creamery lets you do yoga with Nigerian dwarf goats, then snack on goat cheese. If your kids want to see where their lobster roll comes from, take them on one of many lobster-boat tours, such as the Lulu lobster boat out of Bar Harbor. Shop the Portland Farmers’ Market in Deering Oaks park and picnic on fresh blueberries, breads, pastries and cheese, play in the wade pool and watch the ducks on the pond. Maine is big on small farms, fisheries and orchards, making it an ideal place to engage your kids’ interest in local produce. Pique your kids' interest in local produce Babies get in free, while admission for children 12 and under is just $5. Learn about legendary creatures at the International Cryptozoology Museumīangor and Portland also have locations of the quirky International Cryptozoology Museum, for kids and perhaps imaginative teens who want to learn more about legendary creatures like bigfoot. The Children’s Museum also houses the country’s oldest continuously operating children’s theater, whose nearly year-round programming includes musicals based on iconic children’s books, like the Maine-based Blueberries for Sal. While they do have experiences suitable for babies and toddlers (infants under 18 months enter the Children’s Museum for free), they’re especially great for kids who can self-lead a bit as they climb, reach into touch tanks and learn about hydropower through interactive waterworks tables. You could easily spend all day at the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor or the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine in Portland, both of which have copious exhibits across three floors. ![]() You'll find advanced hiking trails and plenty of excursions to engage confident teenagers, like summiting Mt Katahdin, the northernmost end of the Appalachian Trail, as well as accessible paths with jaw-dropping views, from wheelchair- and stroller-friendly paved sections of Acadia National Park to gently rolling hills with sturdy fences along the sheer cliff and famous Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth.īest things to do in Maine with kids Hang out at the excellent children’s museums Maine welcomes families readily, with many top attractions offering helpful amenities, such as bathrooms with changing tables at beaches and campgrounds with playgrounds. Though some of Maine’s cities can be challenging to walk around with strollers – hello, cobblestones and hills of Portland! – the state practically runs on family-friendly tourism, so don’t be shy about traveling with wee ones. Even kids who typically only interact with video screens find it hard to resist the charms of Maine’s pristine natural beauty and abundant wildlife, from the chance to spot rare but awesome behemoths, like whales and moose, to minuscule yet marvelous crabs and sea snails, found in the biodiverse tide pools that form in the hollows of craggy oceanside cliffs. ![]() ![]() Childhood summers are made in Maine, eating fried clams and splashing in the lake.
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