Maine is full of natural beauty throughout the state. You can find historic landmarks, mountains, hiking trails, forests, and waters to spend all day exploring. They are also known for their delicious seafood you can’t get enough of no matter how much you eat.
To make the most of your vacation, you want to make sure you go at the right time. While most people say the best time to visit Maine is in the summer months, there is still plenty to do the rest of the year.
Best Time to Visit Maine in Each Season
Maine can be visited at any point during the year. No matter when you go, there is enough to do and explore to keep you entertained during your whole trip. However, some months should be avoided if at all possible so you can get the most enjoyment out of your trip.
Spring
Spring tends to be the worst time to visit Maine. This is when it gets the most snow and the temperatures are cold. Anyone not experienced in a humid, snowy winter will find themselves uncomfortably cold most of the time.
The weather is also unpredictable, and it may be cold and cloudy for most of your trip. The weather fluctuates enough that it may even be bad for winter outdoor sports enthusiasts, as it can be snowy and cold one day and hot and sunny the next, creating muddy conditions in most areas.
If you are going to travel to Maine in the spring, it is best to visit in late spring. This means visiting in late April or during May. If you want some snowy days and a chance to go out and participate in some winter sports, you can try for February and March, but the weather can still be pretty unpredictable.
Early April should be avoided if at all possible. Most of the locals refer to it as the mud season. The snow is melting, but the weather is cold, and the mud will make it hard to explore or even walk around very much.
Summer
Summer is considered the best time overall to visit Maine. Generally, the summer tourist season is between June and September. However, for the best weather and to have the best chance of everything you want to visit being open, visiting in July and August is your best bet.
During the summer, you can explore a lot of the historical areas and parks. This is also the best time to eat seafood. However, because this is the best time to visit and this is when many people are on vacation, it is also much busier during this time.
This means that areas are more likely to be crowded, and you might not get as much peace on your hiking trip as you wanted. Hotels and restaurants are more likely to be packed as well, and prices will be higher during the summer months.
While it can be a bit better in September when the weather gets a little worse and most people are heading back home for school, it can still be pretty busy.
Fall
If you want the cheapest time to visit, while getting the most out of your vacation, early fall is generally the best time. You can start in September right after schools around the country start up again.
The weather usually stays pretty decent until the end of October, so you have a month-and-a-half window to explore the state.
As soon as the major crowds leave, hotels drop dramatically in price. You can expect to save up to $200 per night just by waiting a few weeks. There are still plenty of activities to do in the early fall months as well.
Amusement parks are still open, and the lines are shorter. There are also activities like apple and blueberry picking if you want a classic fall experience. Depending on where you go in Maine, you may be able to find a few festivals and fairs to explore as well.
The seafood starts to go out around this time, but there are still lots of unique local cuisines to try. If you don’t mind a bit of cold weather, you can also spend most of your days exploring the great outdoors.
Leaves start changing in most areas around this time, and you can enjoy them while out on the water, visiting a small town, or on a hike.
Winter
Visitors pretty much go away after October. From November until May, there are mostly only locals in the state. The large amounts of snow and freezing weather scares many people away and most of the stores and businesses open to draw in tourists close for the season.
If you are a snow bunny or a powder chaser, you may find yourself enjoying the northeastern part of Maine during the winter months. There are plenty of opportunities for skiing, snowboarding, and other outdoor winter activities.
However, if you don’t much enjoy winter sports, there is still plenty to do during the winter months. If you avoid the areas where these sports are popular, you can find yourself experiencing a peaceful and uncrowded version of Maine.
You often don’t have to worry about booking experiences or even hotels all that far in advance, and rates are a lot cheaper. If you are brave, you can even visit the coastline and get the unique experience of seeing the shore during the snowy, winter months.
