MAINE

As big as the other five New England states combined, MAINE barely has the population of tiny Rhode Island. In theory, therefore, there's plenty of room for its massive summer influx of visitors; in reality, the majority of these make for the southern stretches of the extravagantly corrugated coast.

You only really begin to appreciate the size and space of the state further north, or inland, where vast tracts of mountainous forest are dotted with lakes, and barely pierced by roads – more like the Alaskan interior than the RV-cluttered roads of the Vermont and New Hampshire mountains, and ideal territory for hiking and canoeing (and moose spotting). Although Maine is in many ways inhospitable – the Algonquin called it "Land of the Frozen Ground" – it has been in contact with Europe ever since the arrival of the Vikings, around 1000 AD. For the navigator Verrazano, in 1524, the "crudity and evil manners" of the Indians made this the "Land of Bad People," but before long European fishermen were setting up camps each summer to dry their catch. Francis Bacon in turn said that the English were "worse than the very Savages, impudently lying with their Women, teaching their men to drink drunke, and … to fall together by the eares."

North America's first agricultural colonies were in Maine: de Champlain's French Protestants near Mount Desert Island in 1604, and an English group that survived one winter at the mouth of the Kennebec three years later. In the face of the unwillingness of subsequent English settlers to let them farm in peace, the local Indians formed a long-term alliance with the French, and until as late as 1700 regularly drove out streams of impoverished English refugees. By 1764, however, the official census could claim that even Maine's black popu lation was more numerous than its Native Americans.

Originally part of Massachusetts, Maine became a separate entity only in 1820, when the Missouri Compromise made Maine a free, and Missouri a slave, state. In the nineteenth century, its people had a reputation for conservatism and resistance to immigration, manifested in anti-Irish riots. The state's economy has always been heavily based on the sea, although many of those who fish also farm, and long expeditions are now rare. Recently they have been selling their catch direct to Russian factory ships anchored just offshore. Lobster fishing in particular has defied gloomy predictions and has boomed again as evidenced by the many thriving lobster pounds. Maine's climate is famously harsh.

In winter, most of Maine is under ice; summer is short and usually heralded in early June by an infestation of tiny black flies. Fall colors begin to spread from the north in late September – when, unlike elsewhere in New England, off-season prices apply – but temperatures drop sharply, becoming quite frosty by mid-October.

Inland Maine
The vast expanses of the Maine interior, stretching up into the cold far north, consist mostly of evergreen forests of pine, spruce and fir, interspersed with the white birches and maples responsible for the spectacular fall colors. Only in the remote north is much of it genuine wilderness, however; elsewhere, what you see is more likely to be woodlands cultivated by the timber companies. Distances here are large. Once you get away from the two largest cities nearer the sea – Augusta, the state capital, and Bangor – it's roughly two hundred miles by road to the northern border at Fort Kent, while to drive between the two most likely inland bases, Greenville and Rangeley (where exiled psychologist Wilhelm Reich lived and is buried), takes three hours or more. Driving (there's no public transportation) through this mountainous scenery can be a great pleasure, but you do need to know where you're going. There are few places to stay, and beyond Bangor many roads are tolled access routes belonging to the lumber companies: gravel-surfaced, vulnerable to bad weather, and in any case often not heading anywhere in particular. This landscape has evolved in a very unusual way. Many waterfront communities grew up without roads to serve them, in the days when the timber harvest was floated downriver to the sea; other more recent settlements have only ever been accessible by seaplane. Now that mighty trucks carry the tree-trunks instead, roads are finally being pushed through, amid complaints that they are ruining the feel of the place. If you have the time, this is great territory in which to hike – the Appalachian Trail starts its 2000-mile course down to Georgia at the top of Mount Katahdin – or raft on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Especially around Baxter State Park, the forests are home to deer, beaver, a few bears, some recently introduced caribou – and plenty of moose. These endearingly gawky creatures (they look like badly drawn horses, and are virtually blind), tend to be seen at early morning or dusk; in spring they come to lick the winter's salt off the roads, while in summer you may spot them feeding in shallow water. They do, however, cause major havoc on the roads, particularly at night, and each year significant numbers of drivers (and moose) are killed in collisions.

Maine coast
Considering that the state has a coastline of three thousand miles, finding access to the sea in Maine can be a frustrating business. The oceanfront is monopolized by an endless succession of private homes and vacation residences – most famously that of former president Bush at Kennebunkport. In fact, only two percent of the shore is publicly owned – and not all of that is beach. Rather than long walks on coastal footpaths, travelers can expect attractive if rather commercial harbor villages, linked mostly by roads set well back from the water and packed with diners, motels and factory outlets. The liveliest destinations are Portland and Bar Harbor (at the edge of Acadia National Park); there's a wide choice of smaller seaside towns, such as Belfast and Wiscasset, if you're looking for a more peaceful base. Beaches are more common (and the sea warmer) further south, for example at Ogunquit. The best way to see the coast itself must be by boat: ferries and excursions operate from even the smallest harbors, with major routes including the ferries to Canada from Portland and Bar Harbor, and the shorter trips to Monhegan and Vinalhaven islands from Boothbay Harbor and Rockland respectively.

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