2023 Event Planner's Guide

STRETCH YOUR STAY

Your delegates may want to extend their stay in Maine with a variety of pre- and post-conference trips. Our team can suggest day trips or week-long outings—from the mountains to the sea, there’s so much to discover and many opportunities to turn a business trip into a real vacation. Popular Pre-/ Post-Conference Trips THEMED TR I PS There’s something for everyone in Maine! Art lovers can follow the Maine Art Museum Trail and immerse themselves in works of art from ancient to contemporary. If lighthouses set you aglow, you can seek out the more than 60 beacons that illuminate the craggy coast. Moose watching, whale watching, and other wildlife tours are also available in various regions throughout the state. SOUTH & MID-COASTAL MAINE Charming towns and villages dot the coast both south and north of Portland, boasting terrific art galleries, shops, and cruises. Enjoy forts and lighthouses, amusement parks and maritime museums, salt marshes and beaches. Freeport is home to wonderful shopping, and outdoor outfitter L.L.Bean is a destination unto itself. DOWNEAST MAINE & THE CANADIAN PROVINCES Acadia, Maine’s only national park, is located less than four hours northeast of Portland, near the resort town of Bar Harbor. Hiking trails and carriage paths offer spectacular views. On your way, visit the quaint villages of Boothbay Harbor, Rockport and Camden, boasting art galleries, shops and windjammer cruises. The CAT Ferry makes the trip from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 3 1 / 2 hours, the perfect spot to begin exploring Canada’s ocean playground. MOUNTAINS & LAKES REGION Rustic cabins, camping, swimming, and boating in the clear waters of Maine’s lakes… if you love to be active outdoors, this is the region for you! Enjoy mountain biking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, whitewater rafting, cross-country or downhill skiing, and the wildlife of these unspoiled landscapes. The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument invites discovery of northern Maine’s outdoor playground. Get a different kind of adrenalin rush as you try your luck at table games and slot machines at Oxford Casino, a mere 40 minutes from Portland.

PHOTOS FROM TOP: Deb Collins; Allen LaValle (2)

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