Portland, ME side trip?

[Max L]

Only a few places have crossed my mind as Cities I'd like to check on my hike this summer... one of them is Portland, ME. So assuming I
1) get to Maine and
2) want to get off the trail for a few days
Is a side trip to Portland as easy as catching a bus or train from a trail town and back?

[evyck da fleet]

Yes. In fact if you're flying home Portland is usually cheaper than Bangor so you could spend a day or two there on the way home. You can get a bus to Medway from Millinocket and another to Portland.

[yellowsirocco]

In Maine, there is nothing in the way of buses except for on the interstate. The closest that you get to a bus is after you climb Katahdin so just wait for the trip home

[PD230SOI]

A trip to Portland Maine and surrounding area is always a good idea. I lived there many years ago and miss it greatly. Sept is a fantastic month to be in Maine. For whatever reason that part of NE has a lot of really good brewpubs if you are into that sort of thing.

You also can find some campgrounds, but as noted above, not a lot of mass transit options.

[brian039]

Portland is my least favorite place in all of Maine that I've been to but it would be hard to get anywhere else by public transportation.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Concord Coach leaves Pinkham Notch and Gorham, NH and goes to Boston. From there, you'd have plenty of options to get to Portland--Greyhound, Amtrak, Megabus, more Concord Coach. Personally, I would just stay and hang and CouchSurf in Boston, but since you have a desire to see Portland I wouldn't try to sway you. Your other option, as far as I know, is to wait til the end, which has already been mentioned.

You can't really pop out of anywhere that the AT covers in Maine on a bus, cab, or car rental. In Rangeley I saw some thru-hikers trying to thumb a ride to Farmington, which was the nearest place to rent a car, because they needed it for some emergency back home. They had been trying and failing for 4 hours at that point. Hitching isn't easy up there either. You've basically got to get out from New Hampshire or Baxter unless you're up for a serious hitchhiking adventure.

[peakbagger]

There really arent any good public transportation options to Portland directly from the trail so it comes down to your tolerence for hitching. If you are ending at Katahdin, unless you pay a premium to fly out of Bangor, all roads (and buses) go through Portland. If you are busing t back you can get off in Freeport, check out LL beans and then take the Amtrack Downeaster to Portland or Boston.

Hitching isnt a bad option from Gorham NH, Pinkham Notch and Bethel Maine. I live in Gorham and there is a lot of traffic heading to Portland. The easiest option is to catch the Concord Coach bus from Gorham or Pinkham, then get off in North Conway, then hitch on Rt 302 East to Portland. Its about 60 miles and there is a lot of hiker traffic and vacation traffic heading that way. Its a bit more of hassle getting back as initially when you leave Portland you have a lot of local traffic between Portland and Windham. The hitch from Bethel require one hitch on RT 26 to Gray and then a hitch south on the Me turnpike ( I would really recomend the Pinkham or Gorham option over this one)

The greater Portland area has some local bus coverage but the places you probably want to go are somewhat spread out. The other issue is that its an expensive city, there are not many natives and options for safe stealth camping are limited as the city is a magnet for the homeless and cast offs from the mental health system, this is not a criticism it means that you need to be careful that you are not intruding in someone space.

There is an extensive urban trail system in Portland check out this link
http://trails.org/our-trails/ . The walk around back cove, under the interstate through the Eastern Promenade and over to the old Port is particularly nice and you are right on the water. You can extend the walk by heading across the bridge to So Portland and wrapping around the harbor on the South Portland side. A really nice place to go that you will recognize is Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth but its bascailly a hitch or a road walk from South Portland. A relatively cheap way to get out on the harbor is take one of the ferrys from the old Port to the islands. They offer something called the mailboat cruise which makes a circuit of the harbor.

Roughly paralleling part of the hitch to Portland is this trail.

http://www.sebagotothesea.org/news.html

[garlic08]

I believe the saying "You can't get there from here" originated in Maine and for good reason. I agree with all that's been said above. Visit Portland by bus on the way home from Katahdin. Downtown is an easy walk from the bus station. It is expensive, about $100/night in downtown hotels.

[takethisbread]

When I have hiked 2,000 miles and am a couple weeks away from being done, I doubt I will be thinking about a couple days in Portland. Nice town and all, good restaurants. If you want to visit a hipstery town in New England you could do Burlington VT in less time. Frankly I will be focused on Kathadin

[mainebob]

I would have to agree, that if you want to see Portland, do it on the way home. I do not know how you could easily get to Portland from anywhere on the trail in Maine.

It is true "you can't get there from hea"

FYI, I am a life long resident of Maine.

[peakbagger]

Note most of the comments are from locals like myself. I will take Portland over Burlington as I like salt water and the coast and would argue its just as easy to get to Portland as Burlington. No matter what it not a day trip so the costs (which are just as high in Burlington ) may disuade you from either. For most folks Maine is four weeks but you timing may vary.

[BirdBrain]

Okay, my 2 cents: I am a lifetime resident of Maine too. I am 30 minutes northeast of Portland. Portland is not Maine. Portland is Boston lite. Skip Portland. Go to Acadia.

[garlic08]

...Portland is Boston lite. Skip Portland. Go to Acadia.

...Especially if you can avoid Bah Hahbah. Acadia is beautiful. After two finishes of the AT when I decided it was too hard to get to Acadia from Baxter, I finally made it last summer at the end of a coast-to-coast bicycle tour. I got to Bar Harbor in peak tourist season and it put me off. I found out no buses go there at all any more, so you'd likely have to rent a car in Bangor. I had to backtrack by bicycle to get to public transport.

[Prime Time]

Since you have said you would like to see Portland, I'll assume you have your reasons and not try to talk you out of going but rather try and answer your question. In New England, things have historically moved north and south. So does public transportation today. North Conway, NH which is just south of Pinkham Notch, is only an hour and a half from Portland via rte 113. Unfortunately it's an east west road, so no busses. So depending on your aversion to hitch hiking, this is still doable, but not an ideal hitch by any means. Your other best option is to travel by bus down to Portland on your way home and then take a bus to Boston (several each day and it's only 90 minutes) and fly home from there. If you like Portland, you'd probably love Boston, so maybe stay there a couple of days too. It's beautiful in mid to late October. Good luck!

[Max L]

Since you have said you would like to see Portland, I'll assume you have your reasons and not try to talk you out of going but rather try and answer your question. In New England, things have historically moved north and south. So does public transportation today. North Conway, NH which is just south of Pinkham Notch, is only an hour and a half from Portland via rte 113. Unfortunately it's an east west road, so no busses. So depending on your aversion to hitch hiking, this is still doable, but not an ideal hitch by any means. Your other best option is to travel by bus down to Portland on your way home and then take a bus to Boston (several each day and it's only 90 minutes) and fly home from there. If you like Portland, you'd probably love Boston, so maybe stay there a couple of days too. It's beautiful in mid to late October. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like checking that area out as I make my way home would be the best way to go.
I like Boston and I'll probably spend a little time there before I fly home... but I tend to prefer small to mid sized cities. Burlington, VT is also a city I'd like to check out for day or two... I have heard nothing but good things (aside from cost of living). And i would also love to see as much Maine as possible. Everyone I know that's spent time in Baxter have said it like a "photoshopped version of Northern Wisconsin"
Public transportation in that area does seem a bit tricky for the car-less traveler though.

[S'more]

"you cahn't get theyah from heayah...."

[Red Hat]

Okay, my 2 cents: I am a lifetime resident of Maine too. I am 30 minutes northeast of Portland. Portland is not Maine. Portland is Boston lite. Skip Portland. Go to Acadia.

I'm not from Maine, but I do spend some time there, and this is the best advice on this thread yet! I spent a week in Acadia NP last year after my fall hike and absolutely fell in love with Maine all over again.

[S'more]

If you get there, maybe The Flip Sides will be at the Bayside Bowl.... :D

[RedBeerd]

Portland and Burlington both have awesome beer. What more do you want? (But Portland won't have Heady Topper) find a way to get there!

[peakbagger]

To the OP who is from the midwest, he will be blown away by either city. They are both great (but expensive) cities. No matter what, in either city make sure you get out on the water.

On a clear day, Portland has a great view of the whites from the Western Promenade. Both do have a fair share of micro breweries to sample. Portland has Allagash dark barrel conditioned beer that is really good stuff.

[BradMT]

Personally i wouldn't go out of my way to visit Portland... seriously, with all the beautiful coastal town, I can't fathom going to Pittsburgh On The Bay, despite it's much hyped eateries.

Go see Acadia NP... most don't bother, but the much quieter and equally spectacular side is the Schoodic Peninsula portion of the Park on the Winter Harbor side. I also wouldn't avoid Bar Harbor in Sept/Oct.

[T.S.Kobzol]

Realistically, none of the coastal towns are within reasonable reach for the AT thru hiker except for when returning home from completed thru hike ... Portland is where the final departure will probably take place.