Schoodic Lake, Maine (Summer Trip)

[35Rem]

OK, change of plans.  Instead of Chattanooga, looks like we are gonna go to Maine.  Her family has a place up there, and they are gonna have a shin-dig up there for the 4th of July.
So....

Lets have the skinny on Maine.  I live in LA (Lower Alabama), so Maine is a long way from here.

This is primarily an R&R trip on the lake, but...

Are there any suggestions for things to do, see?

Places to eat?

Places to go?

Thanks for your help.

Larry

[PeterF.]

Depends on what your interested in: sportsman-type stuff, sightseeing/tourism, historical, shopping. Also depends on how you're getting there; if you're driving, you'll be going through a lot of places (like Boston) where there's other stuff to see/do too.  Schoodic Lake (Lake View, etc.) is pretty much smack in the geographic middle of the state, and about 25 miles West of I-95.  Medium-size rolling hills, thick evergreen woods, farm houses dotted around. There's lots of little lakes and small towns in that general area; they're dead in Winter and only come alive for the few short months of Summer. Around July 4th, it'll be "high season", with all the lake cottages full-up, and as much going on as can be. Early July probably won't be hot (certainly not by Alabama standards), MIGHT be rainy, blackflies should be gone by then.  Get hold of an overall state map, to get a sense of where you'll be and what's nearby.  North of where you'll be there's a whole lot of nothing but woods and lakes for 120 miles till you hit Canada (and not much there either for a while). Personally, I'd recommend a side trip to Acadia National Park ... not too far away.  It's on the coast, South-East of where you'll be and will be very different from Schoodic Lake and "classic Maine" (rock-bound coast and all that).

[Brett]

The other guys have covered it pretty well. The only thing I can add is if you are into fishing there is some awesome smallmouth bass fishing to be had up their.

[BlkHawk73]

If your heading that far, you'll be but a few minutes from me.  I'm down in the Portland area.  I'll wave to ya.    While the outdoors stuff has been covered, is there anything else that interests you?  I second the suggestion to stop in Kittery.  Shops a plenty for the ladies and you can wander around the trading post (www.KTP.com)  Some prices good, others...eehh.  But a very large selection.  eateries there as well so maybe a good stop just for a break.  easy on and off I95 as well.

[gonnagetem]

Are you flying to Bangor or driving to Maine? If you are driving in to Maine there is a pretty decent gun shop (I saw you ask that in another post) in Kittery called the Kittery Trading Post in Southern Maine, and LL Bean has a pretty good Hunting/Fishing store in Freeport with a limited selection of guns. Both are probably 2 1/2 -3 hours drive south from Schoodic Lake. The closest gun shop would be the Old Town Trading Post about a 1/2 hour from Schoodic and there is also an Old Town Canoe Factory with an outlet store near there. The Milo True Value Hardware has a few guns and a handful of knives, which is the closest town to the southern end of Schoodic Lake about 10 miles away. There aren't many places to eat out near the lake, but there is usually a fish truck that comes up from the coast and into Milo on Saturdays in the summer with fresh lobster/scallops/haddock, etc. by the pound to cook back at the lake. There are a lot of open woods and logging roads to explore around the lake and North of the area up towards Baxter State Park. Some decent 4-wheeling if you have ATV access. Some really fun whitewater rafting trips on the west branch of the Penobscot River near Baxter State Park north of Schoodic. There are a lot of hiking trails, Gulf Hagas near Katahdin Iron Works off route 11 north of Brownville is a decent hike through the woods with a lot of cascading waterfalls cut through the gorges and it is about 1/2 hour from the lake. The lake itself is a deep spring fed lake that stays relatively cool until late in the summer. Depending on the equipment and boat you'll have access to, you can catch Brook Trout, Togue (which is actually Lake Trout, but Mainers call them Togue?), limited Salmon, and the lake seems to be getting infested with Small Mouth Bass (which most Mainers don't care for, but seems to keep out of staters happy). A trip to see the coast of Maine is pretty crowded and touristy but usually worth seeing the rugged coastline if you've never been. Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on the coast is about 2 hours from Schoodic and the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound is a good place to get a lobster to eat right before the bridge crossing over to Mount Desert Island where Acadia is. And as far as soda goes, Moxie is the soda of choice up here for a few select people in Maine who can handle the distinct aftertaste. It's kind of a mix between coke and root beer with a really bitter aftertaste.