I’ll be there in the 3rd week in June…totally flexible as to where I paddle(as long as there are lobster pounds close by! 
Any recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
It’s a long coastline
If you’re going to be fairly far north, Stonington is absolutely beautiful. Farther south, the Bailey Island/Orr’s Island area is really nice. There’s also plenty of paddling around Casco Bay. Near the NH border, there’s the Nubble Light area.
Bar Harbor, and Acadia Nat. Park.
Are some of the nicest places I’ve paddled in Maine. I stay up there over the summers, and that area has plenty of the lobster pounds you are looking for (alas I am allergic to Lobster!!!) but the Harbor area is great, you can go around the porcupine islands, and you can paddle in Jordan’s Pond in Acadia. I’d check that area out if you are going to be further up the coast, it’s about a 4 1/2 hour drive once you get in the state to get up there, but it’s worth the drive!!
Ditto
I spend most of my time paddling around Mount Desert Island. I’ve done a weekend each on Casco Bay and the Stonington area. I’ve heard great things about Muscongus Bay too.
It’s a beautiful coastline. Watch out for the lobstermen heading to those lobster pounds - they think we’re “Atlantic speedbumps!”
Hope you have a great visit.
I’m heading up
the 21-23rd to Boothbay for Windjamer days
I want to paddle in harbor when the ships come in and while they have the fireworks.
Never paddled Maine but
if you want beautiful hiking areas with magnificent scenery, you can’t find much better than Acadia.
Boothbay
If you get the chance, paddle out to Damariscove Island, and also circumnavigate Southport Is (Must go with the tides, tho). Some good paddling there.
Wayne
Mid-Coast, Muscongus Bay
The Maine coast is paddlers’ heaven. My favorite is Muscongus Bay as it is free of commercial traffic (except lobster boats) and littered with islands. There are also very few power pleasure boats and nearly no jet skis.
Check out Maine Island Trail Association (MITA).
I like Muscongus Bay for
the same reasons, and go there every summer. Somehow I’ve never yet paddled Acadia, but it is the most stunning section of the Maine coastline and must be fantastic paddling.
There are some excellent guidebooks (Dorcas Miller’s “Kayaking the Maine Coast” is my favorite). My favorite Maine paddle is to launch from Round Pond (where there is also a nice little kayak shop, Sea Spirit), and paddle out around the many islands of Muscongus Bay or (weather permitting) around Pemaquid Point. The coastline there has fantastic ancient striped rock formations. The islands are varied in their terrain. Round Pond has good lobsters and easy parking.
Sanjay
Muscungous, Shelter
I am not familiar w/the Acadia area, but another nice thing about Muscungous is that you can find a route on any given day that allows you to respect the weather, especially from Round Top where you can paddle somewhat behind islands for a real healthy distance further out to sea or upriver. In June that’s not a small favor - for years we were in Friendship in the last two weeks of June (we have sice shifted to July) and found that to be more erratic weather and conditions than later on.
Just one caution in case it is not obvious on whatever you are reading - the water still likely to be at or under 56 degrees and the fog can roll in to be pea soup within half an hour from Pemaquid Point halfway to Waldoboro. I don’t know what your navigational background is, but you can’t count on being able to get home by only spotting landmarks at a distance. Bring able to estimate poisition on a chart, or having a GPS unit gets much more important.
But paddling in the fog is pretty nice too - and as above, you won’t be ducking the kind of boat traffic in Muscongous Bay that you would in Casco or Penobscot.
Lobsters nearby
Another plus for Muscongus Bay is that it is often the area with the highest density of lobster pots.
I very much recommend Friendship. There are a few B&Bs in the village - one run by a Maine guide who does kayak outings etc… There are also a number of public launch sites.
The 3rd week of June it is pretty quiet.
Have to agree with Sea Spirit They set
– Last Updated: May-13-05 11:43 PM EST –
up a night paddle last summer. I was really nice and fun well planned. I am thinking about another one with them this summer.
It’s been fun to watch
that little company grow. They have rentals on the Damarscotta River now (in the town of Damariscotta, right next to the famous reversing waterfall in and out of the Great Salt Bay) as well as the retail shop in Round Pond.
I have a fantasy of retiring to Muscongus Bay one day and running an on-the-water Bed and Breakfast for kayakers, since the islands’ campsite capacity is often exceeded on summer weekends. I’m trying to talk my wife into it. She’s love to retire to Maine, but prefers the lakes (swimming, XC skiing) to the cold, harsh ocean.
Sanjay
Thanks…
for all the suggestions! Looking forward to trying several! Living in Florida I sort of forget the water is cold in other places…maybe I will re-think taking my Scupper Pro and take the Slipstream instead. Yes, and I guess I better pack something other than shorts!
Yes, Slipstream and immersion wear
I think your Slipstream would be a fun boat to have for Maine coastal paddling - it is intended for lumpy water.
Yes, you will need to bring clothing that will be safe should you dump in water that might be as warm as 60 degrees - or might not be that warm.
It’s true–the Gulf Stream
bounces off Cape Cod and heads for Europe. Everything from the north side of the Cape and up is significantly colder.
But it’s beautiful, rocky and wild.
Sanjay