Explore the Summer 2024 edition
Editor’s note
Ahh…summer in Maine. It doesn’t get much better. And the longer days and warmer temps mean more time to explore. Whether you are planning a future trip or ready to go this weekend, this issue offers plenty of inspiration to fuel your sense of adventure.
First stop: the grain belt of Maine, birthplace of the Maine Craft Pizza initiative that celebrates the most sharable of meals. From crust to plate, these pies are made with locally grown grains, topped with seasonal ingredients, cooked in a wood-fired oven and paired with mouthwatering local brews. Find out where you can grab your next pie at Pizza with a mission.
Want to dive deeper into the heart of Maine? You can’t get more authentic than the local general store, where you are just as likely to find fishing bait and hardware as freshly made baked goods, artisanal local products and the finest wines and provisions. Bastions of Maine culture, these community centers are cherished for not only the products they sell but the connections they foster. Plan your next trip with The Maine general store tour.
While you’re out exploring, you may notice the rolling farmland home to Maine’s sheep, alpaca and other fiber flocks. They are the inspiration behind a movement to grow the local fiber economy in Maine. Read more in Fibershed.
If you’re looking for summer fun for all ages, this issue has you covered. Dive in and make it a summer to remember with Discover Maine’s undersea world, Family camps, Gravel biking 101 and so much more.
As always, thank you for supporting our magazine with your subscriptions and gift subscriptions. If you like what you find here, please stay in touch by following us on Instagram and Facebook and signing up for our monthly e-newsletter.
Heather Chandler
Editor & Publisher
On the cover: Sebago Lake fun
Over millions of years, ancient rivers and Ice Age glaciers sculpted the granite basin that now holds Sebago Lake in Cumberland County. At 45 square miles and 307 feet deep, it is a giant among Maine’s many lakes, second only to Moosehead in area, and the deepest in in the state. It is also one of Maine’s most vital natural resources, supplying drinking water to nearly one-sixth of the state’s population and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Sebago derives from the word sobagoo in the Abenaki language, meaning “it is the sea,” and its name is spot-on: End to end, it measures 12 miles, and if you walked around its entire shoreline, you’d log 105 miles on your pedometer. Surrounded by the towns of Casco, Naples, Raymond, Sebago, Standish and Windham, the lake is also home to the bucolic Frye Island, a thousand-acre seasonal community accessible via public ferry or private boat in spring, summer and fall. At the lake’s northern shore lies Sebago Lake State Park, one of Maine’s original five state parks, which has been welcoming vacationers year-round since 1938. Thanks to its many coves and forested inlets, Sebago Lake can easily handle the many happy sailors, anglers, swimmers and summer campers, who experience it as heaven on earth—and rightly so.
Photo: Cait Bourgault Photography