Next Friday, November 7, join us at Waterville Creates from 5–7 p.m. for a pop-up exhibit celebrating the winners of our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest. This free event will showcase the winning images and runners-up, including third-place honorees and our publisher's favorite pic!

🐾 Our Pets Issue hits newsstands this week! In this issue: A look inside the feline mind, famous Mainers and their pets, Mr. Drew’s menagerie of magnificent misfits, and more. Our current issue ships free! Order your copy at shop.downeast.com/collections/newsstand. 📖

Five years and 180 legal retail operations later, has recreational cannabis secured a permanent place not just in Maine's economy but also in its culture?

“Marginal Way is a foil to Maine’s many steep climbs, those wooded ascents to solitary lookouts. Here, there is no destination and no striving. Hamstrings spared, one is cordially invited to slow down.”

John Bunker’s Palermo orchards are a living library of more than 500 rare and historic apple types. 🍎

The secret to Bob Wirtz's Portland shop's longevity lies in a devoted clientele and a little luck.

We heard there is an epic Cooper Flagg-themed corn maze in Maine this year...

From the Kennebec to the Dead to the Penobscot, rivers around the state are home to paddling communities and rafting outfitters determined to squeeze every last sopping-wet run out of the season.

The rugged grandeur of Maine’s western mountains converges with quintessential small-town charms around Rangeley Lake. When autumn colors get splashed across that landscape, you’ll discover a priceless foliage experience. Just don’t wait too long (like we did). 🍁🍂

#WhereInMaine? In 1823, a ship wrecked just offshore, shattering its hull and snapping its masts, and a passing schooner hauled the foundering vessel into this little harbor and claimed salvage rights over the cargo of fine mahogany.

If you pay him a few visits, owner Denis Howard will be able to make suggestions based not on an impersonal algorithm but on his understanding of your personal tastes.

Twenty-two miles offshore, among the tight-knit community that embraced her when she was adopted as a child, the owner of #MatinicusSaltFarm is turning seawater into delicate crystals of salt.

On this day in 1972, Maine’s entire coast was closed to shellfish harvesting due to an unimaginably colossal red-tide outbreak that produced toxicity levels more than 100 times higher than the known safety threshold.

Maine’s #100MileWilderness is a rugged sanctuary of windswept peaks, backcountry ponds, and the remotest stretch of the #AppalachianTrail — but you don’t need to be a grizzled thru-hiker to enjoy it.

The Art Deco theater reopened this summer after a series of closures and years of restoration. 🎭

Chef-owner Victoria Fimiani spins simple ingredients into flavorful meals inspired by her Italian roots. 🍽️

Monday, September 8, is the final day to enter and vote for your favorite Maine pics in our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest! Judged and Readers' Choice winners are eligible for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. Enter and vote now at photos.downeast.com.

Which one(s) are you adding to your reading list? 📚

We're giving away a set of four general-admission tickets and a set of two VIP tickets to the #NewportInternationalBoatShow, one of the largest and most prestigious boat shows in the Northeast. Two lucky winners will be drawn and notified via email on Monday, September 8. 🎟️

Only a small portion of the Pine Tree State has ever been publicly protected. Instead, #LandTrusts have toiled parcel by parcel to fend off development of natural spaces, turning private ownership into the leading model for land conservation in #Maine. 🌲

Join #DownEastAdventures workshop leader Darylann Leonard in the beautiful western mountains of #Maine during our October 17 Western Maine Fall Photography Workshop. Reserve your spot on this workshop at shop.downeast.com/collections/down-east-adventures/products/western-maine-photo-workshop. 🍁📷

The name of the restaurant is not a fib. Owners Jesse and Mindy Bouchard are committed to sourcing as many ingredients as they can locally.

There are four open spots on our September 19 Portrait Photography Workshop. Led by staff photographer Dave Waddell, this workshop is perfect for those wishing to take better family photos. He will teach you how to use light and background to create more dynamic and engaging photos of people.

Every year, thousands of readers nominate and vote for their favorites in dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoors, and travel in our annual #BestOfMaine poll. Here we present the five finalists for Best New Restaurant to have opened within the last year or so. 👇

Our September issue hits newsstands this week! In this issue: the results of our annual #BestOfMaine Reader Poll, how a woman is turning seawater into salt on Maine's most remote inhabited island, and more. Order your copy at shop.downeast.com/collections/newsstand. 📖

"One unfortunate moose can wind up playing host to tens of thousands of winter ticks. Some moose can live with ticks, but many, particularly those in their first year of life, when they’re growing, will succumb." —Jesse Ellison for @downeast.com

#WhereInMaine? No need to keep an eye out for slithering sand vipers or kicking camels in this little Sahara — the most dangerous thing in this shadeless landscape is probably sunburn. Sign up for our bi-weekly Snapshot newsletter to read our favorite answer to each month’s clue.

On this day in 1943, Maine State Police Case C-442, a sprawling 66-day manhunt through the north woods for the killer of a Registered Maine Guide, came to an end.

We want to see your Maine pics! Enter and vote for your favorite photos in our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest at photos.downeast.com by September 8. Winners in three categories — Landscape, Lifestyle, and Wildlife — are eligible for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.

Every detail of the fish sandwich is carefully attended to by husband-and-wife owners, and James Beard Award semifinalists, Jason Eckerson and Kate Hamm.

Lee Kantar, the only dedicated state moose biologist in the country, is charged with everything from managing the hunt to countering the deadly onslaught of winter ticks. 🫎 #Maine #Moose #MaineWildlife #Ticks #WinterTicks

Our August issue his newsstands this week! In this issue: how land trusts have become the predominant mode of land conservation in #Maine, a greener future for the Maine coast, environmentally-friendly home insulation, and more. Order your copy online at shop.downeast.com/collections/newsstand.

The survival of the iconic boat is a matter of #Maine sporting heritage — and long family history. 🛶

Happy 109th birthday, #AcadiaNationalPark! Learn how New England’s only national park came to be.👇

The 18-year-old Mainer is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in tonight’s #NBADraft. Before tuning in at 8 p.m. ET, learn more about where the basketball phenom got his start. 🏀👇

Our July issue is here! In this issue: state biologist Lee Kantar’s mission to protect Maine’s iconic moose, a new book by fisherman and amateur photographer Jeff Dworsky, and more. Order your copy at shop.downeast.com/products/down-east-magazine-july-2025. 📷 A bull moose, by Laura Zamfirescu

As we brace for tomorrow’s sweltering temps, let us remember the year Mainers faced the opposite problem: a frigid summer.

Lewis Rossignol’s visceral, cartoonish art and the wry videos he makes about it have attracted celebrity clients and 750,000 social-media followers. ✍️

With deep sadness, we share the passing of Down East’s vice chairman and former publisher, H. Allen Fernald, husband of Sally, father, grandfather, and friend to many.

Our 18th annual #BestOfMaine poll ends this Thursday, June 12! If you haven’t already, vote for your favorite finalists in up to 65 categories now. 👇

It is lupine season here in #Maine, and while the spike-like flowers are synonymous with our landscapes, it may be startling to realize they haven’t always been here.

Happy #NationalDoughnutDay! Which Maine-made doughnut will you be celebrating with? 🍩

Our official state treat has been through a lot in the last century, subjected to everything from interstate rivalries to political spats to corporate knock-offs. If anything, though, Mainers’ love (and appetite) for the cakey, creamy snack only ever grows. #WhoopiePies

There’s ONE WEEK LEFT to vote in our 18th annual #BestOfMaine poll. Vote for your favorite finalists in up to 65 categories by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 12.

#WhereInMaine? The ditch first appeared on local maps down east after the War of 1812. Get more hints.👇

The seasonal pie is only on the menu for about one month a year. 🍕

Where do you like to golf in Maine? Which state park is your favorite? Vote for your favorite finalists in our annual #BestOfMaine Poll by June 12 at vote.downeast.com! 🗳️ Thank you to Boothbay Harbor Country Club for sponsoring the Travel & Play section of this year’s poll.

Esquire listed Oun Lido’s as one of the best new restaurants in the country last year. Our editor-in-chief popped in to see if the Cambodian-inspired restaurant is worthy of the acclaim — spoiler alert: it’s pretty darn good. 🥟

Mainers have increasingly come to appreciate humble alewives as wildlife, as a charismatic species worthy of observing, photographing, and celebrating.

Which Maine garden center do you get your plants from? Which Maine furniture store do you love the most? Vote for your favorite finalists in our annual #BestOfMaine Poll by June 12 at vote.downeast.com! 🗳️ Thank you to Dow Furniture for sponsoring the Home & Garden portion of this year’s poll.