What is there to do at UMaine and the surrounding areas?

Beyond academics, the benefits of doing your graduate work at UMaine are vast.

Spend your free time exploring some of Maine’s most breathtaking places. Maine offers some of the best hiking, camping, cycling, and boating opportunities you will find in the country.

With all its crags and jags, Maine's 3,478 mile coastline is longer than California's coast.  It has more than 6,000 lakes, and 17 million acres of forest. Acadia National Park is only '45 minutes from Orono, so it's easy to enjoy its pristine 45,000 acres of mountains, lakes, hiking/cycling paths, and granite coastline. Baxter State Park is a true camping experience in the most untouched part of the east coast. Baxter contains 200,000 acres, the largest lake in Maine, and the highest mountain. Go whitewater rafting in the Penobscot river, or fishing in a small local stream

Spend your weekends exploring the scenic towns off Route 1 along coastal Maine. Have some lobster bisque in Camden, dessert in Rockland, or get a full seven course dinner on the Pier in Portland, widely considered one of the best foodie towns in the U.S. If you are in the mood to shop, check out LLBean and all the Outlets in Freeport.

Spend your summers lounging the many beaches or canoeing in the 32,000 miles of rivers.  Hike or cycle Maine’s over 20,000 miles of trails, and then enjoy a lobster bake on the rocky coast. Go sailing and horseback riding, or any of the other countless outdoor activities available to you during the summers in Maine (we are called "Vacationland" for a reason).

Recreational activities are equally plentiful in the winter. Enjoy skiing/snow boarding at one of our many mountains, such as Sugarloaf and Sunday River. Maine’s hiking trails turn into cross country skiing and snow shoeing trails, or enjoy a day snowmobiling through the woods. Ice skating is a popular sport on our many lakes and ponds, followed by hot chocolate at a local diner.

UMaine has many things to offer, and the surrounding regions provide even more options for you to explore. We believe in a clean, healthy lifestyle and Maine provides us with abundant resources to allow that to happen.