Road Trip - Driving the Downeast Highway, Maine’s Route 1 - By Larry Nutson

Driving the Downeast Highway
Maine’s Route 1

By Larry Nutson
Executive Editor and Bureau Chief
Chicago Bureau
THE AUTO CHANNEL

Awhile back my wife informed me she was going away to Western Massachusetts for a few days with some of her lady friends. She suggested after this getaway we meet at the home of our daughter and her husband who live in Boston’s Northshore. Okay by me.

After some thought I decided I too would have a bit of a getaway from our Chicago neighborhood. Maine’s Route 1 “Downeast Highway” winds through Acadia National Park and the New England Coastline. Maine Route 1 is 3,478 miles of twisty road along a rocky coast with over 65 lighthouses and 23 islands full of fishing villages and lobster shacks.

Along the way were some car things. Owls Head Transportation Museum, Seal Cove Auto Museum and Maine Classic Car Museum were three places that interested me.

As it turned out the Owls Head Museum was also having a “Wings and Wheels” airshow on the weekend I would be passing through.

Maine is one of the most rural in the US. It has rugged beauty and many small towns that have been around since the 1700s. Plus, driving Route 1, a scenic, sometimes hilly, sometimes twisty two-lane roadway that connects all these small towns would be pleasurable and interesting.

Off I went. An airflight into Bangor with an overnight stay. Pick up a rental car and an early morning start heading to Bar Harbor on Route 1A. A chance stop at Moto Car Antique Autos in Ellsworth. Bar Harbor was perfect for a second cup of coffee and a stroll through this quaint tourist town to stretch my legs.

I didn’t take in Acadia National Park. Next time. Its Cadillac Mountain sits at 1,530 ft and is the highest point along the North Atlantic Seaboard. Be at the top at sunrise and you’ll be one of the first in the US to see a new day. (

Then on to Owls Head Museum with plenty to see in the museum, along with a display of locally-owned classic cars, and vintage 80 to 100-year old aircraft performing demonstration flights.

Next stop Portland. Driving Route 1 I saw antiques, art, artifacts, clock shops, Adirondack chairs, farm stands, fish shacks, flea markets, fudge shops, gazebos, and more, including alpaca socks (go figure).

And then there are lighthouses. I visited the Owls Head Light, the Portland Head Light, and eventually in Massachusetts the Hospital Point Lighthouse that marks the entrance to the Salem and Beverly harbors.

All in all I covered 335 miles of Maine’s scenic Route 1. Passing slowly through many a small town, driving at 25 mph gave me a chance to see many a sight. It also makes one think about what it was like living here 100 or 200 years ago.

Happy Motoring!