Miles and miles of shoreline and cultural remnants in every direction. Maine’s rugged coastline offers more to groups than just spectacular views.
Lighthouse Tours
Miles of charming coastal towns highlight the state’s maritime heritage in over 60 lighthouses, as well as quaint fishing villages and explorable islands. As you can imagine, tours and cruises to some of Maine’s most iconic lighthouses, including a jaunt to Portland Head Light, the oldest and most photographed lighthouse in the state, usually top the group to-do list. Numerous companies, including Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours and the Windjammer Fleet—the largest historic fleet of traditional sailing vessels in North America—make it easy to explore this facet of Maine’s culture.
Cultural Trails
The rugged beauty and diversity of Maine, epitomized by the nearly 50,000-acre Acadia National Park and the roaring Atlantic coastline, is festooned with cultural and wildlife trails. In fact, some of the Appalachian Trails’ most challenging miles (and exciting geocaching) meander through Maine. Local museums, such as the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath and the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, offer their own lighthouse cruises.
Not Your Average Adventures
Rock climbing on the pink granite cliffs of Acadia, scuba diving for world-famous lobsters, guided moose safaris, tapping fresh maple syrup, hopping on a “brew bus” in Portland, or getting the supreme adrenaline rush at the beachfront amusement park, Palace Playland, are also fun and engaging experiences that are easily integrated into meetings, events and incentives.
Going Local
In Casco Bay, Maine incentives galore with Rippleffect, which manages the 26-acre Cow Island, an early 20th century military installation turned eco-retreat, offering groups countless outdoor adventure opportunities, gourmet meals and rustic accommodations in yurts and historic bunkers.
Hitting the Museum Trail
Maine’s Art Museum Trail highlights over 73,000 works of art spread over eight diverse museums and 200 scenic miles from Ogunquit to Bangor. Paintings and sculptures by numerous American artists, and French artists Degas and Renoir, will woo the art lovers in your group. In the heart of the Portland’s cultural arts district, the Portland Art Museum’s roughly 30,000 sf of bookable event space has made it a hub for social and corporate gatherings, with catering achieved through various local partnerships. Other museums offer event space as well as lectures, personal artist talks and art walks, poetry film screenings and drawing sessions. For a hands-on art experience that groups can bring home, Art Night Out in Portland offers customizable team building sessions on jewelry making, collage, painting and book making for up to 50 attendees.
