East Coast Road Trip: Portsmouth, Portland, and Maine Coast with a kid
Sunset and low tide at Wolfe’s Neck Ocean Front Camping (Maine)
We live in a landlocked state; a state that has beautiful lakes and rivers, and some tiny little mountains, but we LOVE water, and so does our daughter. So anytime we can squeeze in a quick visit to some coastal states, even if it’s just a 4-day weekend, we will sprint up to New Hampshire and Maine in order to get a fix of vitamin sea. We’ve taken road trips from Pennsylvania to Maine five times in our daughter’s first years of life; it’s our favorite away.
In this post, we’ll just cover a small area in NH and Maine that can be visited in a long weekend-the area surrounding Portsmouth, NH, Portland Maine, Freeport, Wolfe’s Neck, and Reid State Park.
Our favorite place in Maine is Acadia National Park, but it’s a far drive for many.
Reid State Park- Memorial Day Weekend
Stop #1: Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Playing in the chilly ocean in Rye, New Hampshire
Where to stay with kids in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
We’ve visited Portsmouth twice since our daughter was born, and our favorite hotel is the Residence Inn by Marriott Portsmouth Downtown/Waterfront. We use our Marriott card annual night and or points, and we can usually book this hotel for free. We love the small pool, having a kitchen in our room, and the proximity to good food.
Hotel Room: Residence Inn Portsmouth Downtown/ Waterfront
Kid-Friendly Activities with kids near Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Our favorite place near Portsmouth is actually in the town of Rye. Leave Portsmouth and head for Odiorne State Park. Once you pay the entrance fee, you have a beautiful park with a large playground, picnic tables, walking path, and the option to visit the Seacoast Science Center- which is perfect for a toddler. There is also the chance for older kids to explore the history of the area, and there’s usually a food truck parked not too far from the playground.
But when we are driving to Maine, we try to stop here for a couple hours to run around, play and explore.
If you visit on a nice, sunny day, you may also want to explore the beaches in Rye. When we have visited in May, it’s been a bit too chilly to enter the water, so we dress our daughter up in a rain suit and boots and she simply plays in the sand and splashes around.
Playground at Odiorne State Park, Rye, NH
Toddler at Seacoast Science Center, Rye, NH
View of the water from Odiorne State Park, Rye, NH
Where to eat with kids in Portsmouth, NH
Breakfast or lunch:
Popovers On the Square: We’ve stopped here a couple times to pick up a box of popovers, which goes great with your morning coffee. However, they also offer soups and other lunch staples.
Lunch or dinner:
Each time we’ve visited Portsmouth, we end up at the same places. Our favorite late lunch or early dinner spot has been the River House on the waterfront. It’s on the water, not too loud, and easy to pop in without a reservation if you have an early bird dinner. From the center of town, it’s an easy walk down to the water. But, bring a stroller if you have a kiddo whose legs tired easily, it’s a bit of an uphill back from the water front.
When we’ve been in a pinch, and the toddler could not handle eating out, we’re also ordered from DoorDash at the Portsmouth Gas Light Co to eat in our lovely kitchen at our hotel room.
Treats:
On the walk back from dinner, check out Annabelle’s Natural Ice Cream or Kilwins which has chocolate, treats, and ice cream.
Popovers on the Square, Portsmouth, NH
Enjoying some chowder at River House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Dinner at River House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Stop #2: Portland, Maine
Bug Light House, South Portland, Maine
Kid-Friendly Activities in and around Portland, Maine
Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine:
This is possibly our daughter’s favorite place to visit. We would recommend this especially for children ages 1 to 6 years old. There are three floors of play space, making this the perfect spot for a rainy or very hot day where you just need to take a break. On the first floor includes the theatre, an a play area. We generally take the elevator up to the third floor, play with the water, peak at the fish, and then spend a an hour working our way back down through the fire house, lobster boat, doctor’s office, and airport. Everything here invites toddlers and young children to use their imaginations.
See below for the many joyous moments of creative, hands-on play time that our daughter experienced at the children’s museum.
Bug Light House
If you’re looking for an easy light house to visit with ample parking, then look no further than the Bug Light House in South Portland. There’s an easy walk along the water to the small lighthouse. If you happen to be traveling with bikes, you could also take a ride on the trail nearby, or if you have a sleeping infant or toddler, this is a great place for a long stroller walk. (Fun fact- when I was training for a half marathon, I used to bike and run from Bug Light to the local Dunkin Donuts, refuel, and then continue on my adventure.)
Where to eat, drink, and treat yourself in Portland with a toddler
Fun fact, in 2018, Bon Appetit magazine names Portland, Maine the best restaurant city in the U.S. If you are a foodie and love to eat out, you will not be bored in Portland, bring your stretchy pants. Alas, we are not foodies, and our toddler’s palette is a bit limited. But, over the years in Portland, we’ve found some very specific places that we like to visit for a coffee, bagel, donut, fries, or beer. So, here they are, in no particular order—our go to treats in Portland.
Donuts: The Holy Donut- delicious potato donuts
Fries: Duckfat- Belgian-style fries
Coffee: Tandem Coffee Roasters
Bagel: Mister Bagel
Beer: Allagash
Stop #3: Freeport, Maine
If you want to capture the iconic shot of the massive L.L. Bean boot, then you will want to head to the flagship store in Freeport. Now, while you are thinking that a store might not be entertaining with kids, we always find that this is a great place to stop before we head to a camp ground. The L.L. Bean stores surround a grassy, open area where you can find yoga, concerts, and sometimes just a simple game of baggo. It’s a great place to run around.
The flagship store has an aquarium inside and the children’s area inside the store usually boasts a tent or two to climb in to.
Visiting L.L. Bean Flagship Store in Freeport, Maine
Playing inside the L.L. Bean Store in Freeport, Maine
Stop #4: Wolfe’s Neck Ocean Front Camping
Playing by the bay near Wolfe’s Neck Ocean Front Camping
Wolfe’s Neck is a family-friendly farm, campground that happens to have an amazing water-front position not far from a state park, and driving distance to Freeport if you need groceries or want to break up the day with time in town and time in nature.
If you are used to state parks or national parks, then the facilities at Wolfe’s Neck are not quite as wonderful. The campsites are a little close together, and the campsites with the best locations (near the water) also happen to have the worst bathrooms. However, for a couple nights, this is a perfectly fine spot to bring your family. There is a playground on one of the loops, a shop if you need anything, and an option to rent kayaks. They even have cabins if you’re not up for tent camping.
We like Wolfe’s Neck because there are lovely tidal pools down by the water that are perfect for exploring with a capable toddler. (Though our daughter was 3 and 4 when we brought her here, I probably would not have camped here when she was younger than 24 months.)
Camping at Wolfe Neck’s Oceanfront Camping in Freeport, Maine
Stop #5: Reid State Park
After Freeport, if you have time to venture a little further north, then you can try to make it to Reid State Park near Georgetown, Maine. This park has a wide, sandy beach, which goes on for half a mile, and can be extremely hard to find among the rocky shores of Maine and New Hampshire. This is the perfect place to dig in the sand, run around, and just relax.
Though the ocean water is never particularly warm, we found that if we dug a hole, our daughter warmed up enough to enjoy her time there.
Reid State Park, Maine with a toddler
Memorial Day Weekend at Reid State Park
Where to eat near Reid State Park
Down the road from Reid State Park, you can find a laid back outdoor dining area on the water. After a morning on the beach, head over to Five Islands Lobster, Co. There are no reservations here, it’s first come, first-served, and you have to get in line to order. But, being able to sit on the water with your lobster roll or fried clams is a great experience. We visited on a hot day, and were able to find a little shade to hide in before we had some ice cream. The wait can be long, so bring some drawing materials or other items to keep your kiddo entertained.
Five Islands Lobster, Co. Georgetown, Maine
Where to stay near Georgetown, Maine
If you're looking for an easy place to spend the night near Georgetown, there are a number of small hotels, and Marriott has two nearby. The Residence Inn will offer a small kitchen if you want to cook during your travels. If you’re going to be roadtripping through New England, we found that Marriott always had the best points deals, and had great success booking last minute, even on holiday weekends.
This Chase card has great benefits that range from 3 to 5 nights free, and an annual free night. If you click on our link and are approved, we will be rewarded with points (at no cost to you).
Acadia National Park (further north)
If you make it as far as Reid State Park, you might be willing to go a bit further to one of my favorite places on earth, Acadia National Park.
We wrote all about camping with our daughter in Acadia when she was 10 weeks old- you can read about that over on Baby Can Travel, where Christina has been a guest blogger.
