Summer 2026 took our family to the Maine coast — the dogs included. We came for lighthouses, puffins, and lobster, and found plenty of small-town summer along the way.

Lighthouse loop

Maine’s coast is studded with lighthouses, and we made a loop of them — a white tower with its keeper’s house, one standing at the end of a long rocky breakwater, another tucked into a wooded headland, and a hilltop light reached by a long white staircase (the dog climbed it too).

Puffins and seals

A cluster of puffins was perched right out in the open on the rocks. Nearby, a haul-out of seals was basking in the sun on a rocky ledge.

Lobster, obviously

It isn’t a Maine summer without lobster in more than one form — a classic lobster roll, and then the full hands-on experience: a whole lobster, a cracker, and a very happy kid.

The working waterfront

Between the postcard views, it’s worth remembering this coast is a working one — lobster boats at the dock, sailboats beyond, and a town going about its day behind them.

Small-town summer

Some days, small-town summer finds you: an antique fire truck rolling through a parade, a spin on a carnival ride, and the Owl's Head Transportation Museum stop to see Clara Bow’s 1929 Rolls-Royce.

Above it all

A mountaintop trail with the two pups, looking out over forested ridges and the water beyond. Then a gallery stop, where the dogs posed with the metal sculptures out front.

Plan: If a Maine summer is calling — a family trip, a coastal road trip, or a journey shaped around food allergies and your own pace — I can help you plan it.