Next Friday, November 7, join us at Waterville Creates from 5–7 p.m. for a pop-up exhibit celebrating the winners of our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest. This free event will showcase the winning images and runners-up, including third-place honorees and our publisher's favorite pic!

a dog and cat on the November 2025 cover of Down East magazine

🐾 Our Pets Issue hits newsstands this week! In this issue: A look inside the feline mind, famous Mainers and their pets, Mr. Drew’s menagerie of magnificent misfits, and more. Our current issue ships free! Order your copy at shop.downeast.com/collections/newsstand. 📖

Five years and 180 legal retail operations later, has recreational cannabis secured a permanent place not just in Maine's economy but also in its culture?

“Marginal Way is a foil to Maine’s many steep climbs, those wooded ascents to solitary lookouts. Here, there is no destination and no striving. Hamstrings spared, one is cordially invited to slow down.”

A Pomologist’s 50-Year Mission to Revive Maine’s Heritage-Apple Varieties Is Bearing Fruit John Bunker’s Palermo orchards are a living library of more than 500 rare and historic apple types.

John Bunker’s Palermo orchards are a living library of more than 500 rare and historic apple types. 🍎

Meet the Spin Doctor Behind Enterprise Records Even when most vinyl-record shops were fading out, Bob Wirtz wouldn’t let the music stop at his Portland emporium.

The secret to Bob Wirtz's Portland shop's longevity lies in a devoted clientele and a little luck.

Get Lost in Maine’s Best Corn Mazes After popping it and slathering it with butter, wandering through it is our third-favorite thing to do with corn. Here are our favorite Maine corn mazes.

We heard there is an epic Cooper Flagg-themed corn maze in Maine this year...

Splashing Around With Maine’s Whitewater Fanatics When the operators of Harris Dam send thousands of cubic feet of water downstream, the river, otherwise sedate and cobble strewn, springs to life.

From the Kennebec to the Dead to the Penobscot, rivers around the state are home to paddling communities and rafting outfitters determined to squeeze every last sopping-wet run out of the season.

How to Enjoy the Autumn Grandeur of Maine’s Western Mountains When vivid fall colors get splashed across the quintessential small-towns around Rangeley Lake, you’ll discover a priceless foliage experience.

The rugged grandeur of Maine’s western mountains converges with quintessential small-town charms around Rangeley Lake. When autumn colors get splashed across that landscape, you’ll discover a priceless foliage experience. Just don’t wait too long (like we did). 🍁🍂

Can You Name This Historic Maine Harbor? It is home to a bed-and-breakfast that has been around since the Civil War.

#WhereInMaine? In 1823, a ship wrecked just offshore, shattering its hull and snapping its masts, and a passing schooner hauled the foundering vessel into this little harbor and claimed salvage rights over the cargo of fine mahogany.

Maine’s Last Video-Rental Shop Does What Netflix Can’t Who needs algorithms as long as Denis Howard is still running Belfast's Opera House Video?

If you pay him a few visits, owner Denis Howard will be able to make suggestions based not on an impersonal algorithm but on his understanding of your personal tastes.

Usha Beaudoin Is Making Matinicus Even Saltier After running out of salt while cooking on the remote island, Beaudoin made her own and became mesmerized by the process of turning an infinite resource into a substance, beautiful in and of itself.

Twenty-two miles offshore, among the tight-knit community that embraced her when she was adopted as a child, the owner of #MatinicusSaltFarm is turning seawater into delicate crystals of salt.

The Gulf of Maine's First Massive Red Tide Stunned Coastal Mainers In 1972, an unprecedented algae bloom wreaked havoc on fisheries and confounded ocean observers.

On this day in 1972, Maine’s entire coast was closed to shellfish harvesting due to an unimaginably colossal red-tide outbreak that produced toxicity levels more than 100 times higher than the known safety threshold.

A Novice’s Guide to Hiking Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness You don’t need to be a grizzled thru-hiker to enjoy Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness, the remotest stretch of the Appalachian Trail.

Maine’s #100MileWilderness is a rugged sanctuary of windswept peaks, backcountry ponds, and the remotest stretch of the #AppalachianTrail — but you don’t need to be a grizzled thru-hiker to enjoy it.

Bar Harbor’s Criterion Theatre Is Staging A Comeback After a series of closures and years of restoration, the Art Deco playhouse on Mount Desert Island is ready for its next act.

The Art Deco theater reopened this summer after a series of closures and years of restoration. 🎭

Watershed Wood-Fired Kitchen, In Bethel, Is an Instant Classico In Bethel, chef-owner Victoria Fimiani spins simple ingredients into flavorful meals inspired by her Italian roots.

Chef-owner Victoria Fimiani spins simple ingredients into flavorful meals inspired by her Italian roots. 🍽️

Monday, September 8, is the final day to enter and vote for your favorite Maine pics in our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest! Judged and Readers' Choice winners are eligible for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. Enter and vote now at photos.downeast.com.

9 Great Maine Novels from the Down East Reading List Our running tally of page-turning beach reads, murder mysteries, family dramas, and more from the state's talented authors.

Which one(s) are you adding to your reading list? 📚

Enter Now for the Chance to Win Tickets to the Newport International Boat Show We're giving away a set of four general-admission tickets and a set of two VIP tickets to the September 11-14 event to two lucky winners.

We're giving away a set of four general-admission tickets and a set of two VIP tickets to the #NewportInternationalBoatShow, one of the largest and most prestigious boat shows in the Northeast. Two lucky winners will be drawn and notified via email on Monday, September 8. 🎟️

In Maine's Land Trusts We Trust The magnificent landscape might well be our state’s greatest asset, but only a small portion of it has ever been publicly protected.

Only a small portion of the Pine Tree State has ever been publicly protected. Instead, #LandTrusts have toiled parcel by parcel to fend off development of natural spaces, turning private ownership into the leading model for land conservation in #Maine. 🌲

Western Maine Photo Workshop | Fall Photography | Down East Adventures | Down East Shop Instructor Darylann Leonard is lucky enough to call the Bridgton area of Western Maine her backyard, and she's excited to share her local knowledge of photo locations, local weather, and great food st...

Join #DownEastAdventures workshop leader Darylann Leonard in the beautiful western mountains of #Maine during our October 17 Western Maine Fall Photography Workshop. Reserve your spot on this workshop at shop.downeast.com/collections/down-east-adventures/products/western-maine-photo-workshop. 🍁📷

Yolked Farm to Table Is Dishing Up Meals You Can Feel Good About The Windham restaurant’s owners, Jesse and Mindy Bouchard, are committed to sourcing as much as they can locally.

The name of the restaurant is not a fib. Owners Jesse and Mindy Bouchard are committed to sourcing as many ingredients as they can locally.

Portrait Photography Workshop | Down East Adventures Learn from Down East's staff photographer how to create more dynamic and engaging photos of people.

There are four open spots on our September 19 Portrait Photography Workshop. Led by staff photographer Dave Waddell, this workshop is perfect for those wishing to take better family photos. He will teach you how to use light and background to create more dynamic and engaging photos of people.

The Top 5 Best New Restaurants in Maine Presenting our readers' favorite Maine restaurants to have opened in the last two years. Hope you're hungry.

Every year, thousands of readers nominate and vote for their favorites in dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoors, and travel in our annual #BestOfMaine poll. Here we present the five finalists for Best New Restaurant to have opened within the last year or so. 👇

A crimson crustacean ready to be cracked

Our September issue hits newsstands this week! In this issue: the results of our annual #BestOfMaine Reader Poll, how a woman is turning seawater into salt on Maine's most remote inhabited island, and more. Order your copy at shop.downeast.com/collections/newsstand. 📖

The Man with a Plan to Save Maine’s Moose Population Lee Kantar has been compiling copious data about both moose and winter ticks in hopes of saving the former from the latter.

"One unfortunate moose can wind up playing host to tens of thousands of winter ticks. Some moose can live with ticks, but many, particularly those in their first year of life, when they’re growing, will succumb." —Jesse Ellison for @downeast.com

Can You Name This Parched Patch of Land? Thousands of years ago, retreating glaciers pulverized rock into silt.

#WhereInMaine? No need to keep an eye out for slithering sand vipers or kicking camels in this little Sahara — the most dangerous thing in this shadeless landscape is probably sunburn.

Sign up for our bi-weekly Snapshot newsletter to read our favorite answer to each month’s clue.

The Phantom of the Allagash Spooked Mainers and Stumped Investigators Eighty years ago, an act of shocking violence in the Maine woods kicked off a sprawling manhunt that captivated the country.

On this day in 1943, Maine State Police Case C-442, a sprawling 66-day manhunt through the north woods for the killer of a Registered Maine Guide, came to an end.

We want to see your Maine pics! Enter and vote for your favorite photos in our 11th Annual #DownEastReaderPhotoContest at photos.downeast.com by September 8. Winners in three categories — Landscape, Lifestyle, and Wildlife — are eligible for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.

At Biddeford's Fish & Whistle, the Fish Sandwich Is Front and Center The restaurant's fish sandwich is typical and, at the same time, exceptional.

Every detail of the fish sandwich is carefully attended to by husband-and-wife owners, and James Beard Award semifinalists, Jason Eckerson and Kate Hamm.