The Route
Start: Downtown Portland, Maine. You can ride the Amtrak Downeaster -- bikes permitted on board.
Amtrak Info
Route: Day 1: About 45 miles. Eat a hearty breakfast in downtown Portland and enjoy the beautiful Eastern Promenade before heading south on the Eastern Trail, following signs for East Coast Greenway/Eastern Trail/US Bike Route 1. Stop for lunch in Saco or Biddeford. In Wells, you’ll get off the East Coast Greenway and follow Sanford Avenue towards the the coast to downtown Wells. Find overnight accommodations and dinner options here.
Wells info
Trip route, download turn by turn directions
Day 2: Roughly 60 miles. Head back west on Sanford Avenue to the Greenway and follow signs to the New Hampshire line. You’ll be mostly on quiet residential and country roads. Cross the Memorial Bridge into Portsmouth, NH, with many lunch options. Follow the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway all the way to the Massachusetts state line. Continue into Newburyport, where you can take an MBTA commuter train, bikes permitted on off-peak trains.
MBTA Commuter Train info
Trip route, download turn by turn directions
Local knowledge
Enjoy the views of the Atlantic Ocean along the New Hampshire route — it’s one of the few stretches of the East Coast Greenway that truly hugs the ocean coastline.
Provisions
In Portland, check out Local Sprouts Cooperative for breakfast and lunch and Arabica Coffee House on Commercial Street. In downtown Portsmouth, Portsmouth Book & Bar makes a fun lunch stop.
Arabica Coffee House
Tandem Coffee
Portsmouth Book and Bar
Molly Henry served as New England Coordinator for East Coast Greenway Alliance until 2018.
