ME Route 109 (North → South)
New Hampshire → Acton → Shapleigh → Sanford → Wells

ME Route 111 (East → West) Maine Route 111 runs through a mix of southern Maine mill towns, lakes-region communities, local businesses, and stretches of road that somehow always seem to have at least one Dunkin’ nearby. It connects coastal southern Maine to more inland towns, slowly trading beach traffic and city intersections for forests, camp roads, and smaller-town Maine energy. It’s not the scenic “tourist” route – but honestly, it feels a lot more like the real Maine a lot of locals actually use every day.

Biddeford → Lyman → Alfred

ME Route 112 (North → South) From inland Maine backroads to the southern Maine coast, this road slowly shifts from quiet woods to beach traffic. Maine Route 112 runs through smaller inland communities, forests, rivers, and stretches of classic rural Maine before eventually connecting back toward the busier southern Maine coast. It’s one of those roads where the scenery gradually changes from farm stands and tree lines to campgrounds, traffic lights, and people hauling beach chairs in the back of their SUVs. Not every memorable road trip road needs dramatic overlooks. Sometimes the quieter roads end up telling the better story.

Gorham → Buxton → Saco

ME Route 117 (North → South) One of those classic inland Maine roads where things slowly get quieter the farther you go. Maine Route 117 runs through smaller towns, wooded stretches, lakes-region backroads, and the kind of places where you randomly stumble across farm stands, antique shops, or a general store that somehow still has a hand-painted sign out front. It’s less about rushing somewhere and more about the slower side of Maine that a lot of people miss when they stick to the interstate. Honestly, roads like this are where New England starts feeling the most real.

Turner → Buckfield → Paris → Norway → Harrison → Bridgton → Denmark → Hiram → Baldwin → Cornish → Limington → Hollis → Buxton → Saco