Most golfers fly past Maine on their way to somewhere they've seen on TV. That's exactly why Downeast works. You get a Bill Coore design nobody talks about, the ninth-oldest club in America, and lobster pulled out of the water that morning — all without booking a tee time eleven months in advance.
Belgrade Lakes is the headliner: a Coore solo design routed across the Maine highlands that plays harder and prettier than its tee sheet would suggest. Kebo Valley dates to 1888 and still has the original quirk baked in — including the 17th bunker that allegedly cost President Taft a 27. Lucerne gives you lake views that wouldn't look out of place in the Highlands, and Penobscot Valley is a Donald Ross routing that locals quietly rate as one of his better New England jobs. Acadia is forty minutes from most of it.
Dogleg's Pick Courses
Where to Play
In order of conviction. Every course on this list was chosen deliberately.
Belgrade Lakes Golf Club
$100–$175Bill Coore's only solo design and the reason this trip exists. Routed across the Maine highlands with elevation changes most people don't associate with the Northeast — there's a 200-foot drop on the par-3 7th. The greens are firmer and faster than they look, and the wind off the lake makes the back nine play a full club longer than the front.
Kebo Valley Golf Club
$50–$100Ninth-oldest course in America, founded 1888, and it still plays like it. The 17th bunker is the famous one — the story goes Taft made 27 there, and once you see it you believe it. Tight, quirky, walkable, and the kind of round where par means something. Don't expect manicured; expect character.
Penobscot Valley Country Club
$50–$100A 1924 Donald Ross routing that locals will tell you is one of his better New England jobs and they're not wrong. Classic Ross moves — false fronts, crowned greens, fairway bunkers exactly where you'd want to land. Semi-private but takes outside play; call ahead and you'll get on.
Lucerne Golf Course
Nearby — worth the short drive
Belgrade Lakes Golf Club — Bill Coore design on the Maine highlands that plays like a Scottish links. Almost completely unknown outside New England.
Where to Stay
Lodging Picks
Ranging from splurge to smart. Pick based on what the group wants and how much time you'll actually be at the hotel.
Bar Harbor Inn & Spa
$$$On the water in downtown Bar Harbor with the right kind of old-money Maine bones — porches, Adirondacks, the works. Walk to dinner, walk to the harbor, drive to Kebo in fifteen minutes. The main inn rooms beat the motel-style buildings; pay the upgrade.
Asticou Inn
$$$Quieter, more buttoned-up alternative on Northeast Harbor. 1883 inn with a porch overlooking the sound and a clientele that's been coming for forty years. Right call if your group's older or you want to be away from Bar Harbor's tourist crush in July.
Hilton Garden Inn Bangor
$Not glamorous, but it's clean, it's cheap, and it puts you ten minutes from Penobscot Valley and the Bangor airport. If your trip is built around Belgrade Lakes and the Bangor-area courses, base here and skip the Bar Harbor commute entirely.
Bluenose Inn
$$$AAA Four Diamond on the hill above Bar Harbor with the best ocean views in town. Slightly resorty for the area but that's fine if you want a pool, a balcony, and a real breakfast. Shuttle into town runs regularly so you don't have to deal with parking.
Belgrade Lakes Vacation Rental
$$If you're prioritizing Belgrade Lakes, base on the lake itself. Plenty of cabin and lakehouse rentals around Great Pond and Long Pond — bring groceries, cook one night, sit on the dock with a beer. The right move for a group of four to eight that wants the Maine version of a buddies trip.
The Lucerne Inn
$$1814 stagecoach stop perched above Phillips Lake and a chip shot from Lucerne Golf Course. Simple rooms, lake views, and a real dining room. Doubles as the smartest play if you're routing Lucerne and Penobscot Valley back to back.
Where to Eat & Drink
The Right Restaurants
10 picks across the full range — the big dinner out, the post-round decompress, and the morning before an early tee time.
Thurston's Lobster Pound
lobster shackBernard, on the quiet side of Mount Desert Island. You walk up, point at the lobster you want, they hand you a number. Eat upstairs on the deck overlooking the harbor with a beer and corn on the cob. This is the lobster meal everyone in the group will remember.
Geaghan's Pub & Craft Brewery
pubBangor's go-to Irish pub with a brewery attached. Reliable burgers, fish and chips that don't embarrass themselves, and a deep-enough beer list that nobody's stuck drinking light lager. Good first or last night spot near the airport.
Side Street Cafe
casual AmericanBar Harbor lunch and dinner with a mac and cheese list that's become its own attraction — lobster, bacon, Buffalo chicken, the works. Don't overthink it. Order the lobster mac, the wings, and a beer.
Havana
upscaleLatin-influenced fine dining on Main Street in Bar Harbor and the best big-dinner spot in town. The menu rotates but the kitchen is consistent — this is where you book the one nice dinner of the trip. Reservations required in season.
Jordan Pond House
tea gardenInside Acadia, famous for popovers with strawberry jam on a lawn looking out at the Bubbles. Touristy, sure, but the popovers are genuinely worth it and the setting is unreal. Go for tea between rounds, not for dinner.
Beal's Lobster Pier
lobster shackSouthwest Harbor pound that's been at it since 1932. Less polished than Thurston's, more working-pier vibe — which is the point. Get the lobster roll, the steamers, and a beer from the on-site bar.
Timber Kitchen + Bar
steakhouseBangor's best steakhouse-leaning dinner. Wood-fired everything, a real cocktail program, and a room that doesn't feel like a chain. Solid play if you're staying near the airport and want one proper meal.
2 Cats Bar Harbor
breakfastBreakfast institution. Strawberry biscuits, real coffee, and a line out the door by 8 AM in summer. Get there early or after 10 — the middle hour is a wait you don't need before a tee time.
Paddy's Irish Pub
pubOn the causeway between Mount Desert Island and the mainland with a deck right on the water. Cold beer, decent pub food, and a sunset that does the heavy lifting. Right call for the post-Kebo round wind-down.
Atlantic Brewing Company
breweryBar Harbor brewery with a barbecue smoker on site at the Town Hill location. Brisket, ribs, and their own beer in a backyard setting. Not fancy, exactly the point.
Beyond the Course
When the Group Needs a Break
All of these are mandatory.
Acadia National Park
Forty-five thousand acres of granite coast, carriage roads, and the only fjord on the East Coast. Drive Park Loop Road, hike the Beehive if anyone in the group has knees left, and don't skip Sand Beach. Half a day minimum, full day if the weather cooperates.
Book this experience →Cadillac Mountain Sunrise
First place in the U.S. to see sunrise from October through March. You need a vehicle reservation in summer — book it weeks ahead. Painful early wake-up but the photos and the bragging rights pay off.
Book this experience →Lulu Lobster Boat Tour
Two hours on a working lobster boat out of Bar Harbor where they actually pull traps and explain the trade. Cheesy on paper, genuinely interesting in practice — and the seal sightings are basically guaranteed.
Book this experience →Schooner Margaret Todd Sail
Four-masted schooner out of Bar Harbor pier, two-hour sunset sail. BYOB, decent breeze most evenings, and it beats sitting in another bar. The boat itself is the activity.
Book this experience →Bangor Brewery Circuit
Geaghan's, 2 Feet Brewing, Marsh Island, and Black Bear Brewery are all within a ten-minute radius downtown. Grab an Uber or designate a driver and hit three of them in an evening. Surprisingly strong scene for a small city.
Book this experience →Pro Tips
Before You Book
Belgrade Lakes Golf Club is the anchor — Bill Coore's design on the Maine highlands is worth building the entire trip around.
Kebo Valley in Bar Harbor is the second must-play: founded in 1888, one of the oldest courses in continuous use in America, and genuinely charming.
The season is short — late May through mid-October. July and August are peak.
Combine the golf with Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. This is one of the few golf regions where the non-golf programming is as compelling as the golf.
Fly into Bangor (BGR) or Portland (PWM). Portland adds 3 hours of driving but gives better flight options.
Dogleg's Advice
Don't treat Belgrade Lakes as a warmup or an afterthought tacked onto a Bar Harbor weekend — it's the best course on the trip and deserves a 36-hole day. And resist the urge to chase nightlife. This isn't that trip. Build the evenings around lobster shacks, a deck, and whatever the local brewery is pouring.
What to Know
The window is tight — June through September, full stop, and even then pack a layer because coastal Maine doesn't care what month it is. You're driving everywhere; courses are spread across a wide footprint and there's no Uber economy out here. Fly into Bangor and rent something with cargo space.
Who This Trip Is For
✓ Best for
- →New England golfers who've never made it north of Portland
- →Groups who genuinely want a hiking/outdoor/golf combined trip
- →Anyone who appreciates authentic regional golf rather than resort design
- →Groups of 4 who want a low-key, high-quality, genuinely off-the-beaten-path trip
✕ Not for
- →Groups who need volume — this isn't a six-rounds-in-four-days market
- →International travelers making a single US golf stop
- →Anyone traveling outside the May–October window
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