Maine Preservation created Drive ME Historic Tours to celebrate Maine’s bicentennial in 2020 but they’re perfect itineraries for a fall drive. The tours feature pre-statehood places and the people who forged early Maine with conveniently mapped out trips. They offer a terrific way to explore Maine’s cultural and architectural roots as you travel by some of the state’s best examples of mid-18th- and early-19th-century architecture.

There are 26 tours throughout the many unique regions in Maine. Some include homes built in the 1700s, when Maine was still part of Massachusetts and under British rule, such as the Thomas Perkins House in Kennebunkport and the McCobb-Hill-Minott House in Phippsburg. The tours are organized by region and range from 30 minutes to four hours of exploration. They include the Southern Maine Coastal Region tour from Cape Elizabeth to Biddeford includes the iconic Portland Head Light, built circa 1790. On the Maine Highlands tour, a highlight is the Robert Carleton House, one of the oldest surviving buildings in Piscataquis County. Stay in a historic property like the General John Brewer House, a Greek Revival home that is now the Brewer House B&B in the DownEast and Acadia Region. Go to Visit Maine for more information.