HARTLAND, Maine — I spent the July Fourth weekend lying in a hammock on the shore of a pond in central Maine. I liked it so much, I'm going back in August. Big activities planned include listening for loon calls, watching the moon rise and picking sprigs of wild mint. Maybe I'll take a canoe out — but only if I get really ambitious.

If that sounds good to you, it's not too late to plan your own vacation to Maine this summer. You can still book lodgings, tours and tickets, or just find a quiet place by the water to spend a couple of days or the week. If you're the type to plan ahead, consider a trip in early fall when the leaves start to turn and the weather cools off.

For many Americans living in the Northeast or mid-Atlantic, the state's coast, lakes and woods are well under a day's drive. Figure 400 miles if you're driving from Philadelphia to the sand, sun and amusement park rides at Old Orchard Beach, http://www.oldorchardbeachmaine.com/. It's just 240 miles from Boston to Bangor, where you can catch the American Folk Festival, August 22-24, http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/, or take the "Tommyknockers & More Bus Tour," August 10, September 21, and October 26, in honour of the legendary horror writer Stephen King, who lives in Bangor (tickets, $12, 800-916-6673).

Sick of shopping in Soho? If you're a New Yorker, it's 340 miles to Freeport, where you'll find the L.L. Bean flagship store, open 24 hours a day, and 170 other retailers, from Timberland to Brooks Brothers, http://www.freeportusa.com/. While you're there, check out one of Bean's $15 "Walk-On Adventures," 90-minute programmes in fly casting, archery or clay shooting, or a 2 ½-hour kayaking session, http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline/odp/walkon/index.html. Children must be at least eight years old to participate.

Two of my favourite places to spend a day by the shore are the sandy beach at Popham Beach State Park in Phippsburg and the rocky coast at Reid State Park in Georgetown. For a more upscale experience, check out the ocean view at the Cliff House Resort & Spa in Oguinquit and then get a blueberry facial or a wild rose body wrap. Cliff House offers everything from day spa services to multi-night packages with meals; http://www.cliffhousemaine.com/.

If you have kids or you're feeling energetic, you may need a little more stimulation than the view from your hammock allows. Two activities that my family enjoyed were whitewater rafting at The Forks, http://www.forksarea.com, and moose-watching on Moosehead Lake. The Birches Resort in Rockwood offers two-hour moose cruises on Moosehead daily at 7 a.m. ($35) and 4 p.m. ($45). You can eat at the resort or stay over; accommodations range from lodge rooms ($81-$122 a night) to rustic log cabins ($173 nightly, one-bedroom, $216 for two bedrooms), http://www.birches.com.

There's also a shuttle boat from Rockwood to Mount Kineo, an island on Moosehead Lake where you can play golf — http://www.mooseheadlakegolf.com/ — or climb a 700-foot-high cliff. For a more strenuous hike in the Moosehead area, try Big Moose Mountain, 3,196 feet.

Maine Audubon leads a variety of nature tours around the state, from two-hour walks to all-day events, boat trips and overnight programs. Details at http://www.maineaudubon.org/.

Summer is festival time in Maine. The Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland runs July 30 to -August 3 My kids always love the Skowhegan State Fair, this year August 7-16, with rides, agricultural exhibits and shows. And if you're into bluegrass, there is no finer display of fiddling than the Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Music Festival, August 21-24, in Sidney, http://blisteredfingers.com/.

The Annual Great Falls Balloon Festival is the setting for balloon launches August 15-17 at Simard & Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston and Festival Plaza in Auburn, http://www.greatfallsballoonfestival.org/. While you're in the area, visit the the Museum L-A in Lewiston for a look at Maine's industrial past, when textile mills, shoe factories and brickyards made up the state's largest manufacturing centre. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., http://www.museumla.org.

Other significant historic sites in Maine include the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, said to be the last active Shaker community in the world and the house where poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived, which you can tour in Portland, http://www.mainehistory.org. If you're in Portland July 24 or 26, catch a performance of "Romeo et Juliette" by PORTopera, http://www.portopera.org. The Portland Museum of Art is showing "Georgia O'Keeffe and the Camera: The Art of Identity" through September 7.

For $600, you can take a three- or four-day trip aboard a Maine windjammer, all meals and activities included. The graceful sailing vessels depart from the Camden-Rockland area; details at http://www.sailmainecoast.com/.

Greg Dugal, spokesman for the Maine Innkeepers Association, said this year's bookings are "occurring on a short term basis, with two weeks being the benchmark lately." Rates start as low as $85 a night. Details at http://www.maineinns.com with package information at http://www.visitmaine.com/package/search/ or discounts at http://www.mainelodgingpremiums.com/. A Microtel Inn & Suites hotel opened in York in June, with $149 a typical nightly summer rate.

If you prefer to rent a house, Seaside Vacation Rentals at http://www.seasiderentals.com has "a good array of one to five-bedroom properties ranging from $600 to $7,000 a week still open through August 23," according to marketing director Jennifer Thibodeau. She said there is even more availability and lower prices at the end of August and into September when kids go back to school. Seaside Vacation Rentals is also sponsoring writers' workshops at the York Art Association, for aspiring screenwriters on August 20 and again August 27, $49; and for aspiring playwrights, September 15-17 for $300.

The Appalachian Mountain Club also has wilderness cabins and lodges in Maine, inexpensively priced, and a variety of programs, from teen wilderness adventures to family programs to "Adventure Weeks" for those 50 years old and up, September 14 and September 28. Details at http://www.outdoors.org. A night at the AMC's Little Lyford Pond Camps bunkhouse starts at just $77 for adults, including all three meals.

As for me, I'm looking forward to heading back up to Maine in August. The kids are hoping to go whitewater rafting again. But I haven't made any commitments beyond the hammock.