A woman wears a face mask by the ocean on Old Orchard Beach in July. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

With socially distanced beaches, extra outdoor dining, staycations and plenty of face coverings, the summer of 2020 looked different from years past. With the official start of fall, it’s time to look back at how Maine weathered its pandemic summer.

BDN photographers found themselves across the state and in traditional tourist hotspots such as Bar Harbor, Old Orchard Beach, Moosehead Lake and more. This is how these places looked.

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June

Five fishermen ply the waters of Back Cover in Portland at low tide the night of June 8. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

Clockwise from left: Beachgoers enjoy a warm day at the Lily Bay State Park beach on Moosehead Lake on June 26; a kayaker paddles with their dog; visitors walk along the scenic beach; a boat cruises around Moosehead Lake. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

A woman with a face mask walks by a man on a park bench on Portland’s Eastern Prom on June 18. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN Credit: Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Clockwise from left: People walk across Main Street in Bar Harbor on June 24; a man on a bicycle rides down a nearly empty Main Street; Sgt. Chris Wharff of the Bar Harbor Police Department wheels a parking meter coin collection cart past patio tables stacked at Bar Harbor Beer Works; Celeste Deeny (left), manager of Island Artisans on Main Street in Bar Harbor, discusses a piece of jewelry with customer Megan Sprague of Hancock; the entrance station to Park Loop Drive at Acadia National Park; visitors walk along Main Street; John Corgan and daughter Emma stand in an empty Village Green. One of Maine’s biggest tourist towns looked different without many tourists because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Kyran Wright, 7, climbs on the playground at Fairmount Park on June 17 after Bangor Parks and Recreation employees took down caution tape that had been used to close the city playgrounds due to the coronavirus. Ally Leeman Wright, Kyran’s mother, said her three children were happy to finally go back to the park. “They’ve been very excited to get out again,” Wright said. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Clockwise from left: Wearing matching masks, Anthony Sockabasin-Martin, 6, and his mom Lisa Sockabasin smile as they watch something on Lisa’s phone in Brewer on June 18. With temperatures reaching into the 90s, boaters hit Phillips Lake in Dedham on June 19. Jack Wright, 4, and other children play on the playground at Fairmount Park on June 17. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN

Two people hang out at the end of a short breakwater near Portland’s East End Beach on June 18 as the temperature got into the 80s. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

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July

Small groups of people remain socially distanced on Old Orchard Beach on July 7. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
A woman wears a face mask by the ocean on Old Orchard Beach on July 7. At midday, she was the only person on the sand that could be seen doing so. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

Clockwise from top: People dine outdoors in West Market Square on July 30 where Broad Street has been closed; people dine at Blaze; West Market Square. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik

Boats reflect in Belfast Harbor on July 22. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
A woman sits on the rocks along Portland’s East End at low tide on July 10. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
A pair of boats from Sail Maine make their way through the heavy air in Portland Harbor on July 10. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

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August

Oliver Davis of Cumberland fishes with his twin, 9-year-old children — Eli and Dahlia Irving-Davis — on the Spring Point Light breakwater in South Portland on Monday. “Dad, is fishing in our blood?” Eli asked. “Yeah, his father said,” laughing. “Now don’t jinks us.” Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

Tourists take pictures of the sunrise over West Quoddy Head Light, the easternmost point in the United States, the morning of Aug. 2. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN

People walk down Main Street in downtown Castine and boats float in the harbor on Aug. 26. Credit: Natalie Williams / BDN

A man walks two dogs through an unmown section of the Eastern Prom in Portland designed to attract bees Aug. 27. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

Clockwise from left: Dick Connolly rests for a moment while strolling around Bug Light in South Portland the afternoon of Aug. 17; an open boat is seen through a bunch of goldenrod as it skirts the shore; a woman walks along the shore with her shoes in her hands. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

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