Black Travel Maine reframes Vacationland
Black Travel Maine’s annual MLK weekend features a ski trip to Sunday River with lessons for beginners.
By Amy Paradysz
Photos courtesy Black Travel Maine
WHEN LONGTIME travel expert Lisa Jones first visited Maine five years ago, she fell in love with the place and the people—but wondered where the other Black and Brown tourists were.
“I started posting photos of myself and my daughter traveling in Maine, riding bikes and going to beaches,” Jones says. “And Black people started chiming in on my social media and saying, ‘You’re in Maine? And you’re safe as a Black person?’”
Changing false narratives—that Maine isn’t welcoming to people of color and that Black people don’t ski (or sail or do any other activity that interests them)—became Jones’ mission. “Here’s a whole market that could be exposed to Maine and that loves seafood and coastal towns,” she says.
Today, Jones’ Black Travel Maine Facebook group averages 65,000 views a month. Her travel business by the same name organizes Black history tours, socials and multi-day experiences, like the upcoming third annual Black Travel Maine Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend.
Lisa Jones didn’t see Black people represented in Maine’s tourism marketing. So she founded a company that puts ‘Black’ first.
When a travel planner dreams up an MLK weekend in Maine, there are, of course, opportunities for remembrance and reflection—but also ice fishing in the Belgrade Lakes and skiing at Sunday River in Newry.
“A lot of people of color haven’t had the opportunity to ski before,” Jones says. “Some of our guests want to put on a cute ski suit, take a selfie and post it up. Others are members of the National Brotherhood of Skiers. But the majority are first-time skiers who want to try it with a group.”
Ice fishing in the Belgrades was a surprise hit at last year’s Black Travel Maine MLK weekend.
Ice fishing was an optional addition to last winter’s trip. “I think it was the highlight of the weekend,” says Jones, who had never been on a frozen lake before. “Most people thought it would be cold and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t that at all. Believe it or not, ice fishing can be a luxury experience. We had an igloo that was heated and a machine to tell us where the fish were.”
Luxury is something that Black Travel Maine does well, with boutique Portland accommodations like The Francis and the Longfellow Hotel serving as home base. In warmer months, Black Travel Maine offers a four-day Meet Us in Maine trip based in Portland with day excursions to Ogunquit Museum of American Art and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Or there’s a four-day sailing adventure from Camden aboard a historic Maine windjammer, with island excursions and an old-fashioned lobster bake.
In addition to outdoor adventure and good eats, all multi-day Black Travel Maine trips include social experiences with locals and the opportunity to soak up some culture, art and history. The mainstay of the Black Travel Maine experience—for tourists and locals alike—is a Black history walking tour.
“Black people aren’t just going to come to a destination because it’s pretty,” Jones says. “We hear the stories of the families that have been here for generations—the McKenzies, the Talbots and the Rubys—and, in fact, their descendants are the ones who tell the stories and lead these tours.”
The Portland walking tour stops at the Abyssinian Meeting House, one of the nation’s oldest African American churches, as well as Maine Historical Society, Eastern Cemetery and landmarks connected to the Underground Railroad.
A history walking tour stops at the Abyssinian Meeting House, one of the nation’s oldest African American churches, in Portland.
The Bangor tour stops at the Black Matriarch Marker, honoring the strength of Black women who shaped the community; Cambria Baptist Church, a historic congregation with deep roots in Bangor’s Black history; and the Underground Railroad marker at Freedom Park.
“None of this is exclusively for Black people; it’s for everybody,” Jones says. “The reason I went so strong with the name—Black Travel Maine—is that we had been so absent from marketing. On some of my walking tours, there are more White people—because they want to know the history, too.”
Black Travel Maine: 2026 Event Highlights
For more information on upcoming events, visit blacktravelmaine.com/events
JAN. 16-19: Third Annual MLK Ski Weekend
FEB. 21: Portland Black History Tour
MAY 2: Bangor Black History Tour
MAY 21: WJZP Fundraising Golf Tournament (Sebago Lake)
JUNE 13: Juneteenth Black History Walking Tour (Portland)
JULY 31–AUG. 3: Fourth Annual Meet Us in Maine Summer Tour
AUG. 14–17: Second Annual Black Travel Maine Sailing Adventure
SEPT. 5–7: Inaugural Black Travel Maine GlampFest (Mount Katahdin)
