Welcome to our page of Maine trivia questions! Maine is a state known for its rugged coastline, picturesque lighthouses and abundant seafood, making it a fascinating destination for trivia enthusiasts. Our selection of questions covers a wide range of topics including the state's history, culture, geography, and landmarks. Whether you're a native of Maine or just a curious learner, our trivia questions will help you discover new and exciting information about this great state.
For those interested in the history of Maine, our trivia questions will take you through the state's past, from its early days as a shipbuilding and fishing state to the present. We also cover the state's famous landmarks such as the Acadia National Park, the Penobscot Narrows Observatory and the Portland Head Light. Culture enthusiasts can learn about the state's maritime history, traditional customs, and local art forms.
Maine's geography and wildlife are also an important part of the state's identity, and our questions cover information about the state's natural wonders like the Moosehead Lake, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and the unique wildlife such as the Moose and the state bird, the Black-capped Chickadee.
Our trivia questions are designed to be challenging yet entertaining, making them perfect for individuals, families, or groups of friends. Whether you're looking for a fun way to pass the time or you want to test your knowledge of Maine, our trivia questions are sure to provide hours of entertainment.
118 Maine Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2023)
- Quit clowning around! The gutters of fictional Derry, Maine take up most of the 1,136 pages of what pronoun-titled 1987 Stephen King novel?
Answer: It
- Founded by B. Schavitz in Maine the 1980s, what is the company with an origin in beekeeping and co-founder Roxanne Quimby?
Answer: Burt's Bees
- What dark-colored ursine animal is used as the mascot for athletic teams at the University of Maine?
Answer: Black Bears
- What beach, located in its namesake “O” Maine town, means “beautiful place by the sea” the Abenaki language, and is a major tourist attraction?
Answer: Ogunquit Beach
- Bailey Jankowski’s clothing retailer, the Maine Lifestyle Company, is based out of what “B” Maine city? The city name sounds like someone who makes beer, or perhaps plays baseball in Milwaukee.
Answer: Brewer, Maine
- The Maine Hunting Shoe, which is also known as a "duck boot", was the first product ever sold by what clothing brand, which is now the third largest company in Maine?
Answer: L.L.Bean
- The eastern most point in the contiguous United States is ironically called West ______ Head. Fill in the “Q” word, part of a state park name in Lubec, Maine, a regional term for herring.
Answer: Quoddy
- The ski resort in Newry, Maine, with the second largest drop in the state, is named after which day of the week?
Answer: Sunday River Resort
- A park and lighthouse in South Portland, ME, at the eastern terminus of the Greenbelt Walkway, offering views of Portland Harbor, is ______ Light Park. Fill in the one word blank, which might make some people think you can find an insect there.
Answer: Bug Light Park
- Every summer, thousands of people come to Rockland for the annual crustacean celebration of which of Maine’s prized seafood exports?
Answer: Lobster
- Patrick Dempsey grew up in humble Lewiston, Maine before playing Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd on what steamy surgical show?
Answer: Grey's Anatomy
- Maine is the US state with the most household speakers of what language, the second-most commonly spoken language at home in the state at over 5%?
Answer: French
- A lighthouse in Maine, in Acadia National Park, located on Mount Desert Island, marking the entrance to its namesake is the ______ Harbor Head Lighthouse. Fill in the one word blank, something that Meghan Trainor was all about in a 2014 song, no treble.
Answer: Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
- What “J” Pond near Bar Harbor, Maine is located in Acadia National Park and covers 187 acres? It shares its name with a Middle Eastern country with capital at Amman.
Answer: Jordan Pond
- Florida is the finish line of the East Coast Greenway. Which state does the 3,000-mile bike route start in?
Answer: Maine
- Camden, ME is home to a ski area, one that hosts the U.S. Toboggan Championships every year, known as the Camden ______ Bowl. Fill in the one word blank, a natural material intrinsic to skiing.
Answer: Camden Snow Bowl
- When he was elected in 2012, Maine senator Angus King became only the second sitting senator, after Vermont's Bernie Sanders, to hold what distinction, which they share with only about a dozen other U.S. senators throughout history?
Answer: Independent
- The University of Maine's flagship campus is located in what city whose name is popular in crossword puzzles because three of its five letters are Os?
Answer: Orono
- How many U.S. states have a monosyllabic name?
Answer: One (Maine)
- Renamed in May 2021 as the Maine Celtics, the NBA G League team based in Portland made its debut in 2009 under what colorful team name?
Answer: Maine Red Claws
- The two men who settled in Portland, Oregon both wanted to name it after their hometowns. Unable to reach a compromise, they flipped a coin to decide who would get the honor. Francis Pettygrove won the toss and named the city after his Portland. Which state was Pettygrove from?
Answer: Maine
- A natural rock inlet in Bar Harbor, ME, where waves loudly hit the rocks during high tide, is ______ Hole. Fill in the one word blank, which refers to the loud sound the waves make, and is reference to another natural phenomenon.
Answer: Thunder Hole
- Kennebunkport, ME is home to a large transit museum by the seashore, bearing the name of what type of train that runs on tramway track placed on public streets?
Answer: Seashore Trolley Museum
- At a length of 1,908 miles, what is the longest north-south interstate highway in the US? The highway was not fully completed until 2018 when a gap in New Jersey was filled and it now fully connects Florida to Maine while serving all major cities from Jacksonville to Washington to New York to Boston to Portland.
Answer: I-95
- Not signifying someone smart with Lincolns, but rather a sewer-dweller, what is the name of the dancing clown in Stephen King's famed horror novel "It?"
Answer: Pennywise
- Alaska and Hawaii don't share land borders with any other U.S. states. Almost as stingy is what U.S. state that only shares a land border with one other state?
Answer: Maine
- What anadromous fish which often appears pink in the wild is the state fish of Maine?
Answer: Land-locked salmon
- Maine has a physical border with two Canadian provinces to its north. Name both of them.
Answer: New Brunswick and Quebec
- Although Augusta is the capital of Maine today, what other Maine city was the capital from the state's founding in 1820 until 1827, when Augusta was designated the capital?
Answer: Portland
- "11/22/63" is a novel in which a time traveler attempts to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, by what American author who's associated more with Maine than with Washington, DC?
Answer: Stephen King
- Instant-runoff voting and single transferable vote are the two specific types of a more general voting system that is used in various jurisdictions in the United States. As of November 1, 2020, Maine is the only U.S. state which uses this voting system in all state primary, congressional, and presidential elections. What is the name of this system?
Answer: Ranked-choice voting
- Frankfort is the fourth-least populous state capital in the U.S. Name ANY of the three states that has a smaller capital city.
Answer: Vermont, South Dakota, Maine
- The entrance to the Desert of Maine features two statues of what kind of animal that definitely isn't native to the area?
Answer: Camel
- Due to a popular state nickname, Maine is the only state that doesn't have an actual flower for its state flower, but more of a seed. In place of a flower, Maine recognizes the white what?
Answer: Pinecone
- The State Seal of Maine features a moose resting in a field bordered by water and woods. There is a pine tree behind the moose. On one side of the moose is a sailor with an anchor. On the other side is a farmer with what agricultural hand tool? If you're looking to use it, make sure you choose one with the right snath length.
Answer: Scythe
- What 19th century writer briefly left his lakeside home in Massachusetts to visit Maine's Mt. Katahdin, a journey recounted in his book titled The Maine Woods?
Answer: Henry David Thoreau
- A public recreation area overlooking Penobscot Bay, offering trails to Mount Battie in its namesake town in Knox County, Maine, is ______ Hills State Park. Fill in the one word blank, also a “C” city in New Jersey that home to one of campuses of Rutgers.
Answer: Camden Hills State Park
- The Maine state flag, as of 1909, has had a North Star with the Latin writing "dirigo." What does dirigo, Maine's state motto, translate to in English? Hint: We're looking for TWO words here.
Answer: I Lead
- Bar Harbor, Maine is home to a beach with what name, which makes sense as it is what a beach is mostly made out of?
Answer: Sand Beach
- The Cape Neddick Light in Cape Neddick in York, Maine is a lighthouse commissioned by Congress in 1879 with what “N” name that still names the lighthouse to this day?
Answer: Nubble Lighthouse
- What “P” lighthouse is located in Bristol, Maine, at the tip of its namesake Neck? It was opened in 1827.
Answer: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse
- "Portland, Maine" is a song from the 2014 album "Sundown Heaven Town" by what country star who's married to Faith Hill?
Answer: Tim McGraw
- What tearjerker animated film about a "giant" robot was set in Maine during the Cold War?
Answer: The Iron Giant
- There are almost 200 species of which coniferous evergreen that's the state tree of Maine and makes a great Christmas tree?
Answer: Pine
- In what decade did the annual mishmash of film, media, and music known as South by Southwest or SXSW first begin in Austin? The festival has remained in the Texas capital since it launched there.
Answer: 1980s
- Frances McDormand played the titular Maine schoolteacher in what 2014 HBO miniseries based on the Elizabeth Strout novel of the same name?
Answer: Olive Kitteridge
- The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor in February 1898 contributed to the outbreak of what armed conflict?
Answer: Spanish-American War
- What U.S. national park is the only one in the Northeastern United States, and is also the first national park in alphabetical order?
Answer: Acadia National Park
- The oldest fish market in the U.S., sometimes known as "the Wharf," is named for what D.C. avenue, itself named for a state associated with seafood?
Answer: Maine Avenue
- Charles Fort famously influenced many author writers and religious leaders. A modern horror scribe used the works of Fort as "advice" for the parents of a pyrokinetically gifted child in "Firestarter." What Maine-born writer wrote "Firestarter"?
Answer: Stephen King
- Bear with us, we know this is a bit of a wild question. But we suspect it is fun. Portland, Oregon has a city population of around 650,000 making it the most populous city in Oregon. If Portland, Maine was in Oregon, it would be the 9th most populous city, with around 66,000 residents. Name either the 8th or 9th most populous city in Oregon today (i.e. the ones that Portland, Maine would be neighboring on the rankings if it moved across the country.)
Answer: Medford or Springfield
- Although it was first planted in 1808, by the 1820s it had surpassed tobacco, sugar, and cacao as a primary export of Costa Rica and remained a key source of the country's wealth into the 20th century. What is it?
Answer: Coffee
- The official state cat of a New England state, what is the breed of the domestic cat with the longest tail ever measured (17.58 inches), according to the Guinness Book of World Records?
Answer: Maine Coon
- Maine is the only U.S. state that borders just one other state. What state does Maine border?
Answer: New Hampshire
- Moose are plentiful in what Maine State Park, located in Northeast Piscataquis? It shares its name with the last name of Ted Knight’s buffoonish TV news personality from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Answer: Baxter State Park
- Baxter State Park is home to Mt. Katahdin, the highest peak in Maine. The mountain is also the northern terminus of what famous Eastern US trail?
Answer: Appalachian Trail
- In Cape Elizabeth, Maine, there is a historic lighthouse in its namesake harbor, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine, known as ______ Head Light. Fill in the blank, also the name of a populous city in Oregon.
Answer: Portland
- What “C” mountain on Mount Desert Island, in Acadia National Park in Maine, shares its name with a luxury car brand produced by General Motors?
Answer: Cadillac Mountain
- Located in Maine's Baxter State Park, what K-mountain is the northern endpoint of the Appalachian Trail?
Answer: Katahdin
- What “B” Maine congressman of the late 19th century expanded US relations across the Americas with the Inter-American Conference?
Answer: Blaine
- What ski mountain, located in Carrabassett Valley, Franklin County, Maine, and the third largest in the state, sounds like it is made out of sweet bread? It is just to the north of Spaulding Mountain.
Answer: Sugarloaf Mountain
- What “L” name was the Republican governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019? Before that, he served as mayor of Waterville.
Answer: Paul LePage
- An amusement park in Saco, ME, with rides such as Excalibur and Thunder Falls Log Flume, is ______town Splashtown USA. Fill in the one word blank, a word meaning enjoyment and lighthearted pleasure.
Answer: Funtown Splashtown USA
- A seasonal amusement park, located in Old Orchard Beach, ME, and operating since 1902, is ______ Playland. Fill in the one word “P” blank, also a term for a grand residence, often occupied by royalty.
Answer: Palace Playland
- What “C” Bay, which has Portland, ME along its southern edge, is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine located near Capes Small and Elizabeth?
Answer: Casco Bay
- An island in Casco Bay, Maine, home to the Battery Steele fortification, is ______ Island. Fill in the one word “P” blank, a plural word used to describe the pointed tops of mountains.
Answer: Peaks Island
- Casco Bay in Freeport, ME is home to a state park known as ______’s Neck Woods State Park. Fill in the one word “W” blank, the last name of the author of “Bonfire Of The Vanities” and “The Right Stuff.”
Answer: Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park
- Colby College, a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, counts among its alumni what female American biographer and political commentator, author of 2005's “Team Of Rivals” about Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet?
Answer: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- What TV series, set in a fictional town in Maine, is based on a Stephen King novel and stars Anthony Michael Hall?
Answer: The Dead Zone
- An example of American residential architecture, opened in 1861 in Portland, Maine, is ______ Mansion. Fill in the one word “V” blank, with the same name as the British queen who reigned for a vast majority of the 19th century.
Answer: Victoria Mansion
- Portland, Maine is home to a railway and museum known as the Maine Narrow ______ Railroad. Fill in the one word “G” blank, an instrument for measuring the magnitude of something.
Answer: Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad
- A ski mountain in Auburn, Maine is ______ Valley Brewpub. Fill in the one word “L” blank, a word that is the opposite of “found.”
Answer: Lost Valley Brewpub
- A scenic road in Bar Harbor, Maine where no motorized vehicles are allowed is ______ Road. Fill in the one word “C” blank, a word used for a four-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle popular in the 19th century.
Answer: Carriage Road
- Legend has it a Maine sea captain invented the breakfast food you’d order as a “Munchkin” if you’re at Dunkin’. What’s the generic name for the bite-sized baked good?
Answer: Donut hole
- With flavors like All Dressed, Ketchup, and Dill Pickle, which potato chip brand named after a nursery rhyme character was founded in Scarborough, Maine in 1947?
Answer: Humpty Dumpty
- Which of Maine’s mountains shares its name with a famous French explorer and luxury car brand (which was also named after said explorer)?
Answer: Cadillac
- Portland's two founders tossed a coin to decide whose home city to name the fledgling site after. Francis Pettygrove of Portland, Maine won the toss, but which New England capital would have been used as the name if Asa Lovejoy had won?
Answer: Boston
- While he was still playing Julian Beck on “Law & Order,” which actor wrote a play called “Almost, Maine” that was no doubt inspired by his childhood in Presque Isle?
Answer: John Cariani
- Connecting Verona Island to Prospect, what’s the name of the bridge that was the first to have an observation tower in the U.S. and is still the tallest bridge observatory open to the public in the world?
Answer: Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory
- Natalie Maines is the lead vocalist for what all-girl country music band that dropped the word "Dixie" from its name in 2020?
Answer: The Chicks
- In 2005, over 100 years after it was created by Dr. Augustin Thompson for medicinal purposes, Governor John Baldacci designated what beverage as the official soft drink of Maine?
Answer: Moxie
- What state park in southern Maine, one of Maine's original five state parks, offers scenic views of Casco Bay throughout its hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails?
Answer: Bradbury Mountain State Park
- In which Downeast town near Bath, Edgecomb, and Wiscasset can you visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens?
Answer: Boothbay
- Which variation of French is spoken throughout Canada, northern Maine, and the Magdalen Islands?
Answer: Acadian
- A monument in Perry, Maine marks the location of what numbered parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole?
Answer: 45th Parallel
- Maine was admitted as a state in 1820 as part of a "Compromise" that admitted what other state to the union, maintaining the balance of free and slave states??
Answer: Missouri
- Walker's Point, in the Maine town of Kennebunkport, famously serves as a summer resort for what presidential family?
Answer: The Bush Family
- If you’re driving through Downeast Maine, you’ll see one of the U.S.’s major shipyards, which also happens to be the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world. The “Iron Works” is in which town along the Kennebec River?
Answer: Bath
- Which Androscoggin county city is the state’s second-largest (after Portland) by population?
Answer: Lewiston
- Which former Maine Attorney General (who served twice, actually) became the state’s 75th (and current) governor in 2018?
Answer: Janet Mills
- Statewide elections in Maine and Alaska use RCV, an alternative voting system in effect in over fifty jurisdictions nationwide. What does RCV stand for?
Answer: Ranked-Choice Voting
- Michael Jackson (and his brother Jermaine) provided background vocals for the 1984 hit song "Somebody's Watching Me" by what musician?
Answer: Rockwell
- What powerful Maine senator and governor went on to become Hubert Humphrey's running mate in the 1968 presidential election?
Answer: Edmund Muskie
- Lincoln, Maine's "Town of Lakes," is home to a 13-foot fiberglass sculpture of what "common" bird, which breeds on Maine's lakes in the spring?
Answer: Loon
- A local might think of the region as Kno-Wal-Lin, which stands for Knox, Waldo, and which third Maine county?
Answer: Lincoln
- Which state historic landmark in Prospect (next to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge) was built for war (of granite, mostly) but never saw combat?
Answer: Fort Knox
- In which city in Kennebec County will you find Thomas and Colby College, as well as Railroad Square Cinema and The Last Unicorn Restaurant?
Answer: Waterville
- Which supermarket chain based in Maine and serving New England and New York was founded by brothers Arthur, Edward, and Howard, who gave it their last name? (Hint: For a while, some of the stores were called Shop ‘n Save)
Answer: Hannaford
- Grover Cleveland and Democrats tarred what 1884 opponent as the "Continental Liar from the State of Maine," a phrase which conveniently rhymed with the candidate's name?
Answer: James G. Blaine
- A small town in Maine is home to the original springs of what artesian drinking water brand that was never headquartered in Eastern Europe?
Answer: Poland Spring
- The red and white striped lighthouse at West Quoddy is famed for what geographical distinction?
Answer: Easternmost point in the continental US
- What “F” art museum specializes in American art, and was opened in 1948 in Rockland, Maine? Its name is the same as the elderly professor on “Futurama.”
Answer: Farnsworth Art Museum
- A Maine resident unexpectedly found a sketch called “Le Tricorne” by what famous artist, and received $150,000 for the sketch at auction? The worldly Spanish artist is known for his blue and rose periods, among many other things.
Answer: Pablo Picasso
- In 1877 Robert Peary graduated from Bowdoin College. In 1913, Bowdoin would select a school mascot to honor Peary and his expeditions. What four-legged animal did they choose?
Answer: Polar bear
- What New Brunswick island, home to the summer retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt and preserved as an international park, is only accessible by bridge from the Maine town of Lubec?
Answer: Campobello Island
- What's the name of the woman whose "world" is depicted in Andrew Wyeth's famous 1948 painting of the Olson House in Cushing, Maine?
Answer: Christina
- In 2018, the Northern Maine Regional Airport was renamed for what municipality way up in Aroostook County?
Answer: Presque Isle
- In 1898, what US Navy ship sunk in Havana harbor, becoming a catalyst for US involvement in what became the Spanish-American War?
Answer: USS Maine
- In 1968, the band X set up a recording company to manage their creative affairs. Later in 1977, a fan of the band, Y, set up his own company with a friend and named it with the same name as the recording company. Following a legal battle, a deal was reached that each company will stick to their respective businesses which were different. This was fine till 2003 when the Y's company, now much bigger, got into the "music business". Another legal battle ensued, and ended only in 2007. Y remained an admirer throughout, and is reported to have said, “My model for business is X. They were four guys who kept each other's negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That's how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they're done by a team of people." X and Y?
Answer: X: The Beatles whose company was called Apple Records, Y: Steve Jobs (Their dispute reignited when Apple launched the iPod and iTunes)
- As of the 2010 Census, Delaware had zero cities with a population over 100,000. For how many other states was this true?
Answer: Four (Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming)
- What fictional town in Maine has served as the setting for many of the works by Stephen King, such as "The Dead Zone," "Cujo," "Needful Things," and "The Body?" King got the name from a fictional location in William Golding's 1954 novel, "Lord of the Flies."
Answer: Castle Rock
- Starting in 1896, General Electric was one of the "Original ______" companies that were included on the new Dow Jones Industrial Average. GE remained part of the index for more than 120 years. What number fills the blank?
Answer: 12
- The California coastal town of Mendocino was used as a stand-in for Cabot Cove, Maine, in what television show that ran for twelve seasons?
Answer: Murder, She Wrote
- Long before becoming an astronaut and taking part in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, which NASA Flight Engineer graduated from Caribou High School?
Answer: Jessica Meir
- Lewiston, Maine was the site of an infamous 1965 rematch between Muhammad Ali and what former world heavyweight champion? Ali won the fight in a knockout, leading to this famous photo.
Answer: Sonny Liston
- The Pelletier family of Millinocket and their work in the forests of northern Maine was the subject of what reality series that aired on the Discovery Channel from 2009 to 2011?
Answer: American Loggers
- A monument in Perry, Maine marks the location of what numbered parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole?
Answer: 45th Parallel
- Which US state is closest to Africa?
Answer: Maine
- Portland, Maine's Allagash Brewery crafts the delicious Allagash White, in what top-fermented Belgian style that might loosen you up for a good joke?
Answer: Witbier
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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