Sights in Maine
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Popham Beach State Park
The 6-mile long, sandy Popham Beach State Park is one of the prettiest in the state, with views onto offshore islands and the Kennebec and Morse Rivers framing either end. Lifeguards are on hand, but the surf is strong, with undertows and riptides. It’s located off ME 209, about 14 miles south of Bath.
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Jasper Beach
Don't miss Jasper Beach, a bizarre mile-long beach consisting entirely of polished red jasper stones. As the waves wash in, the rocks slide against one another, creating a rather haunting song. It's one of two such beaches in the world (the other is in Japan). To reach it, head down Machias Rd toward the village of Starboard.
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York’s Wild Kingdom
If you have children, you may want to visit York’s Wild Kingdom, the state’s largest zoo.
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Jefferds’ Tavern Visitor Center
Historic York was called Agamenticus by its pre-colonial Native American inhabitants. British colonials settled York in 1624, and it was chartered as a city in 1641. The Old York Historical Society is proud of the town’s historic buildings and has preserved several of them as a museum of the town’s history. The historic buildings include the School House, dating from the mid-18th century. The Old Gaol (jail) gives a vivid impression of crime and punishment two centuries ago. The Emerson-Wilcox House is a museum of New England decorative arts and the Elizabeth Perkins House was a wealthy family’s summer home. The John Hancock warehouse preserves the town’s industrial…
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Old York Buildings & Historical Society
Historic York was called Agamenticus by its pre-colonial Native American inhabitants. British colonials settled York in 1624, and it was chartered as a city in 1641. The Old York Historical Society is proud of the town’s historic buildings and has preserved several of them as a museum of the town’s history. The historic buildings include the School House, dating from the mid-18th century. The Old Gaol (jail) gives a vivid impression of crime and punishment two centuries ago. The Emerson-Wilcox House is a museum of New England decorative arts and the Elizabeth Perkins House was a wealthy family’s summer home. The John Hancock warehouse preserves the town’s industrial…
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Pejepscot Museum
On the Bowdoin campus, the Pejepscot Historical Society preserves several house museums, which provide a fascinating glimpse into the past. You can visit them all for an $8 combination ticket. The Pejepscot Museum displays changing exhibits relating to Brunswick history, with photographs and artifacts pulled from its 50,000-piece inventory. Skolfield-Whittier House, an adjacent 17-room brick mansion, is a virtual time capsule, closed as it was from 1925 to 1982. Victorian furnishings and decor are handsomely preserved – even the spices in the kitchen racks are authentic. It’s only open for tours. The Joshua L Chamberlain Museum exhibits artifacts from the late owner’s…
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Skolfield-Whittier House
On the Bowdoin campus, the Pejepscot Historical Society preserves several house museums, shich provide a fascinating glimpse into the past. You can visit them all for an $8 combination ticket. Skolfield-Whittier House, a 17-room brick mansion, is a virtual time capsule, closed as it was from 1925 to 1982. Victorian furnishings and decor are handsomely preserved – even the spices in the kitchen racks are authentic. It’s only open for tours. The Pejepscot Museum displays changing exhibits relating to Brunswick history, with photographs and artifacts pulled from its 50,000-piece inventory. The Joshua L Chamberlain Museum exhibits artifacts from the late owner’s eventful …
reviewed
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Burnham Tavern
Although Machias proper hosts a branch of the University of Maine, it’s not a place to spend any time. However, its beautiful neighbors, East Machias and Machiasport, are worthy of some attention. Machiasport, in fact, is where the first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War took place. After the king of England received the Declaration of Independence from the colonies, he sent a frigate to Machiasport to monitor the timely collection and transportation of lumber to Portland to build his ships. But a few drunken American colonists at Burnham Tavern decided to pay the frigate a visit before they could reach shore. After killing the English captain with a single shot…
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Joshua L Chamberlain Museum
The Pejepscot Historical Society preserves several house museums on the Bowdoin campus, which provide a fascinating glimpse into the past. The Joshua L Chamberlain Museum exhibits artifacts from the late owner’s eventful life as college professor, Civil War hero, president of Bowdoin College and four-term governor of Maine. Tours are included with the admission fee. The Pejepscot Museum displays changing exhibits relating to Brunswick history, with photographs and artifacts pulled from its 50,000-piece inventory. Skolfield-Whittier House, an adjacent 17-room brick mansion, is a virtual time capsule, closed as it was from 1925 to 1982. Victorian furnishings and decor are…
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Fort Knox State Historic Site
The newest attraction in town is the Penobscot Bridge Observatory, an enclosed observation deck offering panoramic views from its 420ft perch above the Penobscot Narrows. The elevators that whisk you up top are on the grounds of the Fort Knox State Historic Site, just out of town and north of the bridge on ME 174. Not to be confused with the US army’s bullion depository in Kentucky, this Fort Knox dates from 1844, and was built as a bulwark against a British invasion. The huge granite fortress dominates the Penobscot River Narrows, which was an important gateway to Bangor, the commercial heart of Maine’s rich timber industry. Bring a flashlight if you plan a close examina…
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Maine Maritime Museum
The museum, south of the ironworks on the western bank of the Kennebec River, preserves the Kennebec’s long shipbuilding tradition. In summer, the 19th-century Percy & Small Shipyard here still has boatwrights hard at work building wooden craft. The Maritime History Building contains paintings, models and hands-on exhibits that tell the tale of the last 400 years of seafaring. In the apprentice shop of the Percy & Small Shipyard, boat builders restore and construct wooden boats using traditional tools and methods. In summer, the museum offers a variety of boat trip and tours along Kennebec Waterway, to the lighthouse or trolley tours through the Bath Iron Works.
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Wilhelm Reich Museum
Austrian-born psychiatrist and scientist Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957) devoted his life to proving the existence of biological sexual energy in humans, which he called ‘orgone energy.’ Needless to say, Reich’s experiments attracted a lot of attention, and things ended badly for him, with the FDA destroying his equipment and burning his books and publications; he was also sentenced to prison and died there of heart failure. To learn about his life and work, visit the museum, for guided tours through Reich’s fieldstone mansion. The 160 acre grounds have nature trails, and there are impressive views from the roof of the Orgone Energy Observatory.
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Ogunquit Beach
A sublime stretch of family-friendly coastline, Ogunquit Beach is only a five-minute walk along Beach St, east of US 1. Walking to the beach is a good idea in the summer, because the lot fills up early (and it costs around US$4 per hour to park). The 3-mile beach fronts Ogunquit Bay to the south; on the west side of the beach are the warmer waters of the tidal Ogunquit River.
Footbridge Beach, 2 miles to the north near Wells, is the northern extension of Ogunquit Beach. It's reached from US 1 by Ocean St and a footbridge across the Ogunquit River. Another way to access the beach is via Eldridge Rd in Wells - follow the sign for Moody Beach.
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Bowdoin College
One of the oldest colleges in the US, Bowdoin is the alma mater of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and US president Franklin Pierce. For a campus tour, follow the signs from Maine St to Moulton Union. Smith Union is the student center, with an information desk on the mezzanine level, as well as a café, pub, lounge and small art gallery. One worthwhile stop on campus is the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, located in the quadrangle, which is strong in the works of 19th- and 20th-century European and American painters, including Mary Cassatt, Andrew Wyeth and Rockwell Kent.
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Fishermen’s Museum Lighthouse
Along a 3500-mile coastline famed for its natural beauty, Pemaquid Point stands out because of its tortuous, grainy, igneous rock formations pounded by restless, treacherous seas. Perched on top of the rocks is the 11,000-candlepower Pemaquid Light, built in 1827. It’s one of the 61 surviving lighthouses along the Maine coast, 52 of which are still in operation. The keeper’s house now serves as the Fishermen’s Museum Lighthouse, displaying fishing paraphernalia and photos, as well as a nautical chart of the entire Maine coast with all the lighthouses marked.
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Baxter State Park
- Maine, USA
- Sights › State park
Set in the remote forests of northern Maine, Baxter State Park centers on Mt Katahdin (5267ft), Maine's tallest mountain and the northern terminus of the 2175-mile Appalachian Trail. This vast 204,733-acre park is maintained in a wilderness state - no electricity and no running water (bring your own or plan on purifying stream water) - and there's a good chance you'll see moose, deer and black bear. Baxter has extensive hiking trails, several leading to the top of Mt Katahdin, which can be hiked round-trip in a day as long as you're in good shape and get an early start.
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Islesford Market
The Cranberry Isles (www.cranberryisles.com) are delightful, primarily because they’re so off the beaten path. The 400 acre Little Cranberry, more commonly known as Islesford, is about 20 minutes offshore from Southwest Harbor. Diversions include a few galleries, a couple of B&Bs and the Islesford Market, where the 80-some year-rounders and 400-some summer folk gather around like it’s their own kitchen. The Beal & Bunker Mailboat offers frequent year-round service between Northeast Harbor and the Cranberry Isles.
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Museum at Portland Head Light
Fort Williams Park, on Cape Elizabeth, has rolling lawns dotted with bunkers and gun emplacements, from WWII, although the fort actively guarded the entrance to Casco Bay from 1873 to 1964. Right next to the park stands Portland Head Light, the oldest of Maine’s 52 functioning lighthouses. It was commissioned by President George Washington in 1791 and staffed until 1989, when machines took over. The keeper’s house has been passed into service as the Museum at Portland Head Light, which traces the maritime and military history of the region.
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Quoddy Head State Park
- Lubec, USA
- Sights › State park
Some of the most striking scenery in Maine is found in Quoddy Head State Park. The 531 acre park boasts a walking trail that passes along the edge of towering, jagged cliffs. The tides here are similarly dramatic, fluctuating 16ft in six hours. Follow the fantastic 4-mile loop trail and keep an eye to the sea for migrating whales (finback, minke, humpback and right whales) which migrate along the coast in the summer. The park also boasts intriguing subarctic bogland and the much-photographed red-and-white-banded West Quoddy Light (1858).
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Pemaquid Beach
Believe it or not, there are a few stretches of sandy beach along this rockbound coast, and Pemaquid Beach is one of them. As ME 130 approaches Pemaquid Neck, watch for signs on the right (west) for Pemaquid Beach and make a right onto Huddle Rd (which turns into Snowball Hill Rd). The beach is set in a park, and the water is usually very cold for swimming. (Remember, this is Maine!) The Pemaquid Trail, a paved dead-end road, heads south from Snowball Hill Rd just east of the Pemaquid Beach access road.
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Woodlawn Museum
Just north of Mt Desert Island, the small town of Ellsworth is a slice of old-school Americana, with a pretty Main street lined with shops, galleries and restaurants. Nearby is the Woodlawn Museum located 0.25 miles south of US 1. The former home of three generations of the wealthy Black family dates from the 1820s and has marvelously preserved furnishings, decorations and family artifacts dating from 1820 to 1920. Formal gardens and a picturesque lawn surround the mansion, with a pleasant trail circling the woods.
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Fort Pentagöet
While Castine lacks a great stone citadel like Fort Knox, it did have some important fortifications, though these are low earthworks, now park-like and grass-covered. Close to the Maine Maritime Academy campus, Fort George is near the upper (northern) end of Main St where it meets Battle Ave and Wadsworth Cove Rd. Look for Fort Pentagöet. The American Fort Madison (earlier called Fort Porter and dating to 1808) is further west along Perkins St, opposite Madockawando St.
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Marine Environmental Research Institute
The Marine Environmental Research Institute is an important center studying the relationship between pollution and marine life. Visitors can learn about MERI’s activities in a series of changing exhibitions in the main gallery, often with hands-on exhibits for children. During the summer MERI offers two- to four-hour daily cruises (adult/child from $40/20) led by naturalists. Itineraries range from observing wildlife along the coast to exploring an uninhabited island, all with an educational focus in mind.
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Asticou Terraces & Azalea Garden
Asticou Terraces & Azalea Garden, designed in 1900, is simply lovely. This 200 acre garden is laced with paths, little shelters and ornamental Japanese-style bridges. Azaleas and rhododendrons bloom profusely from mid-May to mid-June. Don’t neglect to wander up the garden’s Thuya Lodge, the depository of botanical books, where there’s a reflecting pool and well-tended perennial gardens. The terraces zigzag through the woods and down to the water.
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Penobscot Marine Museum
Just north of Camden on US 1 lies Belfast, a sleepy often-overlooked town, of grand architecturally eclectic houses and a diverse population mingling in the galleries and cafés of town. Five miles northeast, Searsport has a fine historic district with its share of 19th-century mansions. Searsport is also home to the superb Penobscot Marine Museum, housing Maine’s biggest collection of mariner art and artifacts, which are spread through a number of historic buildings.
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