We came to see the trolls! We made a night away of coming to the Botanical Gardens to see five of…read moreThomas Dambo's troll installations and stayed to appreciate everything else. The Trolls: there are 5 trolls on an easy path on the outskirts of the Gardens. If all you want to do is see the trolls, an able bodied person could manage in about an hour. If you're slower or need assistance, it would take longer. There is a shuttle for those who want/need it to get down to the trolls farther out. There's a ton more to do than just see the trolls though. Everything else: There's a bunch of stops throughout the Gardens that kept our 3 kids (8, 11, 12) occupied. We spent a lot of time building fairy gardens, enjoying the view at the dock, and we walked out to the Guardian of the Seeds installation. The grounds themselves are meticulously maintained and it would be beautiful to walk around any day.

We loved visiting this garden and were delighted that we could use our AHS reciprocal membership…read morehere. The trolls were certainly the highlight, enormous in scale and wonderfully set up as a scavenger hunt activity for both adults and the kids. The children's field guide was also an excellent way to keep the littles excited and searching. We loved all the wooded paths and thoughtful and well curated immersive areas from the sensory garden to the area with music inspired by the local outdoors. The children's garden is also well put together, themed after local books and with an interactive activity each, which was such a neat idea. We only wished that the maps were a bit clearer (ie they differed even better the children's map and the main one, one did not list names of the trolls, etc). We spent 2.5 hours here on our way between Bar Harbor and Portland and wished we had more time and lived closer!

This is an excellent museum which highlights Bath's proud history of shipbuilding in Maine…read more Although the admission fee is high ($20 or $22), it helps to support the volunteers and activities of the museum. We only had 2 hours available, so we focused largely on the exhibits. The museum includes various buildings which highlight different aspect of shipbuilding from caulking, blacksmithing, and building skiffs (modern day boats used to travel on Maine's coastal waterways). We loved the exhibit on lobstering in Maine - with superb displays that showed why Maine's lobsters are prized worldwide (they have the best claw meat), and a colorful display of buoys and traps. Talking with volunteers about the art of woodcarving and building skiffs was very interesting. It was cool to see the flagpoles (representing the Wyoming schooner) and Bath Iron Works in the distance (a current shipyard for the U.S. Navy). Since we only had 2 hours available from 10am-12pm, we could not join the afternoon lighthouse cruises (which looked like fun). Overall, we enjoyed our visit to the Maine Maritime Museum! You'll learn a lot about Bath's proud history of shipbuilding and the tradition of lobstering in Maine.

The Maine Maritime Museum is not only an excellent museum for highlighting the area's substantial…read morecontribution to maritime history, but their events are always first class. I have done cruises, taken classes, and attended dinners here, and each experience was such a treat! I know that I will NEVER again watch fireworks from shore when it was so much better to watch them from the water. I highly recommend becoming a Museum member, not just for the event discounts, but just to have access to the beautiful grounds. I have whiled away more than one afternoon, watching the beautiful Kennebec River and all the wildlife from the grassy shore. This Museum is so much more than a museum; it's a celebration of Bath's relationship with the sea. If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would!

Wow!!! This is a must-visit if you are a car enthusiast! I grew up going to car shows, but I have…read morenever seen anything like this! There are more cars than I had imagined, and they are all very pristine. I did not expect to see bicycles and buggies as well, plus airplanes. I think there was even more that we didn't see because there was a car auction going on. $20 is a great price. This would've been 35 or $40 in Georgia. The history was amazing! We were there for over an hour but could easily spend 2+ hours there.

We just held my fathers celebration of life at the museum this weekend and the staff couldn't have…read morebeen more professional. We held it in the children's area which have interactive items for the kids and a lot of the adults too. The tables, chairs, audio etc were all set up and ready to go early. Our caterer Taco Joe was also all set up filling the museum with an amazing aroma. My dad was a member of the museum and would have been thrilled to have his life remembered here

A visit to this gallery always is worth the time. The works of many talented artists are always on…read moredisplay plus there monthly exhibitions. This year's exhibition during our visit was of the works of Greta Van Campen who lives in nearby Thomaston.

While midcoast Maine has a large amount of wonderful art galleries, Dowling Walsh is easily the…read morebest. The layout of the gallery and the quality and variety of the artwork is stunning and the staff is friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. Make sure to stop through here when looking to expand your collection.

Well curated, always fair, and always helpful. This remains one of the best galleries for…read morecontemporary and period (particularly mid 20th century Maine) art in the State. Worth a visit to see what treasures they've discovered in an ever-changing retail gallery.

We once again visited what I consider the finest art gallery in Boothbay Harbor on our recent…read morevacation. The art work of Andrea Peters particularly stood out though a few other art works were very good.

Definitely not as shiny as the children's museum in Portland, but my daughter (4.5yo) loves this…read moremuseum. She really likes the dress up clothes. It's a fun place to play for a couple of hours and reasonably priced.

Small place with well set up rooms and many activities to try out and play with. The staff was…read morewarm, friendly and entertaining. Came with three children under 7. We will be back!

Fun! We based our…read moresummer family vacation around the Lobster festival and used Camden and Lincolnville as our base camp to explore. We had a good time but were a little disappointed honestly bc, while it's not small, it wasn't as large as we anticipated. There is one main tent that has steamed lobster as well as several soups and chowders. Nearby is also a line for lobster rolls and you a get lobster nachos and such. There was a cute tent with merchandise which was pretty well stocked with mugs, hats, magnets, t-shirts and tons of other cute lobster-themed goodies. Some food trucks scattered about offered other options and there were a good 20-30 vendors selling other wares and crafts.

From Reno, Nv. we flew into Portland, ME. to the Maine Lobster Festival. Yes, finally scratching…read morethis off my bucket list. Festival runs from July 30- August 3rd. The Festival is located at Rockland's Harbor Park, is easy to find on Main Street. There is FREE parking at South Elementary School (30 Broadway, Rockland, ME) where a free shuttle bus will take you downtown to the Festival. Buses run every 30 minutes or less. Entrance gates are located on Main Street and Park Street. It was sprinkling our first day at the festival therefore the lines were nonexistent; loved it! I was here for the Lobstah but there were quite a lot of food vendors if I wanted to have fish, chicken or pork. A lot of drink options as well, boba, beer, lemonade and plenty of other soft drinks. We purchased the 3 lobster dinner for 85 dollars it came with a corn in the cob, hot drawn butter, slaw, bib, salt, pepper, 1 napkin, 1 wet wipe and a plastic wobbly pick I'm guessing to aid with getting the lobster out of the shell(useless). We also got a Shore dinner for 59, which came with 1 lobster, big steamed clams, corn on the cob, chowder of your choice, they had about 5 different types, we got the haddock, it was chunky and had a lot of flavor.They sell lobster crackers for 8 dollars shaped like a claw but they are also useless without a real handle and once you get butter on them, which it's inevitable, they get slippery and you have the 1 thin paper napkin to work with. Anyway, BYO cracker and napkins; Messy transaction but lots of fun! They have a tent with lots of arts and crafts. Local artists showcase their work and it's all available for purchase. I saw a few ladies selling knitted items and home made jewelry too. So many beautiful things, you're sure to find something for everyone to take home. All people working here are volunteers and they are sweet and friendly. I plan on returning for sure. It was a super chill and fun experience. Loved it!

For the second summer in a row, I attended WW&F Railway's train ride and pig roast event…read more Knowledgeable volunteers conduct the ride, and the pig roast is second to none. Seeing the old equipment being used (like the hand-moved engine turn-about) is a highlight as is the shared experience with the other guests. There's plenty of time and plenty of food, so don't panic that the food line seems long; in fact, be prepared because there is lots of time left over after eating to explore the farm's lavender and roaming goats. Note: If you have mobility problems, this might not be for you: there are steps from the platform up onto the train and back down, a ride back and forth from the train to the farm site on a tractor-pulled wagon, and uneven grassy walking on the farm.

The railway museum is a snap shot of history that will transport you to a different time. This is a…read morereal working narrow gauge rail road where guests can take an old timey train ride through the forest on the original narrow gauge tracks. Volunteers and educators maintain the tracks, buildings, and on-site gift shop. There is so much to see and learn about this is a unique museum in that in these buildings you can look at, climb around, and literally touch history. I have not ridden the train (yet) I was simply there to admire and learn. It costs nothing to look around and explore the museum. They have plenty of parking, restrooms, water fountain. Dress for the weather and the grounds of the museum are not paved they are crushed gravel paths as this is a working railway station. You will be transported to the 1800's for sure.