The Babb's Bridge is a faithful reconstruction of a 19th century bridge that stood here until it…read morewas destroyed by arson in 1973. The new bridge was built in 1976 and carries Hurricane Road over the Presumpscot River between Gorham and Windham. It is a single-span queenspost truss bridge. The present bridge was built, in part as a community effort with donated materials and labor, using techniques that might have been used in the construction of the original. The bridge has a 10' clearance at the sides so my van would fit but I did not see a weight limit posted so I didn't try. [Review 18557 overall - 108 in Maine - 2079 of 2022.]

Ruins dating back to 17th century with a wealth of information provided. Colonial Pemaquid State…read moreHistoric Site is situated in a peaceful location with lovely views of the surrounding area. The introductory video is informative, and the museum hosts a number of artifacts excavated from the site. The ruins themselves are not much to look at, but enough information is provided to explain the history of the site to answer many questions that a visitor may have. Overall, even though it is a bit out of the way, I would recommend a stop at this historic site if you have time.

We visited the fort and adjacent exhibit on a rainy day and found it fascinating. Yes, we got…read moredrenched, but so much the better to imagine life there in colonial times!

Fort Gorges is a two-story fortress made of granite. Fort Gorges was constructed before the Civil…read moreWar and used to store guns and ammunition. When I first saw it, it looked like a mini Alcatraz as it is on it's own little island. Usually when there are mini islands with a fortress, it usually has wartime historic values. This is one of three fortresses in the Portland Harbor.

Fort Gorges at Portland Maine in Casco Bay. This is old Civil war Fort you can access by boat and…read moreexplore! We did not get to go there! Noël Teel Lisa Diane Boyce-Vanoy Dale Lisa Vanoy Tony Vanoy #newengland25trip

This is a roadside parking spot with a scenic overlook of green countryside, a river, and the…read morehighest mountain in Maine. It's also said to be a good spot for stargazing and astronomy (vehicle headlights excepted), but I can't vouch for that personally because I was there before sunset. There's a granite tablet that says the overlook was donated by individuals in 2010. What a neat thing to do! This highway is way off the beaten path; my wife grew up in Maine and moved around quite a bit in early adulthood, and had never through this part of the state. There are not a lot of places to pull over and stretch one's legs along this highway, so it was a great find; I needed a few minutes of rest. A restroom would have been nice -- even a portable. But we had to continue to Limerick town for relief.

I just love this little scenic outlook! I work in Western Maine, and am driving up and down Route 5…read morefrom Hiram down to Waterboro a few times a week. There is often times no cell service in these areas. This is the best spot to stop to make calls or use apps that require cell service. I work on the road so it's great spot for me to catch up on documentation or make calls. Very nice views of Mount Washington on a clear day too, which is a nice bonus ;)

So many places to take pictures,sit and relax. walking across the swinging bridges feels fun and…read morethe sights are great.

Super cool suspended rope bridge. I went a a drizzly day and it was awesome. The parking lot is…read morereally small and has about 5 spots for cars. I walked across the the river and back. There are great views of the river. I jumped up and down at a couple of spots and could definitely feel the bridge swing. Definitely would visit again.

Commissioned by George Washington and completed in 1791, this is the oldest lighthouse in the…read morecountry. It's an absolute beauty sitting amongst the rugged rocks and crashing waves on the southern coast of Maine, and certainly worth a visit if you are ever in the area. It's definitely a touristy area with tour buses driving through daily, but the parking area is massive and there are picnic benches if you want to do lunch or just sit and take in the view. A nice paved walking trail awaits you with multiple vantage points for stunning pictures. I am so happy I crossed this off my bucket list.

After a day out in Maine, we wanted to stop by the lighthouse at cape Elizabeth!…read more It was a quick stop (only open for like 45m left) The parking kiosks didn't work but a local told us it's good so we parked and went for the shots and take a look at some history! We'll have to come back another day in the summer when the vendors are open and see what we may have missed coming late. Great views with the lighthouse as a center piece under a beautiful sky.

This is one of several mysterious stone chambers in New England, whose provenance and purpose is…read moreunknown. Usually they are square or rectangular in shape, with stone slabbed roofs and soil floors. Archaeologists usually try to claim that they were built by early colonists as 'root cellars' yet they are ill-suited to that task as the floors are soil, which is hardly conducive to dry storage. There is also some documentary evidence from early colonists saying that the chambers were there when they arrived. Other chambers have had very old trees growing out of their walls, evidence that the chamber must be older than the tree. Another theory is that they were sweat lodges used by native Americans, but there is no evidence to show that any native groups built stone sweat lodges. So who did build these things? The closest equivalent in Britain is the souterrains of Scotland or fogous of Cornwall, but these tend to be larger and have curved layouts. The corbelled roof construction is similar to the beehive cells constructed by early monks like the Culdees, but there the similarity ends. Maybe it was early Viking explorers? An earlier megalithic culture that we don't know about? It's a fascinating enigma. Research by antiquarians and earth mystery researchers has shown that many chambers have precise geometric ratios in their construction, and that they are aligned to significant solar events like midwinter solstice, and this Beehive Hut seems no exception. The proportions are almost exactly 2:1 - it is just short of being twice as long as it is wide, and the width and height are the same. The entrance (by my estimation) seems to be aligned to midwinter sunrise (it's hard to be precise because of the tree cover), and is situated part-way up a hillside, which would allow the rising sun to enter the chamber. There are an interesting couple of white quartz stones, one in the back wall and one in the left-hand side wall, which may mark the extremes of the sunrise positions between equinox and winter solstice. But as I'm not resident here I am unable to do the long-term observations that this theory would require to confirm it. Interested locals should get in touch with the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA), who will know more about these things.

Located just off the parking lot of Bug Light Park, this large ship-shaped structure recalls what…read morewas here before the area was converted to a harborside park - a sprawling World War II shipyard that was capable of building as many as 13 ships at the same time. Between 1941 and 1945, the South Portland Shipyards built 266 cargo vessels, 236 of which were Liberty Ships, contributing immeasurably to the Allied victory in World War II. When the war ended the Maine Legislature formed the Greater Portland Public Development Commission (GPPDC), which acquired, leased, and managed the Shipyard properties. The Liberty Ship Memorial was conceived as a tribute to the thousands of men and women who worked at the South Portland Shipyards; the seamen who faced the dangers of war on board the Liberty Ships; all of those who served in the war and their families; and the South Portland residents who shared their backyard with a booming shipyard. There are several captions and plaques that detail the history here, how it was a critical part of the war effort and then how it came to be the park. It's an amazing structure that won an "Excellence on the Waterfront Honor Award" from the Waterfront Center, Washington D.C., for this project. [Review 14911 overall, 413 of 2021, number 93 in Maine.]