This picturesque park is the perfect place for a walk. The mostly flat, 1 mile loop is not…read moreparticularly buggy and there are lookout points with benches if you need a rest or just want to sit and enjoy the view. It also creates the perfect place for reflection, perhaps to meditate or journal. Pro Tip - Grab a flyer from the Visitor Center or look up the website on your phone before you start the trail so you know what each marker on the trail means. The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is also dog friendly. Although, there really isn't a trashcan to throw away potty bags. It's usually not too busy when I've been there, but I'm usually there in the morning. When you start the trail, there is info on Rachel Carson's environmental contributions and life along with what wildlife you might see during your walk. There is a small parking lot. I haven't had trouble finding parking before; although, I'm not sure if it's the timing of when I've been there or if it just seems to be a locals place that the tourists haven't discovered yet.

I once again visited this NWR shortly after sunrise and once again had the trail to almost to…read moremyself. The other visitors, though a few may have been residents, were a multitude of gulls, a pair of chipmunks, one great blue heron and a kingfisher. 3 Claps.

This was amazing. I'm so glad we decided to go down the coast and take this walk. We decided to go…read moreat sunrise. Although there was overcast, it was still a beautiful walk. I imagined the people who walked this jetty every single day and I was jealous. We didn't tour the lighthouse but we've seen plenty of lighthouses. We've never seen one out a mile though. Don't miss this gem! Be sure to use the bathroom before coming here as we did not see any portapods. Also, wear shoes with hood support. We saw a few wearing flip flops; so t know how they did it. I wouldn't take the risk of tripping.

The ending to a perfect day in Maine? Watching the sunset from a jetty of course!…read more After spending the day exploring coastal areas in southern Maine, we decided to walk the jetty near Wells Harbor/York Beach. We didn't know what to expect when we discovered this spot - so when you come know that there are two jetty's. One you can access from the elongated, sandy parking area on Foster Ln (which was free to use and deserted when we came in early November); and, one you can access from a bigger, concrete parking area at the end of Atlantic Ave (beyond Sage Fishing Charters - it's pay to park here, but I don't know if that's just during the height of the summer season). These jetty's are long (I read somewhere that they're over a mile) stone breakwaters that stretch out relatively far from land into the Atlantic. It's beautiful to walk down and back as you get stunning views of Wells Harbor, the beach on either side, and great for bird watching too (we were captivated by some sanderlings!). It's important to be mindful when walking on jetty's though - these big boulders have crevices between them, so "mind the gap"; if the ocean is rough, you might also get soaked from waves crashing against them! Absolutely worth seeing, especially in the shoulder season when it's got that much more serene, humble feeling to it!

This place is a spectacular Nature hike taking you through some amazing trails to the Estuarine and…read moresalt marshes. Great trails and wood plank walks make this a easy and enjoyable experience for all

Came on a Tuesday afternoon. There's barns…read more Some museums which were closed. A visitor center which was closed. It's free because it's off season. Plenty of paths. One leads to the beach Ok to pass the time

It's seems like Mainers crave "secret beaches" more than ever before. With so many tourists in the…read moresummer time, the usual haunts can be overcrowded and offer limited parking and costly fees (because tourists are actually willing to wait in lines and fork over cash for an authentic coastal exeprience). Because going to the beach is sacred for me (I'm a mermaid, afterall) I am one of those locals looking for a spot where I can sun in splash in peace. I had heard of Laudholm Beach in passing, and decided one hot Friday to seek it out. Just a fortyish minute drive from Portland brought me to the Wells Reserve where you can access this beach after walking the Barrier Beach Trail (stay on it until it brings you out of the woods and over a wooden staircase). It's a dream come true: impressive and expansive views of sparkling Atlantic Ocean, piping plovers, waves, (comparatively) warm water, lobster boats, and limited people (and most of that small number are just here to walk the length of the beach before returning whence they came). There are quite a few rocks to navigate past at first, but that's what keeps most people at bay. You can pull up a patch of sand and spend hours uninterrupted here, or you can explore a bit and find mud flats and salt marshes that help protect various beach life (birds, fish, plants). Just be warned... at high tide there is little to no beach . Not an exaggeration. My walk back to the trail was partially in water (and back over those aforementioned rocks making it a bit dangerous...what's life without adventure though?!). Happy to know this place exists for when my other "secret" spots are overtaken by the loud, rude, non-mermaid believers.

We visited the Wells Reserve at Laudholm and decided to hike to this beach which lacks the crowds…read moregenerally found at Maine beaches. Unless your are private landowner near the beach, this is the only way to access the beach.

There's a headquarters building for the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust (where you can park) with…read morea beautifully manicured "backyard"/garden area where they host events for NPOs and private gatherings. You'll definitely want to come check this spot on on your own, though because Emmons Preserve has it all: - A story book trail for children (follow a children's book along an easy to navigate path that includes tunnels and a hut made entirely from weaved together branches and tree limbs, faces on trees, fairy houses, log benches to sit upon, etc.) - Long bridges over the Batson River (the reflection of the leaves in the glassy surface of the water was stunning!) - Vernal pools, wetlands, wide open fields, dense forests - Informative signs about the area (including the wildlife and trees, the fire of 1947, the logging industry, and QR codes to help you identify bird calls) - Plenty of well manicured trails - I saw lots of runners on the Learning Trail; on the other side of the property, you can venture into the woods up the Batson River Trail to Jeremy's Trail which connects to Jenne's Loop. These offer more views of the river and an unexpected scenic, bubbling, babbling, absolutely lovely little waterfall. Another spot you could hideaway at with a good book or a picnic (carry in, carry out!!!). Fill up that cup with a big dose of nature therapy, my friends. Forest bathing is important.

The campground itself was awesome. For a little place on the side of the Saco you really can't ask…read morefor more. Yeah the bugs sucked - but deal with it you're camping. I got bit more than Evander Holyfield's ear, but I didn't get Zika so you won't die, just a little uncomforted. Yeah there were some loud people but after 10pm the owner was going around nicely asking people to keep it down. Chill guy, said his dream was to own a campground and just recently bought it and you can tell he is making constant improvements daily. Bring a grate for the campfire, the one that is provided you can't cook burgers on unless you have a big pan because of the 6 inch gaps between the sections.

First time camping there. Couldn't say enough positive about it. The owners are very knowledgeable…read moreand friendly. Hubby liked that it's easy to get into. I love that the sites are not on top of one another. Bathrooms are clean. They are handicap accessible also. We will definitely go back.

We live in such a glorious corner of the world, that I'm trying to see as absolute much of it as I…read morecan. Each Winter when the snow begins to feel overly oppressive, I curl up on the couch with a hot mug of tea and craft a list of all the outdoor places I want to explore. The Edwin L Smith Preserve came up in my research and, since it was a place I had never gone, I made it a point to seek it out first. On a sunny spring Sunday, we decided to spend a couple hours of hiking as much of the trail system in the preserve as we could. But we got bored and left. Yeah, you read that right. It's a trail. It's JUST a trail. A very, very, very long trail through the woods. There's no destination to get to, there's no scenic overlooks, there's no ruins of any kind, there was no nature other than the sound of bird call to admire, there's literally nothing here but trail and woods. Oh, but you won't actually be able to enjoy the woods because you'll be spending most of your time looking down at your feet because: 1) much of the trail is irritatingly windy and hilly - not so much that you'll break a sweat, but just enough to inconvenience you. It seems to just go up and down, and up and down, and up and down... without getting anywhere but up and down, and up and down, and up and down. 2) the impressive amount of roots to trip on... at one point we joked that it felt like we were in some sort of fairy tale where the roots seemed to be multiplying in an effort to eventually entangle us thereby forcing us to stay in the most boring woods for the rest of our lives. I admit: I'm privileged by living in Maine. There are beautiful walking paths, hikes, beaches, mountains to climb, and gardens to both wander and wonder in pretty much everywhere you look. As such, it's always a little disappointing when you find yourself walking a trail that could be any trail in any part of any woods anywhere in the world. That's just not for me. But maybe it's exactly what you're craving. If you need to clear your head and breathe in some of that refreshing Maine air, if you need a peaceful walk through nothing but woods uninterrupted by literally anything, if you need a little gentle monotony in your life, even if you're a mountain biker looking for ten mile work out... then this Preserve might be everything you've been looking for.

Medium-difficult trail for mountain biking but has many mosquitoes. Spray for bugs before beginning…read moretrail.

I feel the need to preface all of my nature reviews with this: being 90% forested and having around…read more3500 miles of coastline, Maine has a tremendous amount of spaces, walkways, paths, and trails of all kinds and of all levels. There's something for everyone. What I'm reviewing is how a spot compares to similar outdoor spots in my personal opinion. Being in nature - and remembering to carry in, carry out - is always five stars! :) *** Parking? Kind of. Loop trail? No. Well marked signs? No. When you arrive (according to Google Maps) there will be a pump station with signs in front of it that say No Parking. However, if you pull onto the dirt path next to it you'll see a handful of parking spots behind it. There were other cars here with people getting out to run, and walk their dog, so I assume it's cool to park here? I did. Then you have two options: keep walking into the woods, or cross the very busy street you just pulled off from to go to the trail on the other side of the road. There's no signage here regarding trail stuff, so I randomly picked the second option. After walking through the trees a bit, suddenly I was exposed to completely open views of coastal salt marsh on both sides of me. This is the Mousam River Marsh. It was low tide, but the sea grass is beautiful this time of year, and being able to look out to a beach (and the open ocean) in the distance made for a lovely, quick walk. Eventually you get to a giant sign in front of returned forest that says Madelyn Marx Preserve and... well, that's it. Sure the trail continues on through the woods and all the way to Sea Rd, but you have to doubleback at some point, so I decided to when I reached the sign. Lovely spot to stretch your legs a bit, but not necessarily somewhere you have to check out. I am appreciative to the Kennebunk Land Trust, though, whose "mission is to permanently conserve and steward land to benefit natural and human communities." Thanks for the good work you all are doing across this region of Maine!

If you're feeling adventurous, start your hike in Emmons Preserve on the Learning Trail and you can…read morewalk all the way to Tyler Brook Preserve via the Baston River Trail through woods and past extremely old cemeteries. You can also drive down Tyler Brook Lane off of Route 9 (it feels a little like you're going down a private road to someone's house [you are], but keep straight and you'll see a little parking area on the right hand side for three or four cars. From there you can walk down a wide pathway that leads to the start of Tyler Loop (which is about a mile long). Go to the right, and you'll follow Tyler Loop (marked white) through the woods; go to the left, and you'll follow overlapping trails (Tyler Loop and Baston River Trail, which is marked yellow). It's from this latter half of the loop where there are offshoots that offer scenic marsh overlooks (one off a red marked trail [Tyler Brook Overlook] that goes out and comes back, one on the trail itself, and one off Blue/Brook Loop [on their trail maps it says Blue Loop; on the directional sig it says Brook Loop]). Be absolutely sure to cross the bridge and check out the pretty, but very small falls where Batson River Trail and Tyler Loop branch off from each other. It's a very, very mellow walk, dog-friendly as far as I can tell, plenty of well maintained slatted planks along the pathway, and it's extremely well marked. It's a nice walk in the woods, and if that's what you're looking for and you're in the area then definitely stretch your legs and check it out!