A trip to Maine is not complete without a visit to The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Walk the trails surrounded by gorgeous varieties of plants and flowers, experience tree top rope courses and adorable play areas for kids. Oh, and don't forget about the giant troll statues hiding in the woods spread throughout the gardens!
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Our family first visited the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens this past summer, and we absolutely loved it. Not realizing how large the gardens are, we weren't prepared on the amount of time it would take to experience the entire attraction. This place is massive, and there is a lot to explore!
Entering the gardens is like entering a lovely, serene world. The greenery and variety of flowers is breathtaking against the small little rivers and brooks that run through. We enjoyed looking at the flowers and my kids loved running through the plant tunnels.
We wandered around for a bit and came across some very fun kids areas, including the children's garden, which my kids would have stayed there for hours if they could. Fairy houses, fun garden shed, water play, and more had my kids hooked.
Now let's talk about the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Trolls! One of the coolest things about the gardens is the Troll Exhibit, called Guardian of the Seeds. These giant trolls were installed in 2014 by Thomas Dambo, the world's leading recycled-materials artist. Each one of the trolls represents a part of the tree and tells a story about why every part of the tree is important to the whole forest. There is a guide map at the front desk which helps you to see them all! Visiting the trolls is 100% worth it. They are giant and fascinating. We absolutely loved it.
There are also shuttles that offer transport around the gardens, which was great. We didn't mind walking all over, but by the very end of our visit we were at the opposite end of the entrance, and my three year old was done walking. I'd also wished we brought a stroller, but it wasn't a big deal as the shuttles were running efficiently.
Like I said, this place is huge! We didn't get a chance to explore the butterfly area and there is an entire other side of hiking trails!
Restrooms are also available around the gardens and there is a little cafe to grab a bite.
This place was seriously beautiful and so fun for our entire family. I can't wait to go back.
Tips:
Plan for at least half a day to get the most out of the experience! We wished we had planned for the entire day.
If you have little ones under three, bring a stroller.
If you plan on seeing the trolls, you're hiking. Wear the right shoes, bring bug spray, sunblock, and water. The five trolls are hidden deep in the woods! We managed seeing all 5 fairly easily, but it did take our family around 2-3 hours to get them all ( we have a 5 year old and 3 year old for reference)
Check them out at https://www.mainegardens.org/
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is located at 105 Botanical Gardens Drive
Boothbay, ME 04537
