Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens — Attraction in Boothbay

We, (my daughter, son-in-law, and 10 year old granddaughter), went early in September 2025). We encountered No Crowds. Weather was grey, but actually perfect for walking through the gardens.. It's an amazingly beautiful place, expensive, but well worth it. The attention to detail throughout was remarkable. It's a very neat & well kept park. In several hours, we saw one small piece of trash hidden almost completely by a rock in a pond. Given the evident attention to detail we saw from the entrance at the visitor center & throughout,, we felt certain it would be found and dealt with quickly. The gardens were impeccable. There were so many beautiful flowers in bloom, & a large variety of interesting plants and trees to see - all well labeled and landscaped. There were so many photo opportunities. The butterfly exhibit had only a few butterflies & caterpillars given the season, but the docent in the area was informative and interesting to us, including to our 10 year old. Children were the focus in several areas of the park, with charming, educational, & engaging activities & points of interest. All of the children we saw seemed quite engaged in activity. An example for children was a whole area in the woods devoted to building fairy houses with both supplied & found natural materials. The trolls are made with found 7 recycled materials. We were there on a Saturday, spent several hours walking in various sections, following trails and walkways that were easily interpreted from the map provided. My granddaughter had also been provided an identify & search activity brochure/map at the entrance. Again, we encountered no crowds. I suspect we chose the perfect time to visit - Fall & probably just after schools started in Maine. Towards the end of our visit, we took one of the steep trails, which was marked as challenging, and were transported back up the hill on an open-air tram. After walking around for a few hours & the short steep hike down hill, we were grateful for the (12 person ?) tram. The tram driver noted points of interest, and gave us the opportunity to step off to see another of the really amazing & huge wooden trolls we had missed,, while she turned the tram around and picked us up again. The trams are scheduled to pick up at stops every 20 minutes. We were dropped off at the visitor center, where we stopped in at the store. It's a well curated store with lots of educational materials for kids, and good quality souvenirs for adults. We saw maybe half of the most concentrated portions of the gardens. I'm hoping to return again at some point to see the rest of the park & revisit what we saw this time. It was quite a memorable experience. The trolls, by a Danish recycle artist, are a delight that I've wanted to see for awhile, and alone could justify a visit. I highly recommend the park. The negative reviews I read - prior to writing this one - seemed to be mostly issues of advance planning. I'd recommend these people try again. It's a unique and...

UPDATED . . . New winter photos! 2022

July 6, 2021 . . . The Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine should be 2 Places!

Summer time - Needs a Review ! 🍦⛱

In t-shirt & shorts bring the kids, or rent some kids. . . Remember to buy your tickets on line for the day you wish to visit the Botanical Gardens! You can pack a lunch, or buy sandwiches, salads, etc. at their cafe! Spend the day playing & learning over 295 acres of gardens, trails, and now 15 foot high TROLLS!

So cool there’s a magical adventure awaiting all, open to the wonders of Nature’s vital role in our survival on this planet! Ties into the Botanical Garden’s Mission . . .

To Inspire meaningful connections among People, Plants, Animals, and Nature!

Kudos to the Leadership in recruiting Danish Artist Thomas Damon, for his imaginary Trolls to teach & inspire our youth, with a fun mystery to solve ! Love interactive learning ! What do the Trolls have to share with us?

Oh, don’t forget your camera for the beauty all about you! Might brighten up a bathroom wall with one of your photos! Check out the bee collecting nectar from a flower!

( New Summer Photos added)

Winter time - Needs a Review ! 🎅🏼🎄 ( Updated Nov. 23, 2022)

Such a holiday delight, GO ! See IT ! I can't say enough . . . walk around the acres of holiday lights strung all over the trees, bushes, and water bridges at the Botanical Gardens in Booth Bay, Maine.

The cost was $18 for adults, and kids about $9 each for entrance into the Botanical Gardens. You need to buy your tickets ahead of time . . . online works. I believe the holiday lights are up 2 weeks before Thanksgiving to New Years. Over that 6 week period, you can buy tickets for the 4 pm time slot, or the 6 pm time slot. But check out the website for details.

Watch the weather, and temperatures! It was cold the night we went, temps. in the teens with wind gusts up to 25 mph. Dress with all the trimmings, for your head, hands, and feet! There were 750,000 lights this year! FANTASTIC! Added Animals & Flowers Aglow!

The best news, try the hot chocolate & Popcorn stations! They take cash or credit. They offer a few delightful flavors, I highly suggest they bring back the assortment of hot chocolate flavors!?! (peppermint only) Enjoy the Best hot chocolate ever . . . as you walk around and see the best MAINE light...

A truly wonderful place, well maintained, brand new facilities, available staff, reasonable prices that are clearly being utilized to improve the facility. We came here with the whole family, grandparents, my wife and I and two kids and had plenty to do and explore for many hours. Our 8-year-old, who is very content playing on his iPad all day, thanked us for bringing him here and said that he had a lot of fun. Besides "flowers or plants" the paths weave through the well designed gardens like a labyrinth, bringing up unexpected discoveries. There are ponds populated by fish and frogs, many insects and birds. There is a little playground where you can explore bird calls, gardens with herbs and vegetables, a newly established butterfly conservatory, a place to learn about gardening and maintenance and there even was a puppet theater. All this, which I perceived as the most important aspect, was well integrated into the existing fauna and landscape instead of replacing it. Parking was easy and accessible, entrance swift, the facilities clean and well maintained. The location is apart from any environmental distractions like busy roads and allows to be fully present. What came as a pleasant surprise was that the cafe, at first glance expansive and simple, was actually quite good in terms of quality and quantity and did not mislead. The salads and sandwiches simply tasted as if someone had just picked the greens and vegetables from the gardens. The staff was accommodating and one person was able to help me with a band-aid for a blister on my foot. Maybe that is normal but I was pleasantly surprised that they had them readily available. My suggestion to these gardens would be to create a strong photography program or events and info packets with information what can be found there, when, where and, for novices, suggestions for composition/settings. I have never been to a botanical garden that is not full of "photographers" as it presents with so many subjects. Keep up...