Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary — Attraction in Ellsworth

I visited this sanctuary on a vacation to Acadia and am so glad I came across it. It was a beautiful hidden gem. The trails all throughout (including at the alternate entrance that's open after 5pm on weekdays) were so serene. And the sanctuary bird area was the absolute highlight for me. They house a number of raptors including vultures, hawks, and owls, who are being rehabilitated or cared for, and there are very sweet thoughtful signs posted throughout the area helping visitors understand how they can make the birds more comfortable (e.g., by speaking quietly, not pointing at the birds, etc.). I've never seen this kind of information posted at a sanctuary before and really loved it, I thought it was very sweet and presented in a really fun way. We actually came back another day to attend one of the guides tours, which was led by a woman who had a wealth of knowledge and really made the tour fun and interactive. She was so excited to spend time with us afterwards answering our questions and sharing her passion for the birds and the sanctuary. They also have a very sweet gift shop/museum which has some amazing taxidermy and egg/nesr exhibits. This place really seems to care for the birds who live there and is donation only (no entrance fee required). I happily donated to support such a great cause. I highly recommend you visit them if you're in the Bar...

I visited here this past Fall. It is a very fascinating place! I took a tour of the old house which was neat and the learned the history of Birdsacre and the family connected to it. It was quite interesting! Even more interesting was seeing the birds that have been rescued and brought here that for various reasons can no longer survive in the wild. The different owls were especially neat to see up close. I loved the Barred Owl pair. Beautiful! The outdoor enclosures they are in are very large, well designed to be like their natural environment and nice. The birds all look very well cared for. Most would probably have not survived if not for the dedication and care of the people here. I hope to get back to check out the hiking trails at another time. Very nice to have a place with hiking trails in Ellsworth! So important that places like this get preserved. We need more nature and fewer retail...

I took my kids yesterday. I use to go on the trails a lot as a kids but haven't been in years. We got completely lost and it 2 hours and 30 minutes to get back. The trails need to be fixed. One path wasn't passable. We found a broken bridge. We called them to ask for help but the person who answered wasn't sure because she hasn't done the trails but she did send someone to look for us. We made it back before them. We did see different kinds of mushrooms that the kids liked looking for. And we looked at some...