You have probably heard of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and their beautiful plants and flowers, you have probably read about and seen some of their famous trolls, their children’s garden area and even their holiday light show, but have you heard of their nature trails?
With over 2 miles of trails weaved thoughtfully throughout the property, beautiful overlooks, education placards, and even a partnership with the Portland Museum of Art to include art on the trails, the trails at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will not disappoint!
Read through the blog for an in depth summary of the trails at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and IMPORTANT BATHROOM details or head straight to the summary at the bottom for quick information.
General Information:
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is located in Boothbay, Maine and is approximately a 1 hour drive north of Portland.
Admission costs are as follows: Adult/$28, Children/$12, Under 3/Free. However, there are numerous ways to save and I highly recommend checking out their website to see what may apply to you and your family including FREE PASSES from your local library!!
The Gardens are open daily from 9-5pm and there is ample parking.
Bathrooms are located throughout the Gardens and there is a confirmed water bottle filling situation at the Visitor Center.
The trails we love to hike at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are located near Cleaver Lawn where you can find approximately 2 miles of trails that meander towards Back River.
All of the trails are well marked with traditional painted trail marks as well as highly visible signage at all trail intersections.
I do NOT recommend jogging strollers for these trails (and that’s saying something as I always liked to put my jogging stroller to test on all kinds of trails but when my daughter was little). The trails can be narrow and tree root structures are numerous.
Our Experience:
We had a wonderful time walking along these trails! We started off from Cleaver Lawn and headed onto the Brook Trail. Not too far along on our hike, we crossed a lovely stream and I was grateful my daughter had on her waterproof hiking sneakers. Nothing ruins a hike faster than wet feet!
From the Brook Trail, we connected onto the Cedar Ledge Trail and headed to the Overlook on Back River for a snack break. We reconnected with the Brook Trail for a short bit and then finished our hike on the Huckleberry Cove trail. In total, we hiked around 2 miles.
For additional miles, you could easily stay on Huckleberry Cove trail to Shoreland Trail to see Troll Birk and visit the Fairy Village. Then continue on to the Maine Woods Trail to see Troll Soren before heading down Birch Allee and finding Troll Lilja and the Alfond Children’s Garden. This would add another 1.5 miles onto your hike. We didn’t have time for this adventure due to weather but I think this could make for some fun day-long hiking/exploring at the Gardens.
Bathroom Rating: A-
There are numerous bathroom locations located at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. If doing the trails, the closest bathrooms will be at the Visitor’s Center and the Garden Cafe. An all gender bathroom can be found at the Visitor’s Center. Changing tables are confirmed to be in the women’s bathrooms.
Additional Adventures:
Looking to add on to your adventure to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens?
Here are a couple of options you add to your day that are between Portland and Boothbay.
- Railway Village Museum: Located right in Boothbay, this railway and museum will not disappoint! Check their website for admission discounts! Also check to see if your library offers FREE passes!
- Damariscotta’s Shell Midden Site: Looking to add in a little history of the area? Check out the largest North American shell midden site in Damariscotta.
- Maine Maritime Museum: With a rotating children’s exhibit (currently it’s a tribute to Chris Van Dusen), and a large outdoor area with an option for boat tours, this is another good stop for all ages! And again, check to see if your library has free passes!
- Longfellow Playground: Located just off of Route 1 in Brunswick, this a fantastic wooden playground!
Summary:
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens offers some fantastic nature trails in Boothbay, Maine. With about 2 miles of trails that crisscross the hillside, it will lead you to Back River and give you fantastic views of this tidal channel.
Jogging strollers are not recommended but sturdy hiking sneakers for young ones are!
The closest bathrooms to the trails are located at Visitor’s Center as well as the Gardens Cafe.
The biggest network of trails in Gardens are accessible at two different parts of the Gardens; one by Cleaver Lawn and then other off of Huckleberry Cove Trail. It’s my recommendation to do these trails in a clockwise fashion.
Happy Adventuring and thank you for reading this blog post on The Wandering Chickadee!
~Natalie
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