Gordon Chibroski, Staff Photographer. Friday, June 14, 2013. .Visitors to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay are surrounded by a multitude of fauna and flora.

Getty Images

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Top choice in Midcoast Maine

LoginSave

These magnificent gardens are one of the state's most popular attractions. The verdant waterfront kingdom has 270 acres, with groomed trails winding through forest, meadows and ornamental gardens blooming with both native and exotic plant species. The storybook-themed children's garden offers interactive fun, and visitors with kids in tow shouldn't miss the daily story time, puppet theater or chicken-feeding (daily from mid-June to early September).

There's a changing range of garden and river tours along the Sheepscot River. Check the website for details of events and tours, including the gorgeous 'Gardens Aglow' event, which lights up chilly nights in the six weeks preceding Christmas.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • BATH, ME - MARCH 18: A flyer for a past event is seen Friday, March 18, 2016 at the Maine Maritime Museum boat shop in Bath, Maine. (Photo by Joel Page/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

    Maine Maritime Museum

    7.9 MILES

    There's a palpable mix of reflective nostalgia and horizon-scanning adventure at this wonderful museum, which preserves the Kennebec's long shipbuilding…

  • La Verna Preserve

    La Verna Preserve

    9.29 MILES

    This forested nature reserve is pretty compact, but within its confines there are 2.5 miles of trails and some 3600ft of shoreline. This waterfront is…

  • Bowdoin College Museum of Art

    Bowdoin College Museum of Art

    15.34 MILES

    Set in a 19th-century building with a dramatic glass entrance pavilion, this campus art museum is small but impressive. The 20,000-piece collection is…

  • BRUNSWICK, ME - AUGUST 6: Six sculptures worth seeing in the midcoast area, including a Joshua Chamberlain statue at the entrance to the Bowdoin campus in Brunswick. (Photo by Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

    Bowdoin College

    15.33 MILES

    Bowdoin, established in 1794, is one of the oldest colleges in the US and the alma mater of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and US…

  • A child walking on the boardwalk over natural dune, Popham Beach State Park, Maine. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Popham Beach State Park

    11.58 MILES

    This 6-mile-long sandy stretch is one of the prettiest in the state, with views of offshore islands and the Kennebec and Morse Rivers framing either end…

  • The lighthouse at Pemaquid Point, Maine with cloudy sky above and assorted native foliage in the foreground.

    Pemaquid Lighthouse Park

    8.12 MILES

    Perched dramatically on top of the rocks in Pemaquid Lighthouse Park is the 11,000-candlepower Pemaquid Point Light, built in 1827, which was featured on…

  • Reid State Park

    Reid State Park

    7.08 MILES

    The highlights of this forested park include the rocky promontory of Griffith Head, and the long, windswept stretch of Mile and Half Mile Beaches – rare…

View more attractions

Nearby Midcoast Maine attractions

1. Knickerbocker Lake

0.41 MILES

If you're in need of a dip and the waters of Boothbay Harbor feel a little too frigid, head to this swimming hole, where the water is…well, also cold, but…

2. Boothbay Harbor Footbridge

2.33 MILES

A pedestrian footbridge links two sides of Boothbay Harbor, and is a popular spot for a simple, quiet stroll and a selfie in front of all the boats. In…

3. Boothbay Railway Village

2.8 MILES

Ride the narrow-gauge steam train through this endearing village, a historic replica of an old-fashioned New England town. The 28 buildings house more…

4. Bonyun Preserve

2.89 MILES

Squeezed between the Sheepscot and Sasanoa Rivers, about 13 miles south of Wiscasset, this preserve contains in its compact dimensions no less than six…

5. Linekin & Burley Preserves

4.14 MILES

These two adjacent protected spaces encompass some 140 acres of forested Maine prettiness, situated on a windy stretch of lovely, gravel-studded…

6. Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site

6.99 MILES

If you or your kids are into history, make sure to pop by this state park, where experts have rebuilt the Fort William Henry (c 1692), and an on-site…

7. Reid State Park

7.08 MILES

The highlights of this forested park include the rocky promontory of Griffith Head, and the long, windswept stretch of Mile and Half Mile Beaches – rare…

8. Maine Maritime Museum

7.9 MILES

There's a palpable mix of reflective nostalgia and horizon-scanning adventure at this wonderful museum, which preserves the Kennebec's long shipbuilding…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "usa/new-england/central-maine-coast/attractions/coastal-maine-botanical-gardens/a/poi-sig/1113623/361999",
  "destination": "Midcoast-Maine",
  "continent": "North-America",
  "country": "USA",
  "region": "Midcoast-Maine",
  "position": "superzone"
}