WRITTEN BY EMILY BURNHAM
Maine during the warmer months can sometimes feel overrun by visitors. The most popular cultural and natural landmarks are so full of people it’s hard to connect with the beauty on display. That’s why many Mainers know you can find the same sense of wonder and joy in nature—and in the people it inspires—by visiting some of the state’s lesser-known places.
Here are six magical Maine places where you can get away from it all, feel inspired, and not have a bunch of cellphones and chit-chat distracting you.
Mariaville Falls • Mariaville
Frenchman Bay Conservancy maintains this 600-acre preserve in the town of Mariaville, just off Route 181 and Route 9. Though it’s lovely year-round, Mariaville Falls truly is in its glory during the spring. You start with an easy, pleasant walk through the woods until you reach a babbling brook cascading over rocks and trees as it flows through the verdant, mixed hardwood and evergreen forest. As you follow the trail along the river, you’re greeted by the star of the show: the Union River rushing over one of the largest waterfalls in eastern Maine, especially impressive in May and June. Even during those months, the falls are rarely heavily visited. It gives off enchanted forest vibes — between the sound of the water, the swaying trees, and the unique plant and animal life, it’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon.
Ecotat Gardens • Hermon
Just outside Bangor city limits in Hermon, there’s a botanical garden that few people other than locals know about. Ecotat Gardens celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025 and boasts 90 acres of more than 280 types of trees and more than 1,500 varieties of perennials, attracting an abundance of insects, birds, and other wildlife. One and a half miles of trails wind through the gardens, making it an easy place for people of all abilities to get a dose of nature right outside the city. Themed gardens can be found throughout the property, from a traditional English garden to others focused on herbs, peonies, and butterflies. It’s open from dawn to dusk year-round.
Langlais Art Preserve • Cushing
After driving down the winding roads of the midcoast peninsula that are home to towns such as Friendship and Cushing, be sure to stop at the Langlais Art Preserve, a hidden 90-acre nature preserve and sculpture garden full of works by the idiosyncratic Maine artist Bernard Langlais. Animals, people, and other figures are creatively fashioned out of wood and other materials in a style that’s distinctly Langlais — they pop up among the trees and flowers like funny, eccentric monuments. Make it a true Maine art day trip and drive a few miles further to visit the Olson House, made famous in Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World.”
Little Long Pond Natural Lands • Seal Harbor
Out-of-staters think everything on Mount Desert Island is part of Acadia National Park, but that’s not true. There are many publicly accessible lands on the island run by various local organizations and trusts. Little Long Pond in Seal Harbor is one such place. Owned and maintained by the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve, it offers more than 1,000 acres of trails, meadows, marshes, and other natural features. Locally, it is known for its dog-friendly policies — canine companions are welcome between May 1 and Sept. 30. Dogs must be leashed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., but if you come earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon, dogs can run free and enjoy the bucolic expanses of wildflowers, marshes, and woodlands.
Katahdin Iron Works State Historic Site • Brownville
Nearby Gulf Hagas gets most of the attention from hikers in northern Maine, but there is more to explore at the less-visited Katahdin Iron Works State Historic Site just beyond the “Grand Canyon of Maine.” Katahdin Iron Works, in Piscataquis County, is also the site of a once-thriving iron industry in the mid-to-late 19th century. The skeletal remains of blast furnaces and kilns still stand amid the forest, where countless bird species can be spotted and nearby trails wind through the woods. The juxtaposition of abandoned industrial infrastructure and the wilderness reclaiming it provides food for thought, in addition to a quiet slice of Maine forest.
Mount Waldo • Frankfort
Remnants of former industries are common across Maine — perhaps none more so than former granite quarries, where the highly prized stone that built bridges, monuments, and buildings across the country was harvested up until the 1920s. Mount Waldo in Frankfort supplied granite for the Washington Monument, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the massive pilings of the Brooklyn Bridge. Today, a brisk, steep hiking trail rewards visitors with stunning views of Penobscot Bay. You can see the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and, on a clear day, Mount Desert Island and the Camden Hills. Swimming in the quarry pond is off-limits (not that this has stopped some risk-takers). While you likely will encounter a few people on your way up or down, Mount Waldo remains a slightly less-visited hike compared with nearby sites such as Blue Hill or Mount Battie.
