There are the places that everyone visits when they come to Maine: Acadia National Park, Portland Head Light, Stephen King’s house, any number of scenic seaside villages. Those sorts of places. Wonderful, all of them, but everyone’s been there.
And then there are the places that are just off the beaten path, that speak to a side of Maine that isn’t all lobsters and lighthouses. Sometimes, Maine has hidden gardens, strange scientific laboratories and wooden sculptures of Richard Nixon. You just have to know where to look, and we can help.
Here are six places you’ve probably never been to in Maine but that are well worth searching out.
Ecotat Gardens and Trails, 25 Annis Road, Hermon
It is entirely possible that you could have lived in the Bangor area for years and never even heard of Ecotat Gardens, an oasis of flowers and landscaped grounds in Hermon. This 91-acre preserve, managed by the nonprofit Ecotat Trust that formed in 1995, contains 55 gardens containing 280 varieties of trees and over 1,500 varieties of perennials. It’s entirely volunteer-run, it’s open from dawn to dusk year-round, and admission is free. There. Now you have to visit.
Langlais Sculpture Preserve, 576 River Road, Cushing
Just a few miles down the road from the Maine State Prison in Thomaston is the hidden gem that is the Langlais Sculpture Preserve, featuring the works of the unorthodox Maine sculptor Bernard Langlais. A number of works by the Old Town-raised artist, who died in 1977, are on display here, from a massive wooden elephant to an exaggerated Richard Nixon, hiding in the bushes (ideal for selfies and Instagram photos, if that’s your thing). The park is open dawn to dusk, and admission is free, though donations are accepted.
World’s Largest Telephone, 1 North Main St., Woodstock
It’s exactly what you think it is: it’s the world’s largest telephone. The 14-foot-tall “candlestick” telephone sculpture was erected in 2008, to commemorate the fact that Bryant Pond — technically a village that’s part of the town of Woodstock — was once home to the country’s very last hand-crank telephone company, the Bryant Pond Telephone Company. If you find yourself roaming around western Maine, it’s definitely worth a stop to snap a photo and pretend to make a phone call to a giant.
Wilhelm Reich Museum, 19 Orgonon Circle, Rangeley
Wilhelm Reich was a controversial but important figure in 20th-century psychiatry, who spent the last 15 years of his life living at Orgonon, a laboratory, observatory and retreat in Rangeley, where Reich undertook experiments on everything from human sexuality to cosmic energy to cloudbusting, or creating rain. Reich, a student of Freud’s who moved to the U.S. from his native Austria in 1939, was nothing if not a flawed and fascinating man, and the museum that exists at Orgonon today is a tribute to his legacy. It’s open for tours at 1 and 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from July through September. Admission is $10.
Kenneth E. Stoddard Shell Museum, 510 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay
When Kenneth Stoddard died in the early 1990s, his son Lee made him a promise that he would take his father’s massive, wide-ranging collection of shells and make them into a museum. The shells, collected by both father and son over the course of decades, come from every corner of the globe, and are on display at their Boothbay museum, located on the grounds of Dolphin Mini Golf and housed within a miniature covered bridge. It’s believed to be one of the largest private collections of shells in the world.
Nervous Nellie’s, 598 Sunshine Road, Deer Isle
Come for the jams and jellies; stay for the whimsical wood and metal sculptures that populate every corner of Nervous Nellie’s. Sculptor Peter Beerits has for more than two decades continually added to his six-acre installation, where animals and other creatures co-exist with a wild west village and other unusual scenes. Plus, while you’re there, you can buy homemade jams, jellies, chutney and Maine-made handcrafts, and have a nice coffee or treat from the cafe. This year, Nervous Nellie’s will offer tours at 2 p.m. on June 3, 10 and 17; July 1, 22 and 29; Aug. 5, 12, 19 and 26, and Sept. 2, 9 and 16.
