Potts Point
The Tides They Are-a Changin’
The tidal pools at Potts Point are perfect for exploring the vibrant nautical marine life along Maine’s breathtaking shores.
Source: Scott Sell
At the southernmost tip of Harpswell, Maine, you’ll find Potts Point—a secluded spot ideal for a day at the beach for a saltwater swim. Only an acre in size, this petite preserve is also perfect for shoreline exploration. Strolling the volcanic rock, you’ll come upon extensive tidal pools, where you may spot periwinkles, barnacles, hermit crabs, starfish, and sea urchins, all situated among beds of kelp. While taking in views of the surrounding islands, you’ll hear the call of passing gulls, the gentle lapping of the incoming tide, and the southern breeze whispering over the rocky coastline. On a calm day, the only man-made sound you’ll hear is the faint hum of offshore lobster boats out to check the day’s catch.
Seagulls
Maine's coastal skies are filled with soaring seagulls. As they hunt for morsels in the waters below, they call out, echoing across rocky shores.
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Potts Point Rd, Harpswell, ME 04079 United States
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Potts Point
The Tides They Are-a Changin’
The tidal pools at Potts Point are perfect for exploring the vibrant nautical marine life along Maine’s breathtaking shores.
Click on to learn more
the melodies of a grassland songbird; the creak of an ancient forest against a strong summer breeze. While the Pine Tree State is a visual testament to natural beauty, Maine is meant to be heard as much as it is to be seen. And while you may sketch a drawing or snap a photo of a wondrous sight to immortalize the ephemeral, capturing the auditory magnitude of a place as mesmerizing as Maine can prove a bit more difficult. That’s where we come in.
With this audio itinerary, we invite you to take a closer listen to the sounds of Maine. We’ll take you from the tidal pools bustling with marine life to the avian orchestra played across the largest continuous salt marsh in the state. You’ll walk along powerful waterfalls, bucolic riverbanks, and wildlife-rich estuaries in this immersive visit that’s best enjoyed with the volume up. So grab your headphones and listen closely to the sounds of Maine.
The roar of a woodland waterfall;
An immersive auditory escape to the coasts, forests, and islands of the Pine Tree State.
This is How Maine Sounds
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Gulf Hagas
Epic Falls
Screw Auger Falls, a 15’ drop along the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” is one of many impressive waterfalls in the gulf.
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Wiggly Bridge
Wobbly Walk
A centuries-old tidal pond formed here when early colonists built a dam to power their mills.
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Asticou Azalea Garden
Moment of Zen
Sunrise in the garden is a perfect time for reflection.
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Swan Island
Deep Listening
An avian oasis can be found by crossing the Kennebec River.
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Ducktrap River
Go With the Flow
The river is a critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.
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Scarborough Marsh
For the Birds
A wonder of wildlife, the marsh is used by everyone from clam diggers to biologists.
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Katahdin Iron Works Rd, Monson, Maine, 04464 United States
Near the Appalachian Trail in Maine, chipmunks scurry through the dense foliage, their tiny bodies blending seamlessly into the environment as they gather nuts and seeds.
Chipmunk
Known as the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” Gulf Hagas is a slate gorge located in Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness Conservation Area, an area so named for being the first (or last, depending on your direction) 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
You’ll see—and hear—an incredible series of waterfalls along the Gulf Hagas Rim Trail, with the river dropping 500 feet over the course of the three-mile-long gorge. Screw Auger Falls, one of the gulf’s most photogenic and loudest, drops 25 feet into a deep pool encircled by a mossy, bowl-shaped rock wall.
Carefully descend the marked ledge for a front-row seat to the thundering falls. If you’re hiking on a hot day, the pool will certainly make for a refreshing dip, as well.
Gulf Hagas
Epic Falls
Screw Auger Falls, a 15’ drop along the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” is one of many impressive waterfalls in the gulf.
Source: Scott Sell
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57 Barrell Ln Ext,
York, ME 03909
United States
Canada Geese glide gracefully across Barrel Mill Pond's tranquil waters. They honk in a symphony of harmonies as they navigate the picturesque pond.
Canada Goose
The town of York is home to the smallest pedestrian suspension bridge in the state—and perhaps the world. At just 75 feet long, Wiggly Bridge stretches out over a tidal flow where the York River meets Barrel Mill Pond.
When the wind catches it just right (or with enough pedestrian activity), the wooden deck bounces and sways, issuing a gentle clanging from its steel anchorages.
Built in the 1930s, the bridge connects the “mainland” to Steedman Woods, a nature reserve with gentle hiking trails shaded by tall trees. Along with its trademark creak, visitors taking a morning walk across the Wiggly Bridge will hear the sounds of shorebirds across the estuary as well as the fishing boats of York Harbor.
Wiggly Bridge
Wobbly Walk
A centuries-old tidal pond formed here when early colonists built a dam to power their mills.
Source: Scott Sell
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3 Sound Dr, Northeast Harbor, Maine, 04662 United States
Hungry hummingbirds flit from one flower to the next. As these tiny avian acrobats feast on the nectar-filled paradise, their iridescent feathers glisten under the dappled sunlight.
Hummingbird
What started as the private grounds of Beatrix Farrand—a renowned landscape architect who designed gardens for the Rockefellers, several U.S. presidents, and elite college campuses—in time became a treasured botanical jewel for visitors to Maine’s Acadia National Park.
While the flora within—rhododendrons, cherry blossoms, and of course azaleas, to name a few—are all native to Maine, the garden calls upon tenets of Japanese botanical design in its herbaceous panoply. The topography of the landscape is emphasized rather than flattened, such that smooth, winding walkways lead up and over boulders, hills, and gently trickling waterways which lead to a placid pond in the heart of the garden. Another section features a white sand rock garden, reminiscent of the Ryoan-ji Zen temple in Kyoto.
At sunrise, the babble of the garden stream meets the wet crush of nearby waves lapping against the shore of Mount Desert Island.
Asticou Azalea Garden
Moment of Zen
Sunrise in the garden is a perfect time for reflection.
Source: Scott Sell
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7 Swan Island Landing, Richmond, Maine, 04357
The porcupine roams the forests of Swan Island under the cover of darkness, leaving subtle traces of its quill-adorned armor.
Porcupine
Once home to a thriving village of farmers and shipwrights, Swan Island is today home to one of Maine’s only ghost towns, with several Colonial houses, a cemetery, and waterwells still intact. Of course, nature persists where civilization cannot. The four mile-long island is also a stunning wildlife preserve teeming with native Maine fauna.
While whitetail deer, wild turkeys, and porcupines wander among the old fields and apple orchards, it’s the avian life that’s most prominent here: the mudflats surrounding Merrymeeting Bay’s estuarine landscape support healthy flocks of waterfowl, shorebirds, and myriad migratory species.
At quieter times of year, it’s possible to be the only person here, with nothing but the sounds of the island keeping you company: the breeze in the pines, the rush of the river, and the calls of hundreds of songbirds filling the air.
Swan Island
Deep Listening
An avian oasis can be found by crossing the Kennebec River.
Source: Scott Sell
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1 Tanglewood Rd, Lincolnville, ME 04849 United States
Bald Eagles command the skies, effortlessly soaring with a spirit that reminds us of nature's delicate balance between power and vulnerability.
Bald Eagle
There are approximately 31,752 miles of river in Maine, 10 of which belong to the Ducktrap. Flowing from Tilden Pond in Belmont through several wooded towns, it eventually reaches its terminus at a beautiful beach in Lincolnville.
Just a 15-minute hike from the trailhead, the Ducktrap River offers plenty of bucolic walks along its banks, with mossy forest floors, bird songs, and dappled light glinting through hemlock groves.
In addition to being an important waterway for endangered Atlantic salmon, the Ducktrap is also home to multiple pairs of nesting bald eagles who can often be found soaring over the river, searching for lunch.
Ducktrap River
Go With the Flow
The river is a critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon.
Source: Scott Sell
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92 Pine Point Rd, Scarborough, ME 04074 United States
The Northern Wheatear arrives from afar in the marshes of Scarborough, Maine, bridging continents to demonstrate how diverse ecosystems on Earth are interconnected.
Northern Wheatear
Covering more than 3,000 acres between the coastal towns of Saco and Scarborough, the Scarborough Marsh is the largest contiguous salt marsh system in the state. An ever-changing ecosystem, this sprawling marsh attracts clam diggers, fishermen, biologists and grade-school field trips, but is an absolute paradise for birders.
Here, you’ll see an array of avian action, including snowy egrets, glossy ibises, and a number of grassland songbirds not commonly found in other parts of Maine, like the Northern Wheatear. In the evening, visitors can hear spring peepers from the nearby woodlands making their cacophonous mating calls over the chorus of avian arias already running at full volume.
Scarborough Marsh
For the Birds
A wonder of wildlife, the marsh is used by everyone from clam diggers to biologists.
Source: Scott Sell
Gulf Hagas
Monson, Maine
The “Grand Canyon of Maine” is a three-mile gorge full of striking geological features.
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True to its name, this bouncy walkway may be the world’s smallest suspension bridge.
York, Maine
Wiggly Bridge
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East meets West in this Japanese-style garden featuring plants native to Maine’s Mount Desert Island.
Northeast Harbor
Asticou Azalea Garden
— PARKER STEVENSON, actor (Maine, By M. Dornfeld, J. Hart)
I looked along the San Juan Islands and the coast of California, but I couldn’t find the palette of green, granite, and dark blue that you can only find in Maine.
Visible from the road, the steel structure juts out of the landscape with an arched wooden deck spanning a mere 75 feet between two petite green towers.
Azalea
Rhododendron
Cherry Blossom
Potts Point
Source: Source - AO: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wiggly-bridge
Potts Point
Gulf Hagas
Wiggly Bridge
Asticou Azalea Garden
Swan Island
Ducktrap River
Scarborough Marsh
Gulf Hagas
Wiggly Bridge
Asticou Azalea Garden
Swan Island
Ducktrap River
Scarborough Marsh
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Words By Luke Fater, Photos by Scott Sell