V O L . X X V N O. X V I
10
Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine
Maine's most popular tourist attractions
Ranked by 2018 attendance
C O M P I L E D B Y S T E P H A N I E R . M E A G H E R
Maine's most popular tourist attractions
Ranked by 2018 attendance
2018
Attendance
No. Employees
No. Volunteers Description
Top
executive
Year
founded
1 Acadia National Park
P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor 04609
288-3338, nps.gov/acad
3,500,000 140
2,700
50,000 acres of the Acadia archipelago and Schoodic peninsula with
historic carriage roads, hiking trails and motor roads along diverse
natural habitats and glacially-sculpted mountains
Kevin
Schneider
1916
2 Funtown Splashtown USA
774 Portland Road, Saco 04072
284-5139,
funtownsplashtownusa.com
500,000 650
0
Maine's largest amusement and water park Violet
Cormier
1967
3 Sugarloaf Mountain Resort
5092 Access Road, Carrabassett
Valley 04947
800-843-5623, sugarloaf.com
400,000 1,000
200
Home to the only lift-serviced above treeline skiing and riding in the
East; a member of the Boyne Resorts family of resorts and attractions
Karl Strand 1951
4 Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
132 Botanical Gardens Drive,
Boothbay 04537
633-8000, mainegardens.org
227,000 120
350
295 acres of tidal shore connects people, plants and nature through
horticulture, education and research; cultivated gardens, woodland
trails, education program and docent-led tours
Joe Paolillo 1992
1
5 Fryeburg Fair
698 West Fryeburg Road, Fryeburg
04037
441-2887, fryeburgfair.org
225,000 600
20
Maine's Blue Ribbon Classic with over 3,000 animals, Woodsmen's
Field Day, livestock competitions, food, rides, horse racing
Rachel
Andrews
Damon
1851
6 Portland Museum of Art
7 Congress Square, Portland
04101
775-6148, portlandmuseum.org
159,236 101
304
More than 18,000 works of art, major exhibitions, esteemed guest
of the Winslow Homer Studio
Mark H.C.
Bessire
1882
7 Allagash Brewing Co.
50 Industrial Way, Portland 04103
878-5385, allagash.com
150,000 130
0
8 Maine Wildlife Park
56 Game Farm Road, Gray 04039
657-4977, mainewildlifepark.com
125,000 4
200
Over 30 species of native Maine wildlife that cannot be safely released
back into the wild; nature trails, picnic and grilling areas, gardens,
Curt
Johnson
1940
9 Songo River Queen II
841 Roosevelt Trail, Naples
04055
693-6861, songoriverqueen.net
117,000 12
0
Sightseeing cruise ship offering public cruises and private charters Kent Uicker 1971
10 Fort Knox and Penobscot
Narrows Observatory
740 Fort Knox Road, Prospect
04981
469-6553, FortKnoxMaine.com
110,000 20
150,200
Two-for-one admission fee attraction includes a preserved, Civil-war
seacoast fort and observatory with elevator rides over 400 feet up for
views of the Penobscot Bay region
Dean
Martin
2006 &
1923
11 Children's Museum & Theatre
of Maine
142 Free St., Portland 04101
828-1234, kitetails.org
105,000 21
35
More than 20 hands-on exhibits, education and enrichment programs,
theater productions and more
Suzanne
Olson
1976
12 Great Falls Balloon Festival
Simard-Payne Memorial Park,
Oxford St., Lewiston 04240
240-5931,
greatfallsballoonfestival.org
100,000 0
60
Three-day hot air balloon festival over the falls in downtown Lewiston-
Auburn; entertainment, food and balloon launches, parade on Saturday,
Family Fun Day on Sunday, free admittance
2
Tracy
Collins
1993
1 Opened to the public in 2007.
2 2019 festival runs Aug. 16-18.
Freeport's Desert of Maine was put up for sale in August 2018.
N/A: Not available.
This list was compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher and published in the July 29, 2019 issue of Mainebiz.
S O U R C E :
1 Opened to the public in 2007.
2 2019 festival runs Aug. 16-18.
N O T E S : Freeport's Desert of Maine was put up for sale in August 2018. N/A: Not available.
S O U R C E : Each attraction via survey, visitmaine.com and Maine Office of Tourism.
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