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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E Maine's most popular tourist attractions Ranked by 2019 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 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 2019 attendance 2019 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 3,437,286 100 2,900 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 Michael Madell 1916 2 Funtown Splashtown USA 774 Portland Road, Saco 04072 284-5139, funtownsplashtownusa.com 500,000 600 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 225,000 N/A 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 Gretchen Ostherr 1992 5 Portland Museum of Art 7 Congress Square, Portland 04101 775-6148, portlandmuseum.org 170,831 N/A More than 18,000 works of art, major exhibitions, esteemed guest speakers, free school tours, family activities, lms, curator talks, tours of the Winslow Homer Studio Mark H.C. Bessire 1882 6 Fryeburg Fair 1154 Main Street, Fryeburg 04037 935-3268, fryeburgfair.org 161,476 650 25 Maine's largest agricultural fair, food, horse & oxen pulls, tractor & truck pulls, livestock competitions, Woodsmen's Field Day, midway, exhibits, Maine products. Rachel Andrews Damon 1851 7 Allagash Brewing Co. 50 Industrial Way, Portland 04103 878-5385, allagash.com 140,000 150 Award winning craft brewery Rob Tod 1995 8 Maine Wildlife Park 1 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, nature store, snack shack and adjacent sh hatchery Curt Johnson 1940 9 Songo River Queen II 841 Roosevelt Trail, Naples 04055 693-6861, songoriverqueen.net 119,000 12 0 Sightseeing / Cruise ship Kent Uicker 1971 10 Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine 142 Free St., Portland 04101 828-1234, kitetails.org 106,000 20 100 Children's museum & the oldest continuously operating children's theatre in the country 2 Julie Butcher Pezzino 1926 11 Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory 740 Fort Knox Road, Prospect 04981 469-6553, FortKnoxMaine.com 100,371 25 125 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 12 Farnsworth Art Museum 16 Museum St., Rockland 04841 596-6457, farnsworthmuseum.org 71,784 54 18 Celebrates Maine's role in American art through a collection of 15,000 works, the Wyeth Center, Farnsworth Library and more Christopher Brownawell 1948 13 Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum 49 Thames Street, Portland 04101 828-0814, mainenarrowgauge.org 60,000 5 50 2 Foot Railroad operating historic train tours along Casco Bay in Portland Maine. Wes Heinz 1993 1 2018 data 2 Moving to Thompson's Point and doubling in size, exhibits, and admissions in 2021 N/A: Not available. This list was compiled by Timothy Doyle. S O U R C E : Each attraction via survey, visitmaine.com and Maine Ofce of Tourism. 1 2018 data. 2 Moving to Thompson's Point and doubling in size, exhibits, and admissions in 2021. N O T E S : N/A: Not available. S O U R C E : Each attraction via survey, visitmaine.com and Maine Office of Tourism. Purchase this list and more as an Excel document at mainebiz.biz/DataCenter @ The Farnsworth Art Museum opened in 1948, featuring artists with Maine ties — Louise Nevelson, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Robert Indiana, the Wyeths and others. Lafayette National Park was established in 1919, and became Acadia National Park in 1929. Today, the park is 47,000 acres and has 3 million visitors, making it the 7th most-visited national park. In 1950–51 the Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Club was organized, jumpstarting trail and lift development. 200 200 IDEAS FOR MAINE'S BICENTENNIAL