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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 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 2022 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 2022 attendance Attraction 2022 attendance/ Maine employees Description Top executive(s) Year founded 1 Acadia National Park P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor 04609 288-3338 • nps.gov/acadia 3,970,260 115 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 Brandon Bies 1916 2 Sugarloaf Mountain Resort 5092 Access Road, Carrabassett Valley 04947 800-843-5623 • sugarloaf.com 350,000 750 One of the largest ski resorts in the East, home to Sugarloaf Golf Club and a member of the Boyne Resorts family of resorts and attractions Karl Strand 1951 3 Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay 04537 633-8000 • mainegardens.org 318,597 120 More than 300 acres to forge meaningful connections among people, plants and nature through horticulture, education and research Gretchen Ostherr 1992 1 4 Funtown Splashtown USA 774 Portland Road, Saco 04072 284-5139 • funtownsplashtownusa.com 300,000 600 Family-owned and operated water and amusement park offering fun for all; now home to the first-in-the-nation Haunted Hotel opened summer 2023 Violet Cormier 1967 5 Urban Air Adventure Park 333 Clarks Pond Parkway, South Portland 04106 771-2010 • urbanairtrampolinepark.com 247,000 65 Indoor adventure park with skyrider, climbing walls, ropes course, wipeout, trampolines and more; highly-rated for hosting birthday parties and events Anthony Dill 2016 6 Fryeburg Fair 1154 Main St., Fryeburg 04037 935-3268 • fryeburgfair.org 225,000 600 Eight-day agricultural fair with food, horse & oxen pulls, tractor & truck pulls, livestock competitions, Woodsmen's Field Day, exhibits and Maine products Rachel Andrews Damon 1851 7 Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine 250 Thompson's Point Road, Portland 04102 828-1234 • kitetails.org 201,037 54 Sets the stage for every child to imagine and learn through play with three floors of interactive exhibits and activities for children of all ages Julie Butcher Pezzino 1923 8 Maine Wildlife Park 56 Game Farm Road, Gray 04039 822-6460 • mainewildlifepark.com 200,000 7 More than 30 species of Maine wildlife that cannot be returned to their natural habitats Emily MacCabe 1940 8 York's Wild Kingdom 23 Railroad Ave., York Beach 03910 363-4911 • yorkswildkingdom.com 200,000 50 Zoo and amusement park with wild animals from around the world Samantha Sauls 1980 10 Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory 740 Fort Knox Road, Prospect 04981 469-6553 • FortKnoxMaine.com 110,432 26 2 Historic site with one of the best preserved Civil-war seacoast forts and the world's tallest public bridge observatory hosting elevator rides over 400 feet up for views of the mid coast and Penobscot Bay region Dean Martin 1844 11 Allagash Brewing Co. 765 Warren Ave., Portland 04103 800-330-5385 • allagash.com 100,000 130 Tours of award-winning craft brewery Rob Tod 1995 11 Great Falls Balloon Festival Simard-Payne Memorial Park, Lewiston 04240 207-212-4921 • greatfallsballoonfestival.org 100,000 10 Free entry, balloon launches, carnival, food vendors, children's area, parade, craft and trade vendors, Family Fun Day and live music; to be held August 18-20 Tracy Collins 1992 13 Portland Museum of Art 7 Congress Square, Portland 04101 775-6148 • portlandmuseum.org 94,000 100 More than 18,000 works of art, exhibitions, guest speakers, free school tours, family activities, films, curator talks and tours of Winslow Homer Studio Mark H.C. Bessire 1882 14 Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum 49 Thames St., Portland 04101 828-0814 • mainenarrowgauge.org 72,000 12 Scenic, affordable, family-friendly train rides along Casco Bay with year- round events Griffin Bourassa 1993 15 Acadian Boat Tours 119 Eden St., Bar Harbor 04609 801-2300 • acadianboattours.com 52,488 20 Sightseeing boat tours including local sights along shoreline, Puffin trips, fishing tours, lighthouse tours, private charters and more Diane Smith 2000 16 Farnsworth Art Museum 16 Museum St., Rockland 04841 596-6457 • farnsworthmuseum.org 52,025 63 Celebrates Maine's role in American art through collection of 15,000 works, the Wyeth Center, Farnsworth Library and more. Christopher J. Brownawell 1948 17 Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St., Bath 04530 443-1316 • MaineMaritimeMuseum.org 51,942 53 3 Celebrates Maine's vibrant maritime culture with rotating and permanent exhibits, nature cruises, traditional skills demonstrations and free admission for children Chris Timm 1962 SOURCE: Each attraction via survey. NOTES: Augusta's Maine State Museum, with 2019 attendance of 43,634 visitors, is closed for renovations and expected to re-open in 2025. Unable to confirm data by press time for the Sunday River Resort, Saddleback Mountain Resort, Pleasant Mountain Ski Area, or the Songo River Queen II cruise ship with 2021 attendance of 118,000. 1 Open to the public in 2007 2 In addition to Friends of Fort Knox employees, over 300 volunteers, including Boy Scouts of America and Civil-war reenactment groups, help to maintain, preserve and raise funds for the site. 3 Includes seasonal employees; 32 full- and part-time employees year round - This list was compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher and published in the Aug. 28, 2023 issue of Mainebiz. 1 Open to the public in 2007 2 In addition to Friends of Fort Knox employees, over 300 volunteers, including Boy Scouts of America and Civil-war reenactment groups, help to maintain, preserve and raise funds for the site. 3 Includes seasonal employees; 32 full- and part-time employees year round N O T E S : Augusta's Maine State Museum, with 2019 attendance of 43,634 visitors, is closed for renovations and expected to re-open in 2025. Unable to confirm data by press time for the Sunday River Resort, Saddleback Mountain Resort, Pleasant Mountain Ski Area, or the Songo River Queen II cruise ship with 2021 attendance of 118,000. S O U R C E : Each attraction via survey. Purchase this list and more as an Excel document at mainebiz.biz/DataCenter @