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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 2023 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 2023 attendance Attraction 2023 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 3,869,609 90 50,000 acres of coastal islands and the Schoodic Peninsula on the mid- coast with diverse natural habitats, historic motor roads, carriage roads and hiking trails Kevin Schneider Brandon Bies 1916 2 Sugarloaf Mountain Resort 5092 Access Road, Carrabassett Valley 04947 800-843-5623 • sugarloaf.com 330,000 600 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 312,000 112 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 300,000 500 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 250,000 65 Indoor adventure park with skyrider, climbing walls, ropes course, warrior course, trampolines and more; birthday parties and events Anthony Dill 2016 6 Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine 250 Thompson's Point Road, Portland 04102 828-1234 • kitetails.org 209,769 55 Museum to imagine and learn through play with three floors of interactive exhibits and activities for children of all ages Julie Butcher Pezzino 1923 7 Fryeburg Fair 1154 Main St., Fryeburg 04037 935-3268 • fryeburgfair.org 200,000 650 Agricultural fair with food, horse & oxen pulls, tractor & truck pulls, livestock competitions, Woodsmen's Field Day, exhibits, Maine products and rides by Dreamland Amusements; Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 Rachel Andrews Damon 1851 8 Maine Wildlife Park 56 Game Farm Road, Gray 04039 822-6460 • mainewildlifepark.com 145,000 20 More than 30 species of Maine wildlife that cannot be returned to their natural habitats Emily MacCabe 1940 9 Fort Knox Maine & Penobscot Narrows Observatory 2 740 Fort Knox Road, Prospect 04981 469-6553 • fortknoxmaine.com 100,826 23 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 panoramic views of the mid coast and Penobscot Bay region Dean Martin 1844 10 Allagash Brewing Co. 50 Industrial Way, Portland 04103 800-330-5385 • allagash.com 100,000 127 Tours of award-winning craft brewery with Belgian-inspired beers Rob Tod 1995 10 York's Wild Kingdom 23 Railroad Ave., York Beach 03910 363-4911 • yorkzoo.com 100,000 60 Zoo and amusement park with animal exhibits, 15 rides, food and gift shop Samantha Sauls 1980 12 Saddleback Ski Area & Bike Park 976 Saddleback Mountain Road, Rangeley 04970 864-5671 • saddlebackmaine.com 90,000 200 Four-season playground with mountain biking, hiking and on-mountain dining; voted "Best Ski Mountain in Maine" in 2022 & 2023 and home to 600+ acres of terrain Matt Dieterich 1960 3 13 Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum 49 Thames St., Portland 04101 828-0814 • mainenarrowgauge.org 72,000 10 Scenic, affordable, family-friendly train rides along Casco Bay with year- round events Griffin Bourassa 1993 14 Maine Maritime Museum 243 Washington St., Bath 04530 443-1316 • mainemaritimemuseum.org 56,363 54 4 Dedicated to the past, present, and future of Maine's waterways and their global reach with rotating & permanent exhibits, nature cruises, traditional skills demonstrations and free admission for children 17 & under Chris Timm 1962 15 Aquaboggan Water Park 980 Portland Road, Saco 04072 282-3112 • aquabogganwaterpark.com 50,000 130 Maine's original water park and new home of the Saco Drive-In Wesley Hurst 1979 15 Wells Reserve at Laudholm 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells 04090 646-1555 • wellsreserve.org 50,000 24 Nature, science, history and ways to protect Maine's coastal environment with seven miles of trails, education programs and inspiring views Nik Charov Paul Dest 1984 17 Owl's Head Transportation Museum 117 Museum St., Owls Head 04854 594-4418 • owlshead.org 40,000 22 Collection of operating cars, aircraft, motorcycles, bicycles and engines with summer events and demonstrations of the collection in motion; STEM educational programs year-round, cafe open during events John Bottero James Kalian 1974 18 Acadian Boat Tours 119 Eden St., Bar Harbor 04609 801-2300 • acadianboattours.com 36,000 22 Sightseeing boat tours including local sights along shoreline, Puffin trips, fishing tours, lighthouse tours, private charters and more Diane Smith 2000 19 Northern Outdoors 1771 Route 201, The Forks 04985 663-4466 • northernoutdoors.com 28,000 50 Outdoor adventure resort, with whitewater rafting, ATVing, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing, brewpub and cabin rentals Emily Yearwood 1976 20 Victoria Mansion 109 Danforth St., Portland 04101 772.4841 • victoriamansion.org 27,000 42 Historic house museum with over 90% of its original interiors for guests of all ages Timothy Brosnihan 1941 21 The Strand Theatre 345 Main St., Rockland 04841 207-594-0070 • rocklandstrand.com 25,000 12 Restored classic movie house and performing arts center with films, concerts, educational programs, community events & venue rentals; on the National Register of Historic Places Jessie Davis 1923 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 Bridgton's Pleasant Mountain Ski Area, Lewiston's Great Falls Balloon Festival, Naple's Songo River Queen II cruise ship, Portland Museum of Art or Rockland's Farnsworth Art Museum. Newry's Sunday River Resort does not disclose attendance figures. 1 Open to the public in 2007 2 State park managed by non-profit Friends of Fort Knox on behalf of the state of Maine 3 Re-opened in 2020 after four-year closure 4 Additional 200 volunteers - This list was compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher and published in the Aug. 26, 2024, issue of Mainebiz. 1 Open to the public in 2007 2 State park managed by non-profit Friends of Fort Knox on behalf of the state of Maine 3 Re-opened in 2020 after four-year closure 4 Additional 200 volunteers 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 Bridgton's Pleasant Mountain Ski Area, Lewiston's Great Falls Balloon Festival, Naple's Songo River Queen II cruise ship, Portland Museum of Art or Rockland's Farnsworth Art Museum. Newry's Sunday River Resort does not disclose attendance figures. S O U R C E : Each attraction via survey. Purchase this list and more as an Excel document at mainebiz.biz/DataCenter @

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