Maine State Parks: Cheap Day Trip Options
Maine has a lot of outdoors for vacationers to enjoy. Parks abound. There is one National Park (Acadia), a piece of the White Mountain National Forest, and 31 or so parks managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks that charge fees. The Appalachian trail passes through or near several of these.
Day passes are completely reasonable to visit one of these parks. Fees for adults range from $4 for residents to $6 for non-residents, depending on the park. For children 11 and under, admission is $1. Senior Maine residents go free; non-residents no more than $4. If you’ll be in Maine for an extended period, like a summer, or live in Maine, consider an annual pass. $70 vehicle pass gets access to all 31 of the fee-charging parks for a year.
Maine’s natural entertainment is it’s biggest tourist asset. If you go to Maine, don’t limit your visit to the beaches. Look into one or more of Maine’s state parks.
Photo Credit: Chris Dag
Maine Wildlife Park
There is no one who comes to visit Maine for a week, a weekend or a summer that doesn’t aspire to see, at least, a moose. The intrepid wildlife seeker can find an alternative to driving the highways and byways in the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. Open from April to Veteran’s Day, the park is a self-sufficient facility under the auspices of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W).
Entrance fees are between $5-$7.00, but your money will be well spent as it goes back to the maintenance of the Park. Many of the animals at the Park were brought there because they were injured or orphaned or have become human dependent and cannot survive on their own in the wild.
A big ‘must see’ at the Park is the Dry Mills Fish Hatchery which raises thousands of Brook Trout annually.
Bring stuff to barbecue, pack a picnic lunch, or purchase lunch from the snack shack. Stop in at the Visitor’s Center or visit the Nature Store. Walk the tree trail or animal trail to learn more about the flora and fauna native to Maine. To locals, especially those with children, visits to this park are part and parcel of summer in Maine. Visitors to Maine should include it on their travel agenda, too.
