Desert of Maine, Is It Really A Desert? Go and Find Out.
Written: Aug 06 '05 (Updated Aug 06 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's more than I expected and the guide was excellent.
Cons: I didn't get there sooner.
The Bottom Line: Hey, this isn't a National Park but The Desert-of-Maine was a bit more than I expected and at well under $20 total for four of us, the price was right.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Desert of Maine |
On our way to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park area we like to break up our travel time. Sometimes we stay overnight in other towns. This time on our day up we decided to stop in Freeport to see the "Desert of Maine". Now I honestly have to say I never made the stop previously because I felt it was some sort of tourist "come on" that was a sort of "side show" and not truly a "real deal". I was wrong after taking our tour of the place.
Some Basics
I liked that it was just minutes off the route we can take to the Bar Harbor. We got off an exit on interstate 295 just north of Portland, made a left, traveled two miles and we were there. Let me note that it is only open
early May to Mid-October. You might try their web site for exact times.
http://www.desertofmaine.com/home.html
I was pleased that there was plenty of parking and even more so after I paid the $7.95 adult price for my wife and older daughter and $5 and change for my 16 year old daughter, and found that the next tour was to start in just five minutes. They start every 20 minutes to half hour depending on the crowds.
We walked out the back door of the shop that has many souvenir items and some cold local "pop" in a cooler out front.
A Safari with a Guide
A "Jeep" type vehicle had a small, one-car, open-air tram hooked up to it that carried perhaps 16 people on what they call a Safari. These leave every half hour. It was comfortable enough and our guide came over and started talking to us. There were a few small sways and bumps but the ride was smooth enough.
I like a guide who can speak loud enough so I can hear him/her, descriptive, entertaining and educational. This guy hit all bases well.
I'm not going to give a lot of information about the particulars of this place in that their advertising doesn't seem to want to tell very much about it. Part of this adventure is in seeing the unexpected and learning about this destination.
I will say that I was quite surprised as to how and why this desert came to be, how long it has been such, and what the future of this property is. This was all very clearly explained during the tour.
Our Experience
We were driven around acres and acres of sand dunes and the guide made a couple of stops where he instructed us as to where we were in reference to the first farm that was on this land and what some of the first owners went through in their attempts to make money off this unique piece of the New England landscape.
At one point we were able to walk out onto the desert sands and climb a 90' dune where some description of how some of the trees, buried in the drifting sand, are able to survive.
The tour lasted about one half an hour but we were told that the stickers that were issued upon payment of the tour and had to wear outwardly on our shirts gave us free access to walk the many trails on the grounds and to check out the "museum" barn that had many of the artifacts of the first farmers and others that worked on this land. The barn and it's equipment wasn't of interest to me but it was well cared for and displayed.
A Bit More
For a few bucks kids were able to make sand forms in bottles using many natural sand particles from the grounds.
There is also some kind of treasure hunt for younger kids only. We didn't participate but it did look like fun.
All in all I found this a very interesting and informative tour that was also entertaining to me and, I noticed, to some of the kids on our tour too. My girls who are a bit older at 16 and 17 enjoyed it too. No bored faces from them at all.
Clean Restroom facilities are available and some snacks and sodas can be purchased in the shop out front.
One more thing. During the tour when standing upon the 90' sand dune we were asked if the Desert of Maine was truly a desert. I'm not telli'. Ya, gotta take the tour to find out.
Though I only gave this place three stars I do recommend seeing it. It's worth the price of admission and the hour or so, much more if you like, it takes to witness this phenomenon.
Maine and Coastal Towns
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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