Sometimes in the summer I stay away from the coast because I don’t want to fight the traffic, deal with parking, or be on the beach packed in like a sardine roasting in the sun.

Laudholm Farm at the Wells Reserve in Wells offers a wonderful alternative to all that.  It is an easy trip from South Berwick on Route 4 to Route 9 to Wells and then just a short jaunt up Route 1, there is plenty of parking, and then the real draw: a 2200 acre area with seven miles of hiking trails through woodlands, fields, wetlands, beach, and dunes with no crowds. You can walk through the open fields of this historic saltwater farm and take in the long views of the coast.  Walk through the marsh on boardwalks and watch and hear multitudes of birds or take the walk down to the beach which is likely to be sparsely populated by an assortment of swimmers, surf casters, beach walkers, and birdwatchers.

We headed over to Wells to meet up with some friends at Laudholm Farm one morning of the July 4 weekend.  It was sunny and hot at the top of the hill.  We took the beach walk through the fields where the smell of beach roses scented the air and the ripening blueberries attracted birds.  As we went through the marsh toward the beach we entered the mist that, when lit by the sun, accentuated the colors of the water and vegetation and brought a welcome coolness to the day.  We then walked the whole length of the beach from north to south, taking us from the calm and quiet of the Laudholm beach at the north, to the beach atmosphere at the breakwater at the entrance to Wells Harbor.

Laudholm Trust is a nonprofit organization formed to protect Laudholm Farm and to support research, education, and management activities at the Wells Reserve. The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve investigates coastal environments and enhances understanding of their ecology. Reserve facilities are located at Laudholm Farm and include the Maine Coastal Ecology Center.

Laudholm Farm trails are open every day, 7 am to sunset.  Trail maps are available at the entry kiosk.  Admission fees are in effect from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day. Fees are $1 for ages 6 to 16 and $3 for those over 16. Members of Laudholm Trust get free admission (except some special events) and program discounts.

Visitor Center and Maine Coastal Ecology Center Exhibits  are open Jan 16 to Dec 15: Mon-Fri, 10-4 and on the weekends from Memorial Day to Columbus Day: Mon-Fri, 10-4; Sat, 10-4; Sun, 12-4.   There are also an array of special events and programs  for nature lovers of all ages.  You can download a pdf version of their calendar.

Tags: nature, things to do

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 12th, 2008 at 11:05 am and is filed under Good Places. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.