Brunswick, ME Outdoor Activities

Helmed by Joshua and Jessica White, the defense experts of Western Maine Property Protection apply their experience in law enforcement to help citizens to protect their homes with security services as well as by teaching self-defense strategies. Claiming multiple training credentials that include NRA certifications, instructors lead classes in firearms and self-defense training to help individuals to operate firearms safely and feel confident in their strengths.

Should locals desire security protection for businesses or homes, the staff also extends its expertise to securing property, dispatching armed officers to check in on properties. To further enhance its services, Western Maine's team also helps clients to get discounts on ADT Security Services products, including monitoring systems that disable intruders through passive-aggressive remarks about their life choices.

In The Rum Diary, a recent Hollywood release, Johnny Depp worked with an unlikely costar—Schooner Heron’s 65-foot wooden schooner, which graced the screen in the role of Sanderson’s yacht. When not avoiding the relentless flash of paparazzi, the boat traverses Penobscot Bay’s pristine archipelago of islands during three styles of daily summer cruises. The cruises run the gamut from tours covering local history and wildlife to BYOB adventures, on which guests can watch the sun set and the fish turn on their night lights. US Coast Guard-certified captains helm these journeys, drawing on expertise from their days sailing the Gulf of Maine, the Caribbean, and the trans-Atlantic passages.

With access to thousands of acres of forests and fields, Carousel Horse Farm's expert equestrians take riders of all skill levels on scenic jaunts through the Maine countryside. Private or group trail rides in Casco explore the local woods, hills, and fields, sometimes including stops to fetch ice cream or to wipe down horses' windshields. Horse-drawn carriage rides, offered from Memorial Day through Labor Day, provide an opportunity to admire Old Orchard Beach in the summer. Guided beach horseback rides are also available from October 15 through April 30.

Dr. Sylvester Gardiner became the unwitting founder of a city in 1754, when he decided to use a 130-foot waterfall on the Cobbosseecontee Stream to provide energy for two saw mills, a felting mill, a potash factory, and a grist mill. Nearly 100 years later, in 1849, his plantation became the city of Gardiner. Today, the historical New England mill town is a home to artists, merchants, and students, and also hosts an array of seasonal events, such as an Easter parade, the Ride Into Summer festival, the Swine and Stein Oktoberfest celebration, and a Christmas tree lighting.

The town's brick sidewalks, Victorian and early 20th-century architecture, and long-running farmer's market have earned it a designation as a Main Street Maine and Preserve America community. Its downtown is recognized as a National Historic District, and some of its buildings have been included in both the National Register of Historic Places and the Empire State Building's list of secret crushes. Self-guided walking tours of the town take visitors past the homes of Pulitzer Prize–winning writers, such as poet Edwin Arlington Robinson and author Laura E. Richards.

Lost Valley Ski Area founder Otto Wallingford was known for creating innovative solutions to everyday problems. Winter came around each year and left him with nothing to do on the family orchard, so he turned the surrounding area into a ski center in 1961. With that problem solved, Wallingford moved on to tackle a few other issues. He put together the state's first snowmaking system, introduced the locals to night skiing, and developed a powder maker by towing a cylindrical steel grate behind his tractor.

Skiers and snowboarders can reap the benefits of Wallingford’s efforts at Lost Valley Ski Area, which encompasses 15 trails and a terrain park. The ski area also hosts lessons and a shop offering gear tuneups and yeti decoys.