Maine State Parks

A couple walks at Popham Beach in the summer of 2023.

More than 3 million people visited Maine state parks in 2024

Madi Smith

More than three million people visited Maine state parks in 2024, according to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. There are now efforts to limit overcrowding.

Three rows of Christmas trees that were installed at Popham Beach State Park in late March 2024 to help rebuild sand dunes.

Climate Desk

Reid State Park plans sand dune restoration with used Christmas trees

Peter McGuire

Volunteers will accept trees from local residents this weekend in an effort to rebuild dunes washed away by powerful storms.

Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park in Freeport, Maine.

Environment and Outdoors

Bill granting Indigenous people free state park access gets unanimous committee approval

Nicole Ogrysko

The bill, which faces additional votes in the House and Senate, would simply allow members of federally-recognized tribes to visit and camp at Maine state parks for free.

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2017, file photo, the first rays of sunlight color the clouds over Mount Katahdin in this view from Patten, Maine. The director of the Baxter State Park, Eben Sypitkowski, is floating the idea dropping the "Mount" from Maine's tallest mountain. Sypitkowski said Katahdin gets its name from Abenaki or Penobscot words that mean "greatest mountain," and therefore there's no need for the word "Mount."

Environment and Outdoors

New bill would grant Wabanaki free access to Maine state parks

Nicole Ogrysko

The proposal would allow members of federally-recognized tribes to visit Maine state parks for free.

A campsite at Lily Bay State Park on Moosehead Lake in May 2022.

Environment and Outdoors

A record number of people stayed at Maine's campgrounds last year

Robbie Feinberg

Visitors spent more than 319,000 nights at Maine's state parks last year — a new record.

One of the lighthouses at Two Light State Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Courts and Crime

Police search for missing Portland woman at Two Lights State Park

Robbie Feinberg

Police say that the 40-year-old woman was reported missing by her husband at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, and was last seen at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

Environment and Outdoors

Susan Sharon

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) has announced that it will close nearly a dozen coastal state parks and beaches on Friday to protect the health…

Maine

Maine State Parks Host Record Number Of Campers This Year

Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine - The numbers indicate that Maine's campers are indeed happy. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Bureau of…

Maine

Free Parks on Fathers' Day

Jennifer Mitchell

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ A number of Maine state parks and recreational areas will be free on Fathers' Day. Technically, it's Maine Residents' Day at the…