16 Best Things to Do in Brunswick, ME

Brunswick, Maine is a picturesque and historic village that combines a thriving entertainment and arts culture with New England charm. Visitors can enjoy a wide variety of things to do, ranging from unique retail stores and diverse eateries to theaters, museums, and galleries to state parks and outdoor adventures. Quite a bit is located within walking distance of the downtown district of Brunswick. Common areas in town vary from lush green areas and parks to wooded trails to river access and the gateway into Casco Bay.

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1.Alice's Awesome Adventures

Visitors can join Alice Bean Andrenyak, a Mere Point native and Master Maine Guide, on their own customized guided eco-tour during their visit to Brunswick. Another choice is a personalized private instruction on nature observation, navigation, snowshoeing, hiking, canoeing, or sea kayaking within the area of greater Brunswick and along the mid-coast region of the state. Adventures include visiting an island to have a picnic lunch, taking a lighthouse tour, searching for sea glass, visiting beaches, searching for wildlife like great blue herons and bald eagles, paddling along the coast in the beautiful Casco Bay and much more.

17 Webb Field Rd, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-729-6333

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2.Bowdoin College Museum of Art

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is the college’s cornerstone of culture and the arts. It is one of the country’s earliest collegiate collections of art, established at the request of James Bowdoin III in 1811 with a collection of 140 master drawings and 70 European paintings. The art collection has grown throughout the years and now totals over 20,000 works of art, including decorative arts, works on paper, sculpture, and paintings. There are also artifacts dating back to prehistory up through modern day from many civilizations throughout the world. The collection of antiquities consists of more than 1,8000 objects.

245 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-3275

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3.Bradbury Mountain State Park

The Bradbury Mountain State Park is open year-round, typically from nine in the morning until sunset, unless other times posted. The park offers a great way to spend a nice afternoon with a canopy of trees under which visitors can take part in a picnic lunch, the hiking trails, and amazing views from the summit. Bradbury Mountain State Park is one of the five original state parks and was acquired in 1939 by the Federal government. There are thirty-five campsites at the park of various sizes. The campground includes drinking water, dishwashing station, showers, restrooms, telephone, and a picnic area.

528 Hallowell Rd, Pownal, ME 04069, Phone: 207-688-4712

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4.Doubling Point Lighthouse

The Doubling Point Lighthouse near Brunswick, Maine was originally constructed back in the year 1898. The lighthouse is located along the Kennebec Rice on Arrowsic Island. Doubling Point was one of the four lighthouses constructed that year in order to provide ships with navigational aid on their journey to “the City of Ships,” which was the city of Bath in Maine. The Friends of the Doubling Point Light organization was founded in 1997 to try to preserve the lighthouse for future generations. The walkways for the lighthouse were rebuilt in 2000, and Doubling Point now looks good as new.

Doubling Point Rd, Arrowsic, ME 04530

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5.Flight Deck Brewing

Flight Deck Brewing first opened in the Brunswick community in the beginning of 2017. The goal was to provide the greater Brunswick area with a true destination brewery, a family-friendly venue, and a casual space for social gathering. The brewery features a tap list that is constantly evolving, regular live music performances, food trucks, and ample space for visitors to hang out with a beer and their dog, or kids and other people. During warmer weather, the large outdoor patio is open, along with a fire pit, picnic tables, cornhole, and more. Live music takes place every Friday.

11 Atlantic Ave, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-504-5133

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6.Gelato Fiasco

Gelato Fiasco serves delicious, real gelato at both its Brunswick flagship store and the historic area of Old Port in Portland, Maine. Every flavor of gelato is made daily from an ever increasing collection of over 1,500 house recipes. The doors of Gelato Fiasco first opened in 2007. The owners, Bruno and Josh, chose the name “as a hedge against trend-pursuers, treasure hunters, and impostors.” The believed that only a true lover of food would dare to enter a store with such a name. Gelato Fiasco aims to offer intense, bold flavors with an unmatched commitment to integrity and quality.

74 Maine St, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-607-4002

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7.Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary

The Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary is managed by the Maine Audubon as a natural area for the public to visit for the appreciation and enjoyment of nature, as well as for educational environmental programs. The sanctuary encompasses a little over ninety acres and is located in West Bath in the state of Maine on a peninsula that extends between the Back Cove and the New Meadows River. A 2.5-mile network of trails traverses across the Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary, winding their way through the coastal forest of pine and spruce and the open meadow. Visitors may also see wildlife such as Great Blue Herons.

Fosters Point Rd, West Bath, ME 04530, Phone: 207-781-2330

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8.Harriet Beecher Stowe House

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is situated on Federal Street and was formerly the home that Harriet Beecher Stowe, along with her family, rented in Brunswick from the year 1850 until the year 1852. Stowe wrote the classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin during the time she lived in Brunswick. She also sheltered a fugitive slave by the name of John Andrew Jackson from South Carolina during this time. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House, a National Historic Landmark, is now owned by the Bowdoin College and features a space that is dedicated to highlighting Stowe’s contributions to the history and literature of America.

63 Federal St, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-3000

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9.Maine Bass Fishing Guide Service

The Maine Bass Fishing Guide Service provides visitors and locals alike with fully-guided Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass fishing experiences on the rivers and lakes of Maine near Brunswick. The fishing guide service operates out of Brunswick, near Freeport, which is one of the most popular vacation destinations during the summer season in the state. Within the area are several different bodies of water that are teaming with Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, as well as other fish. Maine Bass provides all of the equipment needed for a great day of fishing, including fishing rods, fishing reels, safety equipment, lures, and bait.

541 River Rd, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-1336

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10.Parker Cleaveland House

The Parker Cleaveland House was originally built back in the year 1806. In 1992, the house became the residence of the President of Bowdoin College. The Parker Cleaveland House was constructed by Samuel Melcher III, the leading housewright in Brunswick at the time, for Parker Cleaveland, who was a young mathematician and scientist who moved to town to be a professor at Bowdoin College. The main part of the home was finished in 1806, with more work done a year later. As one of Brunswick’s best preserved examples of its time period, the house became a National Historic Landmark in 2000.

75 Federal St, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-3000

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11.Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is housed on the campus of Bowdoin College within the main floor of the college’s Hubbard Hall. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am until 5:00pm and on Sunday from 2:00pm until 5:00pm. Admission to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is free. The collection at the museum is built around the material Donald B. MacMillan donated during his career as an arctic researcher and explorer. The collection consists of more than 9,000 images, as well as objects and films MacMillan collected on Baffin Island, Labrador, and Greenland.

9500 College Station, Brunswick ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-3416

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12.Pejepscot Historical Society

The Pejepscot Historical Society has been around since the year 1888 and is dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the culture and the history of the Pejepscot Region of Maine. The Pejepscot Region is specifically made up of the towns of Topsham, Harpswell, and Brunswick, Maine. Along with the galleries of the Pejepscot Museum, the Pejepscot Historical Society manages two historic house museums, the Skolfield-Whittier House and the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum. The Pejepscot Museum is open throughout the year features a number of rotating exhibits about various topics related to the area’s local history.

159 Park Row, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-729-6606

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13.Skolfield-Whittier House

A visit to the Skolfield-Whittier House is like a step back into the past. The house was once the home of three different generations of a prominent family in Brunswick who had careers in education, medicine, and seafaring. With being unheated and closed for around sixty years, the Skolfield-Whittier House still looks almost just like it did back in 1925 when the home was last occupied. Tours are offered from the month of May until the month of October, typically multiple times a day on Wednesdays through Saturdays. There are seventeen rooms that visitors can see during the guided tours.

161 Park Row, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-729-6606

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14.The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum

The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum was once the home of Joshua Chamberlain for over fifty years. The house underwent several incredible transformations, just like Chamberlain himself, during its lifetime, witnessing major historical events and gaining fame. The house today is now a museum owned and operated by the Pejepscot Historical Society. Tours of the museum are available every summer, beginning Memorial Day through Columbus Day. These guided tours allow visitors to explore the life, career, and family of Chamberlain. Joshua L. Chamberlain was a Civil War hero, the Governor of Maine, and the President of Bowdoin College.

226 Maine St, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-729-6606

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15.Thornehead Guide Service Company

The Thornehead Guide Service Company offers world class sea duck hunting and other services out of Brunswick, Maine, near the town of Freeport, which is a popular destination for tourists in New England. The state of Maine is actually the traditional home on the North Atlantic for sea duck hunting. Hunts are personalized and based on the wishes of clients, who can let the company know what species are their target and what their preferred style of hunting is in order to better customize the experience. Premium, handmade waterfowl decoys are used by the guides, with all equipment being top of the line.

541 River Rd, Brunswick, ME 04011, Phone: 207-725-1336

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16.Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe

The food serves at Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe is all made daily from scratch with natural, local, and fresh ingredients. Wild Oats is a from-scratch, locally-owned and operated bakery, cafe, and deli in the heart of downtown Brunswick, Maine. The bakery and cafe is just a short walk from Bowdoin College, located at the town’s Tontine Mall. The top priorities of Wild Oats are providing high-quality products and excellent customer service, and an environmental and social responsibility is at the core of everything they do. Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe strives to use the freshest and most all-natural ingredients possible.

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