Top 10 Most Popular Tourist Attractions in Maine

How many of Maine's most popular tourist attractions have you been to?

I have been to all ten. These numbers are based on 2022 attendance, and were put together by Mainebiz. There was a lot of shifting from last year's most popular list. But the number one tourist attraction in Maine remains the same.

10. Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory - Prospect, Maine - 110,432 visitors

This is such a cool historic Civil War Seacoast fort and observatory. An elevator takes you up over 400 feet for views of the whole Penobscot Bay region. This is one of the oldest attractions on the list. It was founded in 1844.

8. (tie) York's Wild Kingdom - York Beach, Maine - 200,000 visitors

York's Wild Kingdom is a privately-owned zoo and amusement park. The animals are fascinating, the rides are great fun, and the food keeps you going all day! York's was not on Mainebiz's 'most popular attractions' list last year.

8. (Tie) Maine Wildlife Park - Gray, Maine - 200,000 visitors

For a lot of Mainers, this is the only time they've seen a moose! The Maine Wildlife Park has 30 species of Maine wildlife that can't go back to their natural habitats, and this is where we can learn more about them.

7. Children's Museum of Maine & Theater of Maine - Portland, Maine - 201,037 visitors

In 2021, the Children's Museum of Maine moved to its current home of 30,000 square feet at Thompson's Point. People love it, and have been exploring it in record numbers!

6. Fryeburg Fair - Fryeburg, Maine - 225,000 visitors

Founded in 1851, this is one of the most popular and oldest attractions in Maine. It's eight crazy days of agricultural fair fun with food, horse & oxen pulls, tractor & truck pulls, livestock competitions, exhibits, and Maine products. That barely covers all that is offered. With Covid in the rearview mirror, attendance between 2021 and 2022 grew by 55,000 visitors!

5. Urban Air Adventure Park - South Portland, Maine - 247,000 visitors

It's all about making sure the kids can put their energy somewhere and have fun doing it. This amusement park is the perfect 'run your kid ragged' indoor park. This is especially perfect for those rainy days, and haven't we seen a ton of those?

4. Funtown Splashtown USA - Saco, Maine - 300,000 visitors

I have been to Funtown Splashtown a thousand times, but was surprised that it was such a destination! Good for them. This is a family-owned water and amusement park founded in 1967, and it rocks! They keep improving with some great new features and rides!

3. Coastal Maine Botanical Garden - Boothbay, Maine - 336,000 visitors

Founded in 1992, save a full day to really soak up this experience. I'm sure that a lot of the visitors come for the holiday light spectacular, Gardens Aglow, but this is a year-round experience. There are gorgeous gardens, waterfalls, stonework, sculptures, and these awesome trolls.

2. Sugarloaf Mountain Resort - Carrabassett Valley, Maine - 350,000 visitors

Sugarloaf has been the 'it' ski resort for years. Founded in 1951, this is one of the largest ski resorts in the east. Despite the uncooperative winter, this remained the second most-visited attraction in Maine!

1. Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor, Maine - 3,970,260 visitors

It's no surprise that this isn't just the most visited attraction in Maine, but by about 3.5 MILLION visitors! Experience 50,000 acres of the Acadia archipelago and Schoodic Peninsula with historic carriage roads, hiking trails, and roads along amazingly beautiful glacially-sculpted mountains. It's a repeat victory for the most attended attraction in Maine!

So, how many of the top ten have you been to?