Things to do & places to visit in South Berwick, Maine, United States

South Berwick city in Maine, United States. Timezone: America/New_York, current date and time: Monday, May 06, 2024, 20:48.

Top things to do (11)

• Nature & Wildlife Areas
• Historic Walking Areas
• Speciality Museums
• Libraries
• History Museums
• Historic Sites
• Churches & Cathedrals
• Parks
• Gardens
• Hiking Trails
• Golf Courses

Top places to visit (12 attractions)

1. 5.0 Counting House Museum (2 reviews)
   - Wonderful visit to the place that my family began life in the USA!
   Monday: Spent 1-2 hours Speciality Museums • History Museums
   I was very interested in the history of this area where I knew my paternal family began life in the USA and joined the Old Berwick Historical Society, although I live in Texas. The members have been very kind, helpful and open to accommodating our visit to the area. I wish I lived closer and could get to know more about the rich history of the area! See more..
   
2. 5.0 Orris Falls Conservation Area (1 review)
   - Great place for a hike any season.
   Hiking Trails
   Orris Falls is a great 2.5 mile trail. It has a small falls, a balancing rock, some small hills, flats, an old farm house foundation, etc. There is a little bit of everything here. See more..
   
3. 5.0 Kenyon Hill Preserve (1 review)
   - Great one mile loop trail
   Hiking Trails
   This is a great little trail to take the family for a quick hike. Easy stroll through the woods, have done this in both winter and summer. Pretty hike each time. See more..
   
4. 4.5 Hamilton House (58 reviews)
   - Really pretty place with good trails
   Historic Sites • Gardens
   
   
   Shipping merchant Jonathan Hamilton built this striking Georgian mansion c. 1785. Its picturesque situation on a bluff overlooking the Salmon Falls River made it an ideal location for Hamilton’s shipping business and, more than a hundred years later, for the summer retreat of Emily Tyson and her stepdaughter Elise.Today, Hamilton House reflects the occupancy of the Tysons in the early twentieth century and is recognized as one of the region's quintessential Colonial Revival-style country estates. The house features two whimsical murals commissioned by the women as well as antique furnishings and handcrafted decorative arts they collected. The elaborate perennial garden, with its charming garden cottage, provides visitors with a place to stroll and picnic overlooking the river. Please visit nearby Jackson House, Governor John Langdon House, Rundlet-May House, Sarah Orne Jewett House, and the Sayward-Wheeler House. See more..
   
5. 4.5 Vaughan Woods State Park (31 reviews)
   - Great hiking trails
   Historic Walking Areas
   
   
   Self-guided nature trails and guided historical home and garden tours are offered at this 250-acre memorial park in southern Maine. See more..
   
6. 4.5 Sarah Orne Jewett House (26 reviews)
   - Worth the Visit
   Monday: Historic Sites • Gardens
   
   
   Writer Sarah Orne Jewett, author of THE COUNTRY OF THE POINTED FIRS, spent much of her life in this stately Georgian residence, owned by her family since 1819. Jewett drew on the house for inspiration for her novel DEEPHAVEN and often wrote at the desk in the upper hall overlooking the active town center.Jewett and her older sister Mary inherited the house in 1887. Decorating the house for their own use, the sisters expressed both a pride in their family's past and their own independent, sophisticated tastes. The result is an eclectic blend of eighteenth-century architecture, antiques, and old wallpapers with furnishings showing the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement. See more..
   
7. 4.0 The Links at Outlook (25 reviews)
   - First time try - we will be back
   Monday: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Golf Courses
   
   
   This was our first visit to this place and it won’t be the last. Limited menu with excellent choices - Benedict’s, pancakes, French toast, etc. Annmarie was so attentive and extremely funny. We had such a good time. Great cocktail menu! They do take reservations! See more..
   
8. 4.0 Counting House Park (1 review)
   - RIVERFRONT PARK IN A HISTORIC PLACE
   Parks
   
   
   Visiting the park next to the Counting House Museum, I noticed a sign that been put up. It was for Counting House Park. I’d always known the area of Liberty Street along the Salmon Falls River as Quamphegan Landing. The area has quite a long history. The Wabanakis called it Quamphegan. “Quamp” means scoop or dip and “hegan” means net. It was the place to dip the net. In other words, it was their place to fish with nets in the relatively shallow waters there. With the English settlers in the area came wharves and warehouses of commerce. Then, there were the mills in the 1800’s – a textile factory being the largest. Goods and eventually passengers were transported up and down the Salmon Falls River with the tides on gundalows and other shallow-draft or flat-bottom boats needed to navigate the shallow waters. Today’s park is a scenic place overlooking the river and the falls near the interstate bridge on Rt. 4. There are some benches facing the river as well as an adjacent flower garden with day lilies that were past their bloom when I visited this time. I’ve attended special reenactment events held in this park and organized by the Old Berwick Historical Society. They’ve always been fun and educational. I rate Counting House Park at 4.50. If you found this review helpful, please click THANK below. See more..
   
9. 4.0 South Berwick Free Baptist Church (1 review)
   - CLASSIC NEW ENGLAND WHITE CLAPBOARD CHURCH
   Spent < 1 hour Churches & Cathedrals
   
   
   South Berwick has had a longstanding Baptist presence, dating back to 1767 when a Baptist meetinghouse was formed. In 1834, a separate Free-Will Baptist congregation was established. After doing some research at the library one afternoon, I was passing the church and noticed that it was in full sun. That brought out details of the church architecture. I stopped to view and photograph the church up close. It was impractical to photograph the front of the church due to many, many power, cable, and telephone lines in the way from across the road. In viewing the building, I noticed that it appears to be a blend of mostly Federal and Georgian architectural styles. It has the symmetry of the Georgian style. The window over the portico entrance appears to be a take on the center panel of a Georgian-style Palladian window with its arched top. The frame on the semilunar cap on the window has a decorative cornerstone. The bracketed roof on the steeple suggests an Italianate style influence. Research with the historical society revealed that the belfry holds the South Berwick town clock which dates back to 1890. The belfry was altered to accommodate installation of the clock in that era. I rate the South Berwick Free Baptist Church at 4.25 and can recommend a visit to anyone interested in the architecture of New England churches. If you found this review helpful, please click THANK below. See more..
   
10. 4.0 South Berwick Public Library (1 review)
    - LIBRARY WITH INTERESTING ARCHITECTURE & A LOT OF SERVICES
    Libraries
    
    
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11. 4.0 William A. Bray Memorial Park (1 review)
    - SMALL, CLEAN PARK WITH BOAT LAUNCH
    Parks
    
    
    This small park is adjacent to Eliot Bridge on the Salmon Falls River. The primary feature of the park is a boat launch down a short T-shaped dirt road. It is suitable for smaller boats and kayaks. The Salmon Falls River is tidal. I’ve been here at low tide, and it would be difficult to launch a boat at that time. In fact, at the time of my visit, a good 15 feet of mudflats were exposed at the boat launch. Driving over the Eliot Bridge, I’ve seen a lot of kayakers paddling on the river not far from the boat launch. Some people fish from the bridge. There’s also a bench for sitting and enjoying the view of the bridge and the river. Eliot Bridge is an interesting sight. It has numerous angled piles for support. I believe that the construction style is called timber stringer. Above the parking lot is a sizable open grassy area for setting up one’s own picnic table of blanket. This appears to be a carry-in, carry-out park. During my most-recent visit, I walked around and down to the boat launch. I also enjoyed sitting in the shade on the bench. The park is a nice place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. I rate William A. Bray Memorial Park at t4.0. It’s a small but clean and nice park. If you found this review helpful, please click THANK below. See more..
    
12. The Raymond & Simone Savage Wildlife Preserve (0 review)
    Nature & Wildlife Areas
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