There are too many things to do in Maine this summer. That’s the beauty of the warm, if brief, stretch of months we are in. While many people, tourists and locals alike, head to the beaches or maybe out on the water to visit the islands, there are also some unique opportunities along the coast where you can not only visit beautiful places but also learn about our valuable coastal resources.
This particular opportunity is happening right on the edge of Brunswick — and one of the event’s hosts is right at a unique intersection of bodies of water. The Gurnet Village, a cluster of rental cottages and spaces, is just barely within Brunswick, just before the historic Gurnet Bridge. The current bridge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was originally built in 1792 out of wood.
It was replaced by a more modern bridge in 1928 — the one you see today that links Brunswick to Harpswell. If you’ve driven across the Gurnet Bridge before, you have likely noticed an impressive flow of water underneath this tidal area. One of the reasons for the significant flow here is the input of the New Meadows River, which rushes right by the Gurnet Village property.
For this reason, Gurnet Village is also home to an upweller designed to grow out hard-shell seed clams for replenishing the town’s flats, which is managed by the Town of Brunswick. The New Meadows River is an often underappreciated part of the Brunswick coast, as it doesn’t afford deep water access or have s.