Desert of Maine celebrates 100 years of ecological wonder

TIMES RECORD • August 17, 2026

Intensive farming practices in the 1800s stripped away the topsoil at the Tuttle family’s farm in Freeport, revealing sand dunes left behind by retreating glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. The 25-acre ecological oddity became a tourist attraction by 1926, welcoming city dwellers who traveled up Route 1 for a taste of the rural life. Today, the desert is home to mini golf, play areas, a campground and dozens of interpretive signs and educational activities that tell the history of the property and of Maine tourism itself. One hundred years later, visitors exploring the dunes at the Desert of Maine can view the early stages of forest succession in real-time as trees start to encroach on the sandy landscape.