Gilsland Farm is an invaluable resource for communities and families, hosting hundreds of year-round public programs, plus day camps, Maine Audubon’s Nature Store, and our Children’s Discovery Room and Educator Resource Center. Visitors can walk our trails, observe wildlife, explore the pond, or visit our peony garden.
There is always something fascinating happening at Gilsland Farm. Our Visitor Center frequently hosts public events and is available to rent for weddings, meetings, and other functions. Nature-themed art exhibits are regularly on display in the gallery, and demonstration gardens on the grounds showcase native plants.
Maine Audubon sanctuaries are free and open to the public year round, sunrise to sunset. Dogs, even while leashed, are not allowed in our wildlife sanctuaries, as their presence can be disruptive to wildlife. For our core policies for visiting a Maine Audubon sanctuary please read the guidelines here >
20 Gilsland Farm Road
Falmouth, Maine 04105
Phone: 207.781.2330
info@maineaudubon.org
Visitor Center and Nature Store Hours:
Winter Hours: 10 am-4 pm daily, November 1-March 31
Note: December 24 and 31: Open 10 am to 2 pm
Summer Hours: 10 am-5 pm daily, April 1-October 31
We will also be closed on these dates in 2025:
January 1
April 20
May 26
July 4
September 1
October 13
November 27
December 25
Directions:
From the north: Take I-295 to exit 10 and then left on Bucknam Road. At the light, turn right onto U.S. Route 1 and continue south for one mile. After the blinking light at the intersection of Routes 1 and 88, Gilsland Farm Road is on the right.
From the south: Take I-295 to exit 9. Continue 1.9 miles north on U.S. Route 1 and turn left onto Gilsland Farm Road at our sign, immediately before the intersection of Routes 1 and 88.
Metro Bus #7: there is a stop on Route 1, a short walk to Gilsland Farm (click here for route/map info)
Google Map directions
Gilsland Farm’s 2.5 miles of trails wind through meadows, in and out of woods, and along the shore of the Presumpscot River estuary. All trails are gentle with no steep grades. The main trailhead is located just outside the Visitor Center at the end of the driveway. From there, one can access all the trail spurs and junctions as well as the principal trail loops.
Downloadable Trail Guide/Map (pdf)
Trail Guide in French (pdf)
Trail Guide in Somali (pdf)
Trail Guide in Portuguese (pdf)
Trail Guide in Swahili (pdf)
View the Gilsland Farm trail map at Maine Trail Finder.
Pond Meadow Trail (0.6 miles): To see the greatest diversity of habitat, take the Pond Meadow Trail. Pockets of mature red oak and hemlock that date back a century or more are interspersed with stands of Red Maple, Ash, White Birch, and Trembling Aspen. Through the woods just below the former apple orchard, the trail leads down to the pond where muskrat and wetland birds live and feed.
North Meadow Trail (1.2 miles): From the Visitor Center, take the driveway, and at the turnout halfway down the driveway, bear left through a grove of mature oaks and hemlocks and into the North Meadow. Mowed every other year in late fall after the nesting Bobolinks and Meadowlarks have fledged their young, and sparrows have migrated, this meadow provides winter forage for Canada Geese and hunting grounds for birds of prey.
West Meadow Trail (0.7 miles): This walk encircles the rolling West Meadow with its high bluffs overlooking the Presumpscot Estuary. Follow the signs from the main trailhead through a small forested wetland and out into the field. A spur trail offers a secluded spot to see wintering waterfowl as well as flocks of migrant shorebirds gathering on the tidal mud flats.
The variety of habitats and gentle trails at Gilsland Farm are ideal for nature study, wildlife-watching, walking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Gilsland Farm meadows are nesting habitat for Bobolinks and Meadowlarks, a winter foraging spot for Canada Geese, and hunting grounds for Red-tailed Hawks and other birds of prey.
Abundant woodland and shrubs attract migrating warblers, thrushes, and finches, while the adjacent tidal flats support large flocks of feeding shorebirds. Mammals include weasels, Red Fox, deer, and a variety of rodents, as well as the farm’s unique population of Black Woodchucks. A small pond is home to frogs and muskrat, and the sanctuary’s gardens and plantings attract scores of butterflies and dragonflies.
Gilsland Farm, the Falmouth location of Maine Audubon headquarters, has its own unique history.
Since time immemorial, the Wabanaki and their ancestors have lived on the land upon which the Maine Audubon wildlife sanctuary called Gilsland Farm currently sits. Comprised of the Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Wolastoqew (Maliseet), and Mi’kmaq tribes, the Wabanaki, or “People of the Dawnland,” are the original stewards of what is now known as Maine. Specifically, the Aucucisco band of the Abenaki inhabited modern Falmouth and Casco Bay. Despite the efforts of colonization and assimilation, the history of this land starts with these Indigenous people. Read more in “The Original Story of Gilsland Farm” here >
In 1911, the land was purchased by David Moulton, a Portland lawyer and dedicated conservationist, and he named the area Gilsland Farm. In 1974, his family gifted the property to Maine Audubon. Read more about the history of Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm Audubon Center here >
Maine Audubon has broken ground for the Ann and Jim Hancock Native Plants Education Center and expanded, adjacent growing area, to open at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm headquarters in greater Portland in 2026. Supported initially by generous donations from Ann and Jim Hancock, the new structure will enable Maine Audubon to continue to grow its thriving native plants program. Read more about it here >
