Open house to celebrate Orono Bog Boardwalk reconstruction slated for Aug. 17–18

Volunteers at the Orono Bog Boardwalk will host an open house on Aug. 17 and 18 to celebrate the completion of the boardwalk’s reconstruction. At 11 a.m. Aug. 17, there will be a ceremonial ribbon cutting. 

The original boardwalk was constructed in 2002–2003 under the direction of Ronald Davis, now professor emeritus of the School of Biology and Ecology and Climate Change Institute at UMaine. Since 2013, volunteers from the University of Maine and the community have spent more than 4,000 hours reconstructing the boardwalk, and have raised more than $1 million since 2010 to fund the project. Thousands of donors have contributed to this effort. 

Since its June 2003 opening, the boardwalk has been visited by more than 400,000 people from Maine, the nation and the world. It features seven interpretive stations along its route, as well as numerous benches where visitors may rest and contemplate their surroundings. Visitors come alone or in groups, for active exercise, educational tours, or solitude, or simply to watch the seasons unfold in a rare and beautiful habitat. The boardwalk is used regularly by UMaine faculty, as well as other educators from the region, as a laboratory for research and student learning.

A volunteer staff maintains the boardwalk and provides information and education for visitors, including school and community groups. The facility is jointly managed by UMaine, the Orono Land Trust, and the City of Bangor. Its operation and maintenance are funded entirely through donations, sales of boardwalk merchandise, and grants. 

The wheelchair-accessible boardwalk is located in the Rolland F. Perry (Bangor) City Forest, where it wends its way through forested wetland and out onto a broad, open peat bog. It is free of charge and open from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week during summer, with hours adjusting for day-length changes in autumn.