Thuya Garden
This semi-formal herbaceous garden in the English style, as reinterpreted for the Down East coast by Beatrix Farrand of Reef Point, was named for the northern white cedar (Thuya occidentalis). It’s part of a 140-acre preserve just outside Northeast Harbor that includes Thuya Lodge, the summer home for almost 50 years of Joseph Henry Curtis, a Boston landscape architect. After Curtis died in 1928, he gave the property in trust to the Town of Mount Desert, and Charles K. Savage, who also designed the Asticou Azalea Garden down the road, was appointed trustee. For almost 40 years, Savage renovated and improved Thuya Garden, incorporating many original plants from Reef Point when that estate was dismantled in 1956.
Historically, only visitors who arrived on foot could access the Thuya property, and the preserve connects to a series of public paths and trails that also lead to the trails of Acadia National Park. Note that there are no accommodations for food, drink, picnics, or pets at the garden.
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Thuya Garden is open seven days per week from sunrise to sunset, May through October and is wheelchair accessible.
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Thuya Lodge is open seven days per week from mid-June to the end of September from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.
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Suggested entrance donation of $5 per person.
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Public restrooms are available and are wheelchair accessible.
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Pets (except service animals) are not allowed.
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Food or drink is not allowed.
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Please limit cell phone conversations to outside the Garden area.
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Parking is limited. RV’s, buses, and large trucks are not permitted on Thuya Drive. It is a one-lane, winding road so please drive cautiously.
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Please consider visiting in early morning or late afternoon. There is less of a crowd and a better chance of finding a parking space.
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For group visits, please contact the Land and Garden Preserve at 207-276-3727.
