Damariscotta Mills Fish Restoration Ladder - Fishery in Nobleboro - 335 Bayview Rd, USA

A very inspiring effort by locals to restore an historic site to support the alewife fishery project. Worth a trip to experience a piece of History.

Great place to explore. In the spring to can watch the alewives climb the beautiful fish ladder. Making their way from sea to lake, back to where they hatched from. Its quite the experience.

The fish ladder is fascinating! It's a bit sad to see the fish that aren't going to make it...the ones that are in the harvesting section. But there were plenty more that were making their way up the ladder. Lots of fish when we were there.

Great place to visit during the month of May when the alewives are working their way from the ocean, up the Damariscotta River, and through the fish ladder into Damariscotta Lake to spawn. Look for bald eagles and ospreys seeking their fair share.

Very unique loved the idea of learning things i knew nothing about . It was a very cool way they built the fish ladder. The restoration of the fish"scoop" was decent and very interesting.

Alewives return to freshwater lakes to spawn in their schools after about 4 years in the ocean. There are over 40 pool ladders to help them climb up an elevation of 42 feet. What a wonderful thing to see. A portion of this is allowed to be caught for lobster bait and 7 lobsterman were waiting. It is owned by Newcastle and Nobleboro from conversation with one of the operators. Storm damage had recently fallen a large tree causing railing damage to the walkway, but temp railings were in place. Free to visit.

Simple, fascinating fish ladder with posted informative educational materials. Would be great to see when the fish are running, but still interesting and fun.

What an incredible delight! The Alewife must swim upstream to breed. Their journey is amazing. The fish ladder is an assistant to help them climb waterfalls. My wife said "if labor was like what the fish had to do, no one would ever have children." An added attraction was watching the Gulls dive for food. There is an Eagle in the area but we did not see it. Important - the Alewife moving up or downstream is time dependent. Check their website to have a better chance to see the fish.