Wells Reserve at Laudholm

About Us

The Wells Reserve at Laudholm is a place to discover nature, science, history, and promising ways to protect coastal waters. It's a beautiful, welcoming, member-supported place open every day for public enjoyment.

The varied habitats of the Wells Reserve—upland fields and forests, freshwater and estuarine wetlands, beach-and-dune system—support a wide variety of plant and animal species. Seven miles of trails ensure access to all of these habitats for birders, botanists, and other naturalists. Artists find inspiration here.

Behind the scenes, a thriving scientific research program investigates salt marsh systems, lobsters, crabs, fish, and other subjects. The program maintains weather, water quality, and other monitoring systems as part of a national network of sentinel sites. Many studies focus on the effects of climate change and sea level rise.

The Wells Reserve headquarters is at the historic farm known as Laudholm. For thousands of years prior to European settlement, the area was occupied seasonally by Wabanaki peoples. In 1642, the site was set off for permanent settlement. By the mid 18th century, the Clark Farm was a prominent farming operation in Wells. In the late 1800s the farm was purchased by the Lord family, which held it for nearly 100 years and gave it the name Laudholm Farms. The Laudholm campus of buildings is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and several of the old structures are used for various modern purposes.

A 19th-century site serving a 21st-century mission: advancing conservation and resilience in Maine's coastal communities.