Changelog

Damariscotta is where Maine oyster farming began, and the twelve-mile river the town sits on still grows about 80% of the state's farmed oysters. **The Damariscotta Oyster Trail** is a new page that gathers the real, public ways to taste that — whoever you are. There are four: buy them straight from the source at Glidden Point's farm store upriver in Edgecomb (you can shuck your own); ride out past the farms on the River Tripper's oyster-and-seal cruise from Schooner Landing; or sit down to a dozen at King Eider's Pub in town or the Shuck Station just across the bridge in Newcastle. Each listing was checked against the place's own page, and it links straight there for hours and booking. It also answers the questions newcomers actually ask: the oysters are farmed rather than dug wild, so they're around all year; the old "only in months with an R" rule doesn't really apply to cold, farmed, refrigerated Maine oysters; and the farm store and the cruises cut their hours back in winter, so it's worth checking before you drive out. Wholesale-only hatcheries were left off — these are the places you can actually visit.

A new tool shows whether the Nobleboro–Jefferson Transfer Station is open right now, its Tuesday-to-Saturday hours and holiday closures, the sticker you need to get in, and exactly how its sorted recycling and fee-by-weight drop-offs work — for all five towns the station serves.

Who runs the schools after the three towns formed RSU 48 in 2025, where children go from pre-K through grade 8 at Great Salt Bay, and how high school tuition and choice work when the town runs no high school of its own — with the offices to call.

Damariscotta sits on a tidal river, and the water is the story. "Highest Tides to Watch" reads NOAA's tide predictions for the Newcastle station on the Damariscotta River and lists the upcoming highest tides — the days the waterfront lot and the low spots downtown are most likely to take on water. It is honest about what it is: a tide prediction, not a flood forecast, because whether water reaches the street depends on wind, rain and storm surge on top of the tide. "Downtown Parking" covers the lots, the overflow spots, and the two winter rules that catch people out. "On the Water in 2026" has the pumpkin regatta, the oyster festival and the spring alewife run.