Saco River focal point in new walking tour in downtown Saco

Take a stroll along the Saco River and learn about the river’s connections to Saco’s history through a new interactive walking tour.

Local economic development group Saco Main Street on Friday launched “Below the Falls,” a self-guided walking tour that takes users along the riverfront.

The tour starts at a city park near Pepperell Square on Front Street, which was recently improved with a new seating area, benches, landscaping and lighting through a project Saco Main Street completed in partnership with the Saco Parks and Recreation Department and funded with a $49,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant.

The Below the Falls tour uses an online platform called MySmartJourney. It can be accessed on a cell phone through a QR code posted at the park or by going to https://sacomainstreet.org/below-the-falls-saco-river-tour/ . Donations to use the tour are on a sliding scale.

Community members participate in the launch of the Below the Falls walking tour on Friday. PHOTO BY LIZ GOTTHELF

The walk meanders down the stairwell from the park to a trail along the river locally known as the “Fisherman’s Trail.” Through text, photos, videos and audio recordings, “Below the Falls” discusses the river’s natural history as well as its significance to the city’s development. Tour goers can learn about the importance of the river as a wildlife habitat, water source and place for recreation, as well as how it shaped the history and development of Saco as a power source for mills, and as a location for a shipping and receiving dock where local stores could get their inventory delivered.

“In the olden days, when people went to downtown Saco, they talked about going to ‘the falls,” said Dyer Library and Saco Museum Education Program Manager Anatole Brown.

The tour aims to reconnect people to the Saco River as a vital part of the downtown, he said.

After it leaves the Fisherman’s Trail, the walk continues down Water Street past the Saco Yacht Club and the city’s water treatment plant to a gazebo overlooking the river.

There is a photo stand where people can place their cell phones and take a photo of the river. Instructions are given as to where pictures can be sent, so there will be a collection of photos of the river from the same spot to document the changes with tides, seasons and weather activity.

Below the Falls walking tour was created with the help of a $5,000 grant Maine Communities Grant through the Maine Office of Tourism, said Saco Main Street Executive Director Angie Presby. Focus groups were conducted where it was determined that the Saco River be the focal point of the tour, she said.

Below the Falls was created through a collaborative effort by Saco Main Street, Anatole Brown from the Dyer Library and Saco Museum, University of New England Saco Watershed Collaborative Outreach and Communications Coordinator Kelsey Johnson, and Erik Heumiller of Heavy Edition.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.