Exploring Maine's Bold Coast
The first leg of our adventure takes us to the Bold Coast of Maine, a rugged section of coastline located between Lubec and Cutler. While we have visited this part a Maine before we never really had the chance to experience all it has to offer. Cobscook State Park in Whiting, ME served as our basecamp as we explored the area including Campobello Island, New Brunswick. Cobscook offers some awesome camping: many of the sites are on the water and offer great views of the bay and surrounding islands. One of the sites we stayed in even had a view of nesting bald eagles! One of the nice things about the park is that they reserve some sites, including beautiful waterfront ones, for people without reservations.
Cobscook Bay State Park
The coastal area around Lubec, ME has a variety of public preserve lands and parks to explore. One rainy morning we visited Hamilton Cove Preserve a few miles from Lubec. We chose to hike the coastal trail, the longest in the preserve at 1.3 miles. The trails are easy and the coastal trail snaked through a marshy area at bit before turning out to the coast. Views of the rugged coastline and Grand Manan Island were excellent even on this rainy day. After that strenuous hike….we needed to refuel, so we hit the Lubec Brewing Company in downtown Lubec. After sampling several of their beers we finally settled on the Pope’s Folly Pale Ale as our choice for the day.
Nick and Koda at Hamilton Cove Preserve
Nick and Koda at Hamilton Cove Preserve
We also did a backpack to the Cutler Coast. We’ve had our eye on the this hike for quite some time so we decided it would be a great way to officially kick off our coast to coast journey. Coincidently we are eyeing another spectacular coastal backpack on the pacific coast as well for later in the trip. Like many of the days here in coastal Maine it was foggy and rainy but we didn't let that deter us. We set out mid-afternoon on the inland trail for the 4.4 mile hike to the campsites at Fairy Head. We found the three established campsites empty and took our pick of the most scenic site for the night. Stout winds and fog so thick it sometimes felt like it was raining accompanied us through the night. When we woke we were greeted by the sound of lobster boats and clearing blue skies. Once we were all packed up, we headed up the rugged coastal trail offering some of the best scenery thus far in the trip. Another 4.7 miles later we were back to the trail head and ready to continue on to the next adventure. We opted to head back to Cobscook Park for the night to dry and organize our gear before heading on to the next destination.
The Inland Trail
Made it to the coast!
Home for the night
Can't beat the view!
Sunny skies for the hike out the Coastal Trail
Info:
Entrance Fees: Hamilton Cove Preserve and Cutler Coast Public Reserved Lands have free entry
Camping: Cobscook Bay State Park, Cutler Coast Public Reserved Lands (Free- first come first served).
Pets: All the parks and preserved lands we visited were pet friendly. Cutler Coast trails should be fine for dogs with some hiking experience with a little rock scrambling. Cobscook did require they be leashed.
Tips: Water at the campsites on the Cutler Coast was hard to come by, pack in or bring a filter. Make sure to hang your food we saw a weasel running around below our site, better to be safe than to wake up to no breakfast.
Not to Miss: Lubec Brewing and nearby Campbell Roosevelt International Park. We also caught the Lubec Farmer's Market which was happening on a Saturday
