Maine Down East Coast Adventure

Wow!  What an incredible GO trip on the Down East Maine coast! We began the trip on Friday night with  dinner and socializing at my cottage in Machiasport.  The following Day (Sat.) we hiked the Bold Coast Trail along the spectacular high cliffs, spruce forests and awesome oceanfront along the Cutler coast.  The day began somewhat cloudy and muggy (unusual for this area of Maine), but by the early afternoon the skys dramatically cleared and we finished the hike in ideal sunny, blue sky weather.  Sat. evening we settled down for a tremendous and delicious lobster bake - hard to imagine ever having too much lobster, but that we all did that night!

Sunday we ventured over to Canada and explored beautiful, scenic Campobello Island.  Following yet another spectacular hike, this time out to Liberty Point, we took a tour of the fascinating summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  This is wehere the President summered his his early life until 1921, when he contracted polio on the island.  We saw other wonderful sights on Sunday as well, including the picturesque East Quoddy Head Lighthouse on Campobello and then the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse over in Lubec.  The latter is the easternmost point in the continental United States, where the sun first rises over the country.  

We all agreed on Sunday evening that the trip was over far too soon and that there were many other hikes and sights still to be experienced along this streatch of the Maine coast.  Our unanimous conclusion: This was the "First Annual" Down East Maine GO Adventure - and we all await next year's trip!! 

This will be an exciting weekend on the spectacular and untrammeled Down East Coast of Maine.  Many consider the scenic coastal hiking on this area to be Acadia National Park without the crowds.  Our two full days, Sat. (July 23) and Sun. (July 24), will be centered on two of the most incredible hikes on this part of the coast. 

On Sat. (7/23), we will hike the 9.8 miles of the Bold Coast Trail in Cutler.  4.5 miles of this trail wends it way along the jagged cliffs of the undeveloped coast.  The views here are Acadia-like with the bold cliffs, dramatic drops, roaring waves, gentle wildflowers and flowering bushes.  This challenging hike is definitely in the "strenuous" category.   

On Sun. (7/24), we will drive up to Campobello Island, just over the US border in Canada.  For this part of the trip, you will have to bring your passport, as showing yours is a requirement for entering Canada (and then getting back into the US!).  On the island, we will hike the 4.6 mile Liberty Point Loop in Roosevelt Campobello International Park.  Along the rugged coast, there are impressive views of Grand Manan Island as well as Passamaquoddy Bay.  If we're lucky, we may see whales, dolphins and harbor seals.  In the afternoon, we'll visit the the Roosevelt Cottage, summer home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his family - and learn why this place was his "beloved island." 

This promises to be a wonderful weekend.  I can recommend reasonably-priced accommodations for your stay in Machiasport and Machias, Maine for the 3 nights (July 22, 23, 24).  The first night we'll have dinner in my house, and one of the following nights we'll have a lobster dinner right down the road.  Please be in touch with me about any and all details.