AN AWESOME ADVENTURE ON THE DOWNEAST MAINE COAST!
Stunning, dramatic rocky coastline at Quoddy Head State Park
The trip report
Written by jmahoney · last updated by richardc on Jul 23, 2025
Beautiful hike along the Coastal Trail after lunch, with leader Ed Stanley out front. The perfect day!
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About this event
This will be an exciting several days on the wild, spectacular and undiscovered Downeast Coast of Maine. For our two full days, Sat. (7/19) and Sun. (7/20), we'll experience two of the most scenic hikes on this undiscovered part of the coast. On Sat. (7/19), we'll hike on the remote and unspoiled Great Wass Island, a preserve of the Nature Conservancy that extends out into the Atlantic. This 5-mile hike will take us across spectacular rocky headland shores with open ocean views and through rare maritime forests with stunted coastal jackpines and heaths with weird carnivorous plants such as sundews and pitcher plants. On Sun. (7/20), we'll do two shorter hikes. In the morning, we'll hike 3 miles through the breathtaking Western Head Preserve in Cutler featuring a dramatic cliff walk on a stretch of the wild Bold Coast. In the afternoon, we'll head up the coast a bit and hike (2.5 miles) the spectacular Boot Head Preserve with its awesome high and jagged cliffs covered with soaring spruce trees with views of the whole stretch of wild coastline and looming Grand Manan Island beyond.
This will definitely be a fun and memorable trip. I can recommend reasonably-priced accommodations for your stay in Machiasport/Machias for the three nights (7/18, 7/19, 7/20). The first night, we'll all meet at 6:00 pm at my house in Machiasport (see directions) for a pizza dinner and schmoozing. The other two nights we'll also get together for dinner, including a cookout. There will be a very small donation for dinners for two nights ($8-10/night). If you have any questions, please be sure to give me a shout!
Comments
It sounds great!
I’ll need to carpool from Boston area
Thx
Hal
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