A less-frequented, but nonetheless spectacular section of Acadia National Park lies about an hour’s drive east of Mount Desert Island on the other side of Frenchman Bay. There the Schoodic Peninsula is home to the only portion of Acadia on the mainland of Maine, featuring granite headlands, rocky beaches and spruce-fir forests.
In fact, many of us feel that the Schoodic section of the park contains within its more than 2,000 acres all of the very best that the coast of Maine has to offer. Added to the beauty is the opportunity to combine three summertime recreational diversions in the same day, as we did on a recent crisp fall day: biking, hiking and kayaking.
Additional Photos
You get to the peninsula by either driving east on Route 1 from Ellsworth through Hancock and Sullivan, then turning down Route 186 in West Gouldsboro for the short scenic drive to Winter Harbor and into the park.
During the summer months, a small ferry plies the waters between Bar Harbor and Winter Harbor, and you can then hop on an Island Explorer bus to tour the peninsula, including Birch Harbor and Prospect Harbor. The free bus leaves from the ferry terminal in Bar Harbor.
Your biking adventure should begin at the Frazer Point picnic area just after you enter the park, at which point you’ll embark on a one-way 6-mile portion of the Park Loop Road that’ll take you along the ocean’s edge to Schoodic Point with its oftentimes dramatic surf.
The speed limit for cars is 35 mph on the one-way section, and in my experience, cars are usually going even slower as people drink in the scenery, so it’s a very safe biking environment.
Continuing on the road after it becomes two-way in Wonsqueak Harbor, it’s on to Birch Harbor, then back to Winter Harbor on Route 186.
In recent years, a bike lane has been added to this section of road, vastly improving what at one time was a kind of dicey ride. For many summers in the 1990s, our family camped at a treasure of a campground in Birch Harbor, Oceanwood — now, alas, a real estate development — and we’d kick off our days with a ride around the 11.5-mile loop.
Once you return to your car at Frazer Point where there are tables, fire rings, restrooms and drinking water, your kayaking fun can begin.
Although there are no designated launch sites, there’s a tiny beach next to the pier at the picnic area that’s easy to access and you could pop your kayak in there.
Another option is to launch at the public site in Winter Harbor; but from there it’s a pretty long paddle out around the point and might be reserved for a day when you want to spend all your time out on the water.
On a trip a few weeks ago, I encountered a couple of park volunteers and asked them about possible launch sites, and they confirmed that a little side road I had seen exactly 2.3 miles along the road from Frazer Point led to a perfect place to launch with even enough space to park your car well off the road.
As you proceed along the one-way road you’ll approach the point where you’ll see a rocky berm leading to Pond Island, and just past there, in a quiet cove, you’ll spot the site.
That’s where I put in on my recent trip, and from there I launched on one of this summer’s most delightful paddles circumnavigating Pond Island, out around the point and exploring the shoreline of Little Moose Island.
Beyond lie beckoning Schoodic Island and Rolling Island, but bear in mind they are both closed from Feb. 15 through Aug. 31 to protect nesting birds.
So after a couple of hours on the bike and about four in the kayak, I was ready for the hiking segment of the day. And lest you think this sounds overly ambitious, I hasten to add that the biking is mostly on easy grades and the hike is short and relatively easy.
Four trails interconnect, with the destination of 440-foot Schoodic Head, which has commanding views of the peninsula and ocean.
My hike totaled less than 2.5 miles starting at the Blueberry Hill parking area, heading out on the easy .6-mile Alder Trail though a shrubland, then up the moderate .6-mile Schoodic Head Trail to the summit.
From there it was down the 1.1-mile Anvil Trail, with a few steep sections, back to the Loop Road at a point very close to my car.
The fourth trail, which I didn’t include on this trip, is the half-mile East Trail that leaves the road less than a mile beyond the Blueberry Hill parking lot and reaches the summit in about half a mile over some fairly steep terrain.
John Christie is an author and year-round Maine explorer. He and his son, Josh, write about the places to enjoy the beauty of Maine. He can be reached at:
jchristie@fairpoint.net
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.