Go east, young (and older) Maine hikers

Go east, young (and older) Maine hikers
By CAREY KISH
Portland Press Herald

Lubec is as far as you can travel in Down East Maine, or the entire eastern United States for that matter. And if you're looking to get away from the hectic pace of everyday life, this place of exceptional natural beauty -- from dramatic ocean cliffs to heaths and meadows to dark spruce and fir-scented forests -- makes a great escape.

There are 19 land preserves and miles of trails in the dozen towns and villages that comprise the Cobscook Bay and Bold Coast Region, so hikers have plenty of choices for exploration. "Cobscook Trails" is a comprehensive 56-page guidebook published by the Quoddy Regional Land Trust that will lead you to these little-known, lightly used natural gems.

I was looking for a breather from the busy workaday world when I visited the far reaches of Washington County a few weeks ago. Guidebook in hand, I chose a sampler of three interesting hikes -- all in Lubec -- for a good look-see and a healthy workout.

Boot Head Preserve is a 690-acre nature preserve owned by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust that protects three miles of ocean frontage. The Boot Cove and Brook Cove trails combine for a three-mile loop of terrific hiking. Highlights include the pebble beach at Boot Cove and the thick, forested slopes of Boot Head. My favorite, however, was the thrilling walk along the cliffs overlooking the Grand Manan Channel.

The 481-acre Quoddy Head State Park features the iconic candy-striped lighthouse at the easternmost point of the U.S. I set out on the two-mile Coastal Trail, past the rugged cleft of Gulliver's Hole to High Ledge, a 150-foot-high bluff topped by a grassy meadow. Beyond, it's a wild and rugged walk to Green Point with high-caliber scenery at every step. At the sandy beach in Carrying Place Cove, I returned on the Thompson Trail, a rolling 1.5-mile wooded track.

Pike Lands is a 128-acre parcel owned jointly by the land trust and Healthways-Regional Medical Center. It was late afternoon when I arrived, so I settled on the short Huckins Beach Trail, a one-mile round-trip walk through old fields and woods down to the pocket shingle beach on South Bay, a pretty spot to poke around among the rocks.

Cobscook Trails was formed in 1996 by a coalition of conservation organizations, landowners and community partners to conserve lands, protect wildlife habitat and preserve recreational access in eastern Washington County, said Alan Brooks, executive director of the Quoddy Regional Land Trust.

"Concern about the development boom brought us together to help protect the region's most special places," Brooks said.

The land trust has since directly protected 3,800 acres and 22 miles of shorefront, and, working together with partners such as the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Department of Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others, an astounding total of 6,200 acres and 48 miles of shoreline have been preserved.

"To date, 24 properties and 24 conservation easements in the Cobscook Bay region have been secured; from Rogue Bluffs to Calais; the Atlantic Ocean to Route 9," Brooks said proudly.

In addition to land conservation, Cobscook Trails has created an extensive network of trails under a common identity, where the public can see the value of a trail network and enjoy free and easy access.

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