First, stop at West Pond, which is relatively protected from waves. From here you'll get a spectacular view of Mt Desert's summits across Frenchman Bay, and you can checkout some truly amazing tidepooling. There you'll find the Schoodic Peninsula - still a part of the park, but much quieter. So if you want to escape the crowds that flock to the island every summer, head on over to Winter Harbor, just east of Acadia. Here's a little secret: Acadia National Park is more than just Mt Desert Island. New Harbor is working waterfront at its best, and lunch on the deck at Shaw's gives you a front row seat as lobstermen offload their day's catch. At low tide, this is a site with virtually no waves, so is particularly safe.īEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING: If you've never explored New Harbor, just down the road, then a stop at Shaw's is a great idea. The small tidepool at this site, merely a quarter acre, is the perfect place to introduce children to the wonders of the ocean. The Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve, perched on the edge of Muscongus Bay, is the site where the great naturalist gathered material for the Edge of the Sea, and is today preserved in perpetuity by the Nature Conservancy of Maine (which, by the way, Carson helped found in the 1950's). Her three books, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea are classics, and well worth a visit to your local library for a check out. Carson spent many a summer in nearby Boothbay Harbor, inspired by Maine's fog, waves, and sea creatures. Rachel Carson was one of the great environmental heroes of the twentieth century, and like so many of us, she was inspired by Maine's spectacular coast. Too bad I'm a not able to capture them with my inferior photographic skills. Make sure you check out the Cribstone Bridge too! Do not attempt to park on the street.īEST PLACE TO EAT AFTER EXPLORING: Morse's Cribstone Grill, after a stop at Mackerel Cove for a photo shoot. Alternatively, park at Mackerel Cove and walk up to Giant Steps (~3/4 mile). Visit in the off-season, or early in the morning or late evening. There is very limited parking, located at the tiny church on Washington Road (and none on Sunday mornings). The one drawback to Giant Steps is the parking situation (you will notice a theme running through this post). These are excellent sites to observe intertidal zonation, however, which can be seen from the Giant Steps themselves. ![]() The wave-exposed parts of Giant Steps should only be explored using great caution, on a very calm day. The wave protected site is particularly useful if you're working with students or children, and has some truly spectacular tidepools to explore at low tide. Looking out over the surf crashing on the ledges and islands of eastern Casco Bay, the site has it all - a lovely walkway along the cliff, the spectacular "Giant Steps" themselves (a geologic wonder), and wave protected as well as wave exposed sites. ![]() ![]() Giant Steps is one of my very favorite places to explore the intertidal ecosystem.
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