The Bold Coast – Maine

Hiking Maine’s Bold Coast


Acadia is no secret. The park gets over 2 million visitors per year. The second stop on our Maine road trip, however, is a hidden gem  that we had never even heard of until we started planning our trip: The Bold Coast.

bold coast hike Maine
Cutler is 4 hours north of Portland
bold coast Maine
map via hikenewengland.com

 

The Cutler Coast Public Reserve Land is 2 hours northeast of Acadia National Park and is only a stone’s throw from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Our phones actually thought we were in Canada so we turned them off while we were hiking to avoid getting gouged by our cell providers. We started hiking from the parking lot on the inland trail and headed towards the ocean. The beginning of the hike looks like any walk through woods in New England, but after 1.5 miles the scenery changes dramatically. The trail changes abruptly from dense woods to rugged cliffs that plunge into the Atlantic.


bold coast hike maine
The trail approaching the ocean

bold coast hike maine


For the next 3.8 miles, the trail winds along the coastline, crossing a few rocky beaches along the way. The scenery is quintessential Maine, except much more remote than places farther south on the coast like Acadia and Camden. It is this type of type of hike in which dense coniferous forests run abruptly into the ocean that make Maine truly unique on the east coast.


bold coast hike maine


At some point along the Coastal Trail, we hung our hammock between two trees on the edge of one of the cliffs overlooking Canada, watching the seals swim by and the eagles fly overhead.


bold coast hike maine



bold coast hike maine seal

bold coast maine


As it turned out, even though we hardly saw another soul on the trail, the three campsites on the map (there are 5 there now) were all occupied when we arrived in the late afternoon.  We were left with a few options:

  1. Go back to the car and find someplace else to spend the night
  2. Set up the tent somewhere in the woods.
  3. Set up the tent on the edge of a cliff over the ocean.

Naturally, option #3 ended up winning the day.


bold coast maine

bold coast maine

bold coast maine


Although sleeping on an uneven rocky surface sounds like it would be a great night’s sleep, it was actually surprisingly uncomfortable. On the other hand, watching the sunset from the tent with a bottle of wine was a decent consolation…


bold coast maine


And the sunrise…


bold coast maine


Overall this was one of the most memorable hikes we have ever done. It’s relatively easy and hiking right along the rocky coastline is a unique experience among east coast hikes. Since it is so far north in Maine, you don’t have to share the trail with many other hikers; however, you do need to be willing to make the long drive. The Bold Coast is a long haul from any major city, but absolutely worth the trek.

 

11 Comments

  1. Pingback: Acadia | Trails Unblazed

  2. Pingback: New Harbor Puffin Cruise | Trails Unblazed

  3. Pingback: Maine Road Trip | Trails Unblazed

  4. Pingback: Product Review - Rumpl Puffy Blanket | Trails Unblazed

  5. Pingback: State Flag Rankings | Trails Unblazed

Leave a Reply