Blue Horizons, Mount Desert Island (Bar Harbor)

You can find a few places on Mount Desert Island not swarming with people even before winter’s icy landscape deters many. The Maine Coast Heritage Trust preserves, like Blue Horizons, are often less crowded than park trails. Blue Horizons’ enticements may be more subtle than those in the park, but it still offers interesting nature and lots of beauty.

It’s easy to drive by the entrance to Blue Horizons; the trailhead sign is tucked away on a locked gate blocking a driveway. There’s plenty of parking on the road shoulders so no excuse to block the driveway! There are two lived-in cottages on this preserve that house MCHT’s seasonal staff.

You’ll start your walk on the driveway. To do the loop counter-clockwise, take a left onto a footpath about a a third of a mile in. The next section of the path covers some spongy ground, and there’s a long string of bog bridges laid end-to-end here. You’ll soon arrive at a “sweeping cobble beach”. You can make your way carefully along the rocks on the beach, past the cottages, to continue the loop trail. Look for the small wooden arrow at the edge of the forest marking the trail back.

For those who are less steady on their feet, you can walk most of the way down the easy driveway almost to the shore. You’ll see a trail sign pointing right, and a short path from that point will take you to the beach.

Directions: From Route 102 in Town Hill, head west on Indian Point Road. Drive 0.5 mile to a dirt driveway, Fire Road 800, on the right. There’s room for several cars to park along the wide shoulder.