Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec

This is an amazing state park — dramatic, windswept and comfortably cool on hot summer days — with a decent hiking loop. Actually, two hiking loops. The trail closest to the famous striped lighthouse, West Quoddy Head Light, is called the Coast Guard Trail. It’s about 1.0 mile, and is wheelchair friendly, being wide and smooth but not paved. There are a couple of spur trails to harrowing overlooks from towering bluffs, as well as to a well-built staircase that leads to a high wooden platform.

On the other side of the park, the western side, you can do a roughly 3.8-mile loop along the gorgeous coast to a cove with a sandy beach. If you don’t want to return along the coast, you can take a path across the meadow from the beach to the park’s access road. The first 0.25-mile of the coastal path is well trafficked, and then the crowds thin out. The trail on this side is very easy going up to Green Point, and then it gets narrower and rootier, albeit stays well marked. The loop returns through the forest. Don’t miss the short boardwalk loop in the bog, reachable via a spur.

This is a great guide to the trail system.

Directions: From intersection of Route 1 and Route 189 in Whiting, follow Route 189 for 8.5 miles to South Lubec Road. Turn right and continue on the road for 2 miles to a fork. Bear left and continue 2 more miles to the park entrance. You can park in one of two lots: closer to the lighthouse or closer to the trailhead for the longer loop trail. The Coast Guard Trail starts close to the lighthouse — you’ll see a sign for it on your left if you’re looking at the ocean. The longer loop trail heads off to the right.