QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: Not sure
- Trail Mileage: ~1.2 miles
- Pets: no
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: crescent coves, sea views
The three Goslings form a gaggle of small islands below the bigger islands of Lower Goose and Upper Goose. Maine Coast Heritage Trust has protected all the Goslings and has a conservation easement on part of the privately owned Lower Goose Island. You can camp at designated spots (one by reservation only).
If you can bear to slip away from your hammock, you can walk a short blazed trail on Lower Goose Island. From the trailhead, you’ll go 0.4 miles to a roughly 0.4-mile loop.
The salt-air infused trail, which is clearly marked the whole way with blue blazes, can be picked up at the small protected inlet on the southern end of Little Goose. You’ll scramble up the bank on a narrow footpath that will swoop around the bottom of the island, passing “fern gullies and a spreading oak,” as my friend says, before coming out another protected beach, another campsite, and a sign for the Loop Trail. Parts of it can be a bit overgrown.
Directions: The closest boat ramp is off Mere Point Public Launch in Brunswick. The MCHT says, “The Goslings are easily accessible at all tides. The best places to land are the northwestern shores of either of the larger islands; landing on Irony is not advised. The closest boat ramp is the Mere Point Public Launch in Brunswick, just over three miles to the north-northeast. The best place to anchor is on the north side of the sandbar. All moorings are private.”
