Tip Toe Mountain Preserve, Vinalhaven

This is beloved Vinalhaven Land Trust preserve. It definitely has the best name! There are three tip-toe peaks within the 40-acre preserve: Little, Middle, and Big Toes. There are views from each one. Conveniently, the most dramatic point is right by the parking area, Little Tip Toe. A little path allows you to scramble up the big rock mass to fabulous views over Crockett Cove in seconds.

But if you’re here to hike, head over to the satisfying trail system, which offers both high points with views and a beautiful shoreline. Middle Tip Toe offers several outlooks from a craggy ridge trail (with some high cliffs, so be careful). Big Toe involves scrambling up a rock for views of Fox Island Thorofare, West Penobscot Bay, and the Camden Hills.

Vinalhaven Land Trust says the Middle loop is half a mile; the big loop trail is 0.6 miles. When the tide is in, crossing the stone dam might be challenging.

I like the land trust’s description of this amazing spot, which lists the variety of habitat found on the protected land: “rocky summits, islands, salt marshes, forests, wetlands, vernal pools, and over a mile of shoreline…Everything from rare lichens to river otters finds a home here, and in early fall visitors are sometimes treated to the sight of dozens or even hundreds of hawks kettling — circling in the updrafts to gain elevation above the summit called Big Tip Toe.”

Directions: (From the land trust) Turn left from the ferry terminal, go 0.4 mi., then right on Old Harbor Rd. for 0.3 miles. Bear left onto North Haven Road for about 6.5 miles to where Tip Toe Mountain Road (gravel) will be a left turn. Drive about 1.2 miles down this road; the gravel parking lot at the base of Little Tip Toe Mountain Town Park will be on your left.