I am from Kentucky and was up last weekend with some local friends at Bailey island and just fell in love with that mixture of forest and ocean where we were. I%26#39;ve never been anywhere where the forest went right up to the ocean and it just smelled so good, and the forest looked different than Ky ones. Is that what they call ';old growth';? Anyway I also loved your seafood and went swimming for hours even though it was kind of cold cause I could see clear down to the bottem and loved watching the fish and crabs and shells. I just loved how there were flowers growing everywhere around the beach too. Its just a whole different thing from Florida.
I%26#39;d love to come back soon with my husband and I want to find some more places that have that combo of forest and ocean. I saw that Acadia National Park is probably a must see, but where are some other good places in Maine where you get that forest right up near the ocean? I just found that combination to be magical. I%26#39;m not much interested in just pretty sandy beaches, its that combo of coean and forest that I%26#39;m interested in finding again. Oh, and this is one southern girl who fell in love with your state in a weekend!
Best combo of forest and ocean?
Acadia National Park will give you some of what you%26#39;re looking for... And to most folks, that name refers to the area adjacent to the resort community of Bar Harbor.
But Acadia has a second part as well -- with much less development, more trees-at-the-rocky-cliff-edge and a great feeling of trees-and-tide. Check the Acadia National Park website for the Schoodic section of the park. It can be a bit of a drive from the main park, but it%26#39;s one of the places the ';locals'; like to go when we want to get away because it%26#39;s usually far less crowded and busy than the part of the park nearer Bar Harbor.
If you%26#39;re interested in camping, I%26#39;d also strongly recommend Cobscook Bay State Park. It%26#39;s in far eastern Maine, just off US Route 1 between Machias and Calais. Website is: state.me.us/cgi-bin/鈥?/a>
Fantastic camping in the trees atop rocky coastal cliffs.
In general in Maine the further north and east along the coast you go, the further away you%26#39;ll get from sandy beaches and the closer to rocky cliffs, gravel beaches and trees-to-the-ocean.
Hope this gives you a couple of places to think about...
Come-on-back, now -- Ayuh.
Best combo of forest and ocean?
First - yay to you for getting in the ocean! I love it, but it%26#39;s definitely a chilling experience!
You will find that woods/ocean experience a lot of places along the coast, especially from the mid-coast on up (or ';down'; east). Boothbay Harbor and the Bristol/South Bristol peninsula have what you%26#39;re looking for. A nice spot to experience that feeling is the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. I finally made it there this summer, and can%26#39;t wait to go back during lady slipper and/or rhododendron season.
';Old growth'; forests haven%26#39;t been cut then rejuvenated. I%26#39;m not sure if one exists on Bailey Island, but it would be somewhat likely. Not much profit in logging on an island, but the locals may have cut it off for farmland or burning.
Well thank you all. I will definately look those places up. I did just love it. I go swimming in the lake here up till November so maybe thats why the temperature of the water didn%26#39;t bother me too much. It was so interesting to see all the fish and shells and things too. I must have hit a good day, cause they said usually theres more waves there. I%26#39;d probably enjoy the camping and that garden too, love flowers and such.
I%26#39;d like to come back for a week next time. I have been all over the world, but oddly enough not so many places in the states, but the closest things those forests reminded me of were some in Greece near Olympia. They just smelled so good, and were so different from Ky forests. Well you all sure do have a beautiful state, I can%26#39;t wait to go back!
It%26#39;s great to hear such good remarks about your visit here! I%26#39;m glad you enjoyed your time. Do come back when ya can and hopefully you can stay for a week. All of the above posts are really really good suggestions.
MainerOnTheGo, you sometimes seem like an expert to me :)
Well I have already been looking up some of these places and I just can%26#39;t wait to get back. Between blueberry pancakes and all the seafood I%26#39;m going to have to do lots of hiking and swimming just to fit back in the car hehe. I was tickled by how may bookstores you all have everywhere too. I like to shop, but must confess books come first.
Thanks so much for your post sswingfield, it is one the best explations of why Maine can be so wonderful, including how even the smell is good. I have always told people that the mix of woods and ocean, in some of the less populated areas of the coast is something that can be found in very few places.
Acadia while sometimes a bit crowded adds another thing into the mix, mountains. Some may not consider the ~1000%26#39; peaks there ';mountains'; compared to other places but they look much more impressive than that as they seem to rise right out of the ocean. So Acadia gives you forests, ocean, AND mountains.
Another great area, a very rural one, is downeast Maine. The Quoddy Head State Park and the Bold Coast trails offer beautiful hikes through the forest and along cliffs oceanside.
Oddly enough I had just looked at that part of the state. It looks gorgeous, I just want to drive around everywhere. I just can%26#39;t wait for my husband to see it. Thanks!
