DownEast Maine: Along America's Eastern Coast

Introduction

Standing along the coast of Maine, I was reminded of seventh grade in northeast India, where I first read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Arrow and the Song. At the time, Maine existed only in the pages of an American poet. I could not have imagined that decades later I would be walking through the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland before continuing farther east into the DownEast region. Life has a quiet way of bringing places and memories together.

Many visitors to Maine spend their time in Portland, Kennebunkport, or Acadia National Park. Fewer continue beyond Mount Desert Island toward Lubec.

The farther east I drove, the quieter the roads became. The scenery changed a little, and so did the pace. Fishing villages, rocky headlands, working harbors, and lighthouses gradually replaced the crowds. I spent seven days exploring this coastline without much of an itinerary. I found myself stopping often, sometimes for a lighthouse, sometimes for a harbor, and sometimes for no reason other than to watch the Atlantic. What appealed to me most was the quietness. DownEast is shaped by the sea, and life here continues at its own rhythm. 

Following the Coast

Drive along the coast of Maine stopping at lighthouses, fishing villages, and then onward to Lubec, the easternmost point in the contiguous U.S.

What "DownEast" Means

My favorite part of Maine lies between Acadia National Park and Lubec. The name "DownEast" puzzled me at first. Driving from Portland toward Lubec, I was traveling north and east, not down. I learned that the name comes from the era of sailing ships, when vessels traveled downwind toward Maine's eastern coast. Like the fishing villages and lighthouses that define the region today, the name reflects Maine's long relationship with the sea. 

Acadia National Park

The Acadia National Park in Maine is a 47,000-acre recreation area on Mount Desert Island. Plan on viewing the video presentation at the Center. It's shown every 30-minutes. Drive up to Cadillac Mountain to watch a sunrise or sunset, hike the paths, or take a carriage ride.

Walking the Coast

Maine has several hiking trails that range from easy to extreme on the difficulty scale. Mount Katahdin Loop, a 17 mile moderately trafficked loop trail, is rated as difficult. The Wells Reserve trail is rated easy and features signs to help you find your way, identify plants and animals, etc. Acadia National Park has over 125 miles of hiking trails.

The Atlantic at Work

The shoreline of Maine is dramatic. Take your time to explore. The 3,478-mile tidal shoreline is the fourth-longest in the U.S., surpassing those of Texas and California. There are over 4,000 islands off Maine's coast. 15 of them are unbridged and support year-round populations. Spend a day at sea on a chartered sailboat or go on a lobster boat tour and learn to haul in lobster traps from a fisherman.  

You're in Maine; you have to try lobster. There are several good places all across the city of Portland and beyond to enjoy lobster. Your lobster meal may be priced depending on the day's catch. Hence, it is okay to ask the price for the day as you decide on your order.

Cutler: A Working Harbor

Cutler, a small fishing village on Route 191, felt authentic to me and is a must-visit if you wish to experience Maine that has been untouched by tourism. Fishing vessels and lobster boats base at the harbor. There are no hotels, motels, restaurants, or stores. The Cutler Coast Preserve has a remote 1.5-mile loop hike with a leg that hugs the Bold Coast and offers wonderful views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pemaquid Point Light

The name "Pemaquid" is of Micmac origin and pem/pemi means "extending" while equid means "situated." 

The Pemaquid Point Light is open to the general public for climbing. I recommend the climb on a spiral staircase to enjoy a wonderful view of the surrounding seascape and a working fourth-order Fresnel lens. The height of the present tower, built in 1835, is 38 feet and shows a flashing white light every 6 seconds that is visible 14 nautical miles.

Keeping Watch

The bell house originally contained a hand operated fog bell, which was replaced with a bell operated by duplicate Shipman oil burning steam engines to ring it. This lasted for a year and was replaced by a Stevens machine. The adjacent tower contained the weights. At the onset of poor visibility the light keeper would wind up the Stevens machine, which brought the weights to the top of the bell tower. As the weights slowly descended, the bell rang at regular intervals for approximately 6-8 hours.

West Quoddy Head

The easternmost point of the contiguous United States is West Quoddy Head in Maine. Located in Quoddy Head State Park, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse was originally built in 1808 but the tower you see today was built in 1858. The height of the tower is 49 feet with a third-order Fresnel lens. There are two white flashes every 15 seconds and the fog signal has two blasts every 30 seconds. 

Red stripes on the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse help it to stand out against snow. The only other lighthouse in the United States with horizontal red and white stripes is Assateague Light in Virginia.

Closing

As the sun began to set, I sat on a picnic bench overlooking West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. The September air had turned crisp, and the only sounds were the waves breaking against the rocks and the occasional cry of a gull. Earlier in the day I had wandered along the shoreline, watched fishermen unload their catch, and spoken with a local photographer whose appreciation for this coastline reflected my own.

Looking across the water, I thought about the long journey that had brought me there. Decades earlier, I had first encountered Maine in a classroom in Assam through the poetry of Longfellow. I could not have imagined then that one day I would be sitting quietly at the eastern edge of the United States, grateful for the opportunity to experience a place that had once existed only in literature.

When I think about DownEast Maine today, I remember the silence more than anything else. I remember roads that grew quieter the farther east I traveled, harbors where the day's work continued without ceremony, and a coastline that never seemed to ask for attention. Some places are remembered for the landmarks they contain. Others remain with us because of how they made us feel. DownEast Maine has stayed with me for its quietness.