Road Trip: Owl's Head, Maine - In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 19

In My Footsteps: West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

            West Quoddy Head Light was the reason I decided to do travel writing in the first place.  I was always fascinated by lighthouses growing up on Cape Cod.  There was Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Nobska Light, and Race Point Light among others that were familiar to me.  As I got older I still retained my interest in these guides for passing ships.  First I began by learning more about nearby lighthouses like Three Sisters in Eastham, Wood End and Long Point Lights in Provincetown, and Wings Neck Light in Pocasset.  Then I began daydreaming about lighthouses up and down the east coast.  That is when I found Jeremy D’Entremont’s New England Lighthouse website.  It is there that I first saw West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine.

            With its red and white striped façade it immediately captured my imagination. There was only one problem, from where I lived on Cape Cod it was an eight-hour drive to Lubec.  I was not exactly thrilled about the idea of a 16-hour round trip drive so it was necessary to find a spot to stay overnight.  That’s when I hit the jackpot.  My cousin Tracey and her ex-husband Steve had owned a cottage on the water in Owl’s Head, Maine.  It was nearly exactly halfway between me and Lubec.  It was a rental but as luck had it nobody was there for a week in October.  I was allowed to stay there for nothing, what a great deal.

            Now, don’t get me wrong, I was excited for a week of traveling up and down the Maine coast.  It was going to be a tremendous experience.  However, the trip was totally based on getting to see West Quoddy Head Light.

            The lighthouse itself was built in 1858 overlooking Quoddy Narrows and within eyesight of Campobello Island, a part of New Brunswick, Canada.  Lubec is the eastern most point in the United States.  It is one of the most photographed and painted lighthouses in the country.  The red stripes on West Quoddy Head come from its close proximity to Canada.  In Canada the red stripes are common to help the lighthouses stand out against the snow.  Assateague Light, located on Assateague Island in Virginia, is the only other lighthouse with similar red stripes in the U.S.  The lighthouse is now on the grounds of Quoddy Head State Park and was named to the Registry of Historic Places in 1980.

            There are a few parking spots next to the lighthouse but the main parking area is located a few hundred feet away.  This is the better parking area as the lighthouse sits down a slight hill and sets a magnificent scene immediately upon your arrival.  When I said this was a popular spot to visit I meant it.  There is only one main road, Rt. 1, leading out to Lubec once you get past Ellsworth, near Bar Harbor.  I ended up behind an SUV with Texas license plates almost immediately after passing through Ellsworth.  I stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds in Machias and so did the folks from Texas.  When I arrived at West Quoddy Head an hour and a half later I was not surprised when the four people from Texas arrived shortly thereafter.  I can’t say if they came all that way just for the lighthouse, but you never know.

            I was definitely in awe and very happy to be at West Quoddy Head.  I must have managed to take a photograph from every possible angle including wandering out into a nearby field.  I also shot a video of my time there as I was not sure if I’d ever have a chance to be there again.  I wanted to be able to cue up my memories anytime I felt like it. 

            There was a sort of guide there sharing some information.  I found out that the lighthouse was not the eastern most point in the U.S.; the guide pointed out a few large rocks out in the water technically considered to be part of the country.  Of course I shot a picture of them.  I tried hard to strike a good balance between photographing every possible inch of the grounds while also simply standing and soaking in the feeling of being there.  I try to do that at many places that I am truly excited to visit.

            I began the walk back up the hill to my car and continued taking photos looking back.  I didn’t want to leave, but knew that I had a four hour drive back to my ‘home base’ in Owl’s Head.  West Quoddy Head is still tops on my list of favorite lighthouses, although there are a few I have researched that might come close.  Of course none of those are within ten hours by car, so they will have to wait.  I drove eight hours to see West Quoddy Head, anybody who lives closer needs to go check it out.  It is a beautiful and unique piece of history.  Have fun and happy traveling!

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse:  Quoddy Head Road, Lubec, Maine; GPS (44.815256,-66.951007) – From Ellsworth, Maine take Rt. 1 heading east.  Follow Rt. 1 approx. 75 miles into Whiting; turn right onto Rt. 189, follow it 8.8 miles, turn right onto Maple Tree Rd., after a mile turn left to stay on this road.  Turn right onto S. Lubec Rd. after .6 miles, take a slight left onto Quoddy Head Rd., follow it to the end.

West Quoddy.com

New England Lighthouses - West Quoddy Head      

In My Footsteps - Lubec, Maine

Lubec on Dwellable

In My Footsteps: Trip 84: Owl's Head, Maine

In My Footsteps

Christopher Setterlund

Trip 84:  Owl’s Head, Maine

October 2, 2010

            Throughout the majority of my trips I have taken I have always felt that there was never enough time to see all that I wanted to see.  Getting a chance to spend six days in Maine I thought would be a perfect way to correct that.  Now, after finishing up my trip to Maine I have found out that even six days was not enough to see what I had wanted to see.  That being said, my time in Maine was among the most fun that I have had in my life. 

The living room at Wataview

I owe a huge debt of thanks to my friend Steve Davis who allowed me to stay at his ‘Wataview’ home on Cottage Avenue in Owl’s Head.  This house has an amazing view of Rockland Harbor and the Breakwater Lighthouse.  What a thrill it was for me to be able to sit out on the enclosed porch after dark and simply enjoy the sight of the lighthouse lantern as it spun rhythmically across the water and into the windows.  It is available for rent up until the beginning of October and the website is included at the end of the article.

Owl’s Head is a small town in the mid-coast region of Maine.  It was first explored in 1605 by Samuel de Champlain and was called Bedabedec Point by the Abenaki tribe of Native Americans.  The name means ‘Cape of the Winds.’  The town got its name from mariners who thought the shape of the rock ridge where Owl’s Head Light currently stands looked like an owl.  Though it has over 400 years of history the town was not incorporated until 1921.

Birch Point Beach State Park

 I found Owl’s Head to be in many ways an absolutely perfect snapshot of what I always had thought Maine would look like to me.  After waking up to a beautiful sunrise over the harbor the first place I ventured out to was Birch Point Beach State Park.  This area is one that would qualify as ‘classic Maine’ with its outcropping of rocks lined with straight-as-towers pine trees stretching out into the cool Atlantic waters.

The road to the beach was closed so I needed to walk to get to the water.  This was a welcomed addition to my trip as it gave me a chance to take in the rapidly changing leaves whose colors were made even brighter by the strong morning sun.  The beach was magnificent as I hit it at low tide and was able to walk out on some of the dry rocks and get a great view of the Mussel Ridge Channel Islands which sit about a mile off shore.  This area ended up being the best possible starting point for my time in Maine and it only got better from here.

Entrance to the Transportation Museum

The next spot I visited was the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum located on Museum Street.  The drive from Birch Point to the museum was so amazing that I almost did not want it to end.  Everything shone from the sun, every home, every tree, it was all too perfect.  The Transportation Museum has an unbelievable collection of items, it is a day trip all in itself.  There are originals and replicas of aircraft dating all the way back to 1804.  The thirteen-inch unmanned glider built by the ‘Father of Aviation,’ Sir George Cayley, is replicated here.  It is amazing to see where aviation began to where it is today.

Owl's Head Harbor

The Museum also has an impressive collection of antique cars as well including a three-wheeled open air vehicle built by Karl Benz in 1885.  It looks incredibly out of place even among vehicles from thirty years later but there are many features to it which are still used in cars today.  I found the vehicles from the 19^th and very early 20^th century to be the most interesting mostly because of the history and how these awkward looking vehicles actually changed the world.

After leaving the Transportation Museum I headed to Owl’s Head State Park located on the northeast corner of the wide peninsula.  It is here that the spectacular Owl’s Head Lighthouse resides.  This area contains the rocky cliff that gave Owl’s Head its name, although it is impossible to see from where the lighthouse is situated.

Owl's Head Lighthouse

From the parking lot it is a short walk to the lighthouse itself.  The walk contains some more incredible views of the rocky cliffs and a gray sandy beach located near the parking lot.  Once you get to where the Coast Guard Station and Owl’s Head Lighthouse are the cliffs get much higher and the views include all of the surrounding area.

I found it odd yet thrilling that a lighthouse was built in such a spot.  Built in 1852 the lighthouse itself is only thirteen-feet tall yet it can be seen for miles because the light is 100 feet above sea level thanks to the gigantic cliffs.  The stairway which leads up to where the lighthouse sits made for some fantastic photo opportunities, and the view from the top was the perfect capper to my day in Owl’s Head.  The walk and the stairs should not deter anybody from paying this marvelous site a visit.

Although it is a small town population wise, and a new town as far as being officially recognized, Owl’s Head is filled with amazing places to see.  The Owl’s Head Transportation Museum is a day trip itself and is a must see.  I highly recommend paying a visit to Owl’s Head Lighthouse for the incredible views.  For a taste of what I believe is ‘classic Maine’ there is Birch Point Beach State Park.  If you see all of those places then I also recommend simply pointing your vehicle in any direction and taking a slow drive through the streets of this awesome little town.  Have fun and happy traveling!

*For more In My Footsteps items follow my Twitter Feed, view more photos at the In My Footsteps fan page on Facebook, or visit my homepage at ChristopherSetterlund.com.   Thanks for reading!

Directions:  Birch Point Beach State Park:  Take Rt. 1 into Rockland, turn right at Rt. 73, follow it 4 miles, turn left at Dublin Rd., turn right at Ballyhac Rd.  Follow it to signs for park, there is some parking if gate is closed.

            Owl’s Head Transportation Museum:  Take Rt. 1 into Rockland, turn right at Rt. 73, follow it almost 3 miles, turn left at Museum St., there is a sign for the museum at entrance.

            Owl’s Head Lighthouse:  Take Rt. 1 into Rockland, turn right at Rt. 73, follow it almost 2 miles, turn left at N. Shore Drive.  Turn left at Main St. near Post Office, turn left at Lighthouse Rd. follow it to parking lot.  

References:  Wataview Cottage, Owl's Head, ME

                Mussel Ridge Historical Society

            Owl's Head Transportation Musuem.org

            Owl's Head Official Town Site

            Owl's Head Light - Jeremy D'Entremont's New England Lighthouses