The Schoodic Peninsula contains a section of Acadia National Park that many visitors fail to explore, but the cape has many alluring qualities that cannot be found in the tourist-laden valleys, mountains, and towns of Mount Desert Island. The peninsula lies roughly 40-miles from the Acadia National Park visitor center (by car), meaning not many tourists visit this distant outlander, which gives this section of Acadia a secluded, uncongested experience. There is much to experience in this rural section of the park and beyond, like exploring remote towns, hiking the many trails that lie within Acadia, or dining in one of the many local restaurants.
Settled on Route 186, only a half a mile from the entrance to the Acadia National Park’s Schoodic Peninsula, Winter Harbor is a small-town fishing community nestled along the shore of Henry Cove. Founded in 1854, Winter Harbor packs a population of only 516 residents, according to the latest U.S. Census. Many of Winter Harbor’s citizens earn a living fishing the nearby waters of the Mount Desert Narrows and the Gulf of Maine, reaping Maine’s most culturally recognized shellfish, lobster. Although Winter Harbor is a small community, it offers a few interesting businesses that any visitor would find captivating:
Salt Box
This restaurant, pictured on the corner in the photo above, was voted by Bangor Metro to be the best date night restaurant for 3-years running. The Salt Box serves a wide array of foods, from locally harvested Maine oysters and mussels—all of which are procured from Taunton Bay, Norumbega Creek, and Windaway Mount Desert fisheries— to rabbit and leek pot pie, to broiled spaghetti squash, a dish served with locally produced Seal Cove Chevre. The owners of the Salt Box strive to create a menu from fresh, native ingredients. Their menu reflects their dedication to great food.
http://saltboxmaine.com/menu-1/
Littlefield Art Gallery
A short walk from the Salt Box, along Route 186, the Littlefield Art Gallery serves to display the work of many local artists. The gallery, which opened 10-years ago, is owned by Kelly and Jane Littlefield. It includes the work of Joseph Haroutunian, Lori Tremblay, and Roy Germon, who are all sculptors and painters of Maine. The gallery also displays the work of dozens of other artists who call this state home. The gallery is open daily from May 26th through October 9th from 11:00 A.M. – 5:30 P.M. The gallery even mails purchased works, so if you can’t visit, look at their vast collection online.
http://www.littlefieldgallery.com/
Winter Harbor Co-Op Inc
There’s also the local co-op, a cooperative of native, independent fishermen and women, who with their combined efforts, bring freshly caught lobster from the decks of their vessels to the shore. Once on land, the lobsters are sold to anyone who’s buying, from tourists to the chefs of local restaurants. If you cannot visit Winter Harbor and would like a lobster fished from the waters of the Mount Desert Narrows, you can go online and visit their website. The co-op will ship any order overnight for free, which means you could order a lobster today, and by tomorrow night, you could have your very own authentic lobster dinner—complemented by steamers, corn, and potatoes.
https://www.winterharborlobstercoop.com/
Acadia National Park on the Schoodic Peninsula
The Schoodic Peninsula, a landscape surrounded by azure waters and filled with red spruce, ferns, and wildflowers such as the wood lily, accounts for just 7% of Acadia National Park or 3,200 acres, according to the National Park Service, with the entire park encompassing 47,000 acres altogether. The point contains a six-mile one-way loop road like the one found on Mount Desert Island. The road hugs the peninsula’s coast, and on a clear day—unlike today due to a heavy, thick fog that enveloped the western shore—the loop offers spectacular views of Mount Desert Island, the Mount Desert Narrows, the Atlantic Ocean, and Schoodic Harbor.
This section of the park has one campground—the Schoodic Woods Campground—7.6-miles of hiking trails, and 8.6-miles of bike paths, including the park loop road. The presence of falcons and songbirds, coupled with woodland creatures such as foxes and deer, make the peninsula a great place for birdwatchers and photographers, but that’s not to say the landscape alone does not suffice for the camera-toting sightseer.
As I made my way along the park loop road, passing the Schoodic Institute—an education enterprise that is committed to understanding the dynamic biodiversity of the Schoodic Peninsula—I arrived at Schoodic Point, one of the most popular sections on the park loop road. The cusp of the peninsula bestows a scenic expanse of granite rock between the coniferous timberland and the Atlantic Ocean. Waves crash upon the igneous rock, as gulls soar high in the sky, while a few search the for food scraps left behind by picnickers.
One of the reasons for my visit was to hike to Schoodic Head—the highest point in this section of the park, standing at 440ft. Though not to be confused with Buck Cove Mountain, which technically is the only mountain on the Schoodic Peninsula. Buck Cove stands at only 224ft.
After sightseeing along Schoodic Point, I continued traveling the loop road, looking for a place to park my vehicle so I could begin my hike to Schoodic Head. I found a spot along the roadway a few hundred feet from the Blueberry Hill parking lot, located on the southeastern side of the Peninsula. This spot put me between two trails that lead to Schoodic Head, the Alder Trail, and the Anvil Trail. I chose to begin my trek on the Alder Trail.
The Alder Trail is just over half a mile, and as I began hiking it, I found the trail to be an easy walk. It ascended very gradually into the Schoodic woods. There were not many people on this trail, which made me very happy. I hiked peacefully in the serenity of Mother Nature.
Since the trail is very short, it ended quickly. The path ended on a ranger road, and there were not any signs indicating where another trail began. Walking down the ranger road, I found the path I was looking for—the Schoodic Head Trail.
This footpath is more difficult than the Alder Trail, but that makes the path rewarding. The Schoodic Head trail is 1.1 miles and ascends steeply through the forest, surrounded by towering columns of granite rock. The trail, much like the Alder, was vacant of any other hikers, making the trek solitary and intimate.
The Schoodic Head Summit offered amazing views of the eastern side of the peninsula, with Rolling Island appearing through the tree line. When looking across the Schoodic Harbor, Spruce Point can be seen in the distance, as it stretches its cusp toward the Atlantic Ocean. And on the western side of the head, the majestic Mount Desert Island could be seen if it weren’t for the stubborn, unwavering evaporation fog covering much of the Mount Desert Narrows and eastern side of the peninsula, but on a clear day, the Schoodic Head Summit grants a fantastic view of MDI.
Journeying back down the head, I decided I would take a different trail back to my van. I took the Anvil Trail, a 1.1 miles trail that descends the Schoodic Head and ends near the Blueberry Hill parking lot. This route was the most treacherous of the three paths I traversed. The trail is composed of many steep, cliff-like sections that any unfit, inept hiker would find challenging. The route had many craggy, undulant boulders and rock formations that were irregular and made the trek tough, but the uneven terrain also made the hike exciting.
After a fulfilling, challenging trek, I emerged from the forest and found myself back on the Park Loop Road. I immediately saw my van a few hundred feet away. I returned to my vehicle and decided it was time to find some local grub. The hike left me famished, and I needed to fill the ever-growing void in my stomach. A friend of mine informed me about a place that serves pickled wrinkles not far from the park; so, that was my next stop.
The Pickled Wrinkle
You may be thinking: “A pickled wrinkle? What is that?” Well, when I first heard the term, I had no idea either, but I soon learned what a pickled wrinkle is. A pickled wrinkle is a sea snail, better known as a whelk. They are carnivorous creatures that live on the ocean floor and are often a bycatch of local fishers. Whelks are a Downeast Maine delicacy that is losing their distinction among other popular seafood dishes, but once I learned what they were, I had to try them. There is only one restaurant that I could find that serves them, and that is the appropriately named Pickled Wrinkle.
The Pickled Wrinkle serves typical Maine seafood dishes, along with standard American fare, but of course, their most prized dish is their pickled whelks. Conveniently located at the end of the Schoodic Loop Road near Route 186, the establishment lies just outside of Acadia National Park.
I entered the place determined to have a culturally appropriate meal, a meal that represents the local cuisine. A co-worker of mine declares that red-dogs, also known as Maine Red Snappers, are a quintessential meal of the working class, traveling folk, or anyone who loves pork in tube form. I first saw these vibrant, eye-catching red hot dogs back in early June, when I saw a man outside of a Dysart’s gas station plowing one into his mouth, which caused me to double-take at the sight of the unnatural color. Found in many convenient stores, Red Snappers are not common in dining establishments (so I’m told), but luckily, the Pickled Wrinkle serves them.
When the time came to place my order, I requested the pickled wrinkle appetizer, two Red Snappers with a side of fries, and a Baxter Stowaway IPA. This lunch would be the most “Maine” meal I’ve had yet, aside from the lobster roll in Cape Elizabeth.
For the price of $6.95, I received three pickled whelks, plucked from a jar of brine and pierced with one pick each. They were smaller than expected and absent of their shells, but that didn’t matter. Upon placing the first whelk into my mouth, I was surprised how delicately tasting the snail was and how the firm flesh rebounded as I chewed. The consistency vaguely reminded me of squid when overcooked, slightly rubbery, but cold, wet and elastic. The whelks were unlike any seafood I’ve ever tasted; they were delicious.
Once I finished the whelks, it was time to try the Red Dogs. I ordered mine with a heaping pile of onions on each and drenched them in mustard. They tasted, well, like hot dogs, but the crimson RED #40 infused casings elevate the frankfurters to proletarian divinity. As a guy who attempts to eat natural, whole foods, I rarely eat hot dogs, but I found these Red Dogs to be outstanding.
The Schoodic Peninsula is a section of Acadia National Park that many visitors never explore, but the peninsula has many attractions. Winter Harbor, with its many small businesses, is the gateway to the peninsula. And, unlike the gridlock found on Mount Desert Island in the height of summer, the peninsula offers hiking, biking, and camping with a laid-back, unhurried atmosphere. One can travel the Schoodic Loop road and, actually, find a parking spot. I was able to hike two trails alone, without another visitor in sight. If you ever feel the need to escape the crowds of tourist on Mount Desert Island, then take a drive or a ferry from Bar Harbor, and visit the Schoodic Peninsula—and, maybe, try some pickled whelks.
