Hike Report for Bold Coast
Bold Coast is located in Maine, United States. It is located at the following coordinates: (44.66, -67.2).
This hike report was written by Douglas Twitchell, about a hike on Friday, September 9, 2005.
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Directions to Trailhead
Drive out past Machias heading east on Route 191. You will pass through the town of Cutler and then the road starts heading north east. On the right after a couple miles you will see a small sign for the Maine Public Reserve Land. Soon after that you will see a small parking lot on the right. If the lot is full you may need to park along the side of the road. Be careful parking so you don't drive into a gully!
Hike Report
My nephew Josh and I were in Machias speaking at a church there, and we had Saturday afternoon free, so we asked around about a good place to hike. We were told in no uncertain terms that The Bold Coast was the place to go.
If you're looking for a challenging hike, this is not the hike for you. But we weren't looking for challenging; we just wanted to see the coast line.
The initial hike through the woods is very relaxing, with just a few ups and downs, nothing to strain you. It was muddy in a few places, but all the muddy spots had log foot-bridges over them. It was very well maintained.
Once we got to the coast, it is really quite beautiful. We came out on a small cliff looking out onto the Atlantic ocean, and a view of Grand Manan Island in the distance. From there you can hike down the coast as far as nine miles. Part of the trail is right out on the rocks, and part of it is just under the shade of the trees. But even when you're on the edge of the woods, you've got nice views of the coast.
We were told that if you have binoculars, there's a good chance to see whales and other marine life. However, we didn't have any binoculars, and didn't see much for marine life.
We kept up a pretty good pace, but about halfway down the coast we realized that, having brought nothing more than just two small bottled waters, we were getting low on our water, and I was feeling thirsty. So we turned around and hiked back.
Someday I plan to go back out there and hike the full length. Definitely a nice family outing.
If you're looking for a challenging hike, this is not the hike for you. But we weren't looking for challenging; we just wanted to see the coast line.
The initial hike through the woods is very relaxing, with just a few ups and downs, nothing to strain you. It was muddy in a few places, but all the muddy spots had log foot-bridges over them. It was very well maintained.
Once we got to the coast, it is really quite beautiful. We came out on a small cliff looking out onto the Atlantic ocean, and a view of Grand Manan Island in the distance. From there you can hike down the coast as far as nine miles. Part of the trail is right out on the rocks, and part of it is just under the shade of the trees. But even when you're on the edge of the woods, you've got nice views of the coast.
We were told that if you have binoculars, there's a good chance to see whales and other marine life. However, we didn't have any binoculars, and didn't see much for marine life.
We kept up a pretty good pace, but about halfway down the coast we realized that, having brought nothing more than just two small bottled waters, we were getting low on our water, and I was feeling thirsty. So we turned around and hiked back.
Someday I plan to go back out there and hike the full length. Definitely a nice family outing.
Difficulty
This would be a wonderful hike for an entire family; there is no mountain, just gradual up and down slopes as you travel toward the coast and then down the coast for several miles.
In addition, since there is no 'summit' to reach, there's no sense of discouragement if the hikers decide they need to turn around and head home without doing the entire length of the hike.
In addition, since there is no 'summit' to reach, there's no sense of discouragement if the hikers decide they need to turn around and head home without doing the entire length of the hike.
Statistics
The hike is about one mile in to the coast from the parking lot, and then you have the option of hiking down the coast up to nine miles. There are a couple loops, so you can hike down the coast and then back through the woods, or hike down and back on the coast.
