Monhegan Island, ME

A few years ago I purchased a book filled with recommended hikes, kayak trips, and mountain biking trails in Maine.  One of the entries in the book was for hiking at a place called Monhegan Island.  I was immediately interested in making the trip out to this remote island to hike the cliffs and see a bit of the island life.  It took a few years for me to finally plan the trip, but this past weekend we made it out to the island to do some hiking and see what we could see.

Sunset on Monhegan

Monhegan Island is a small island about 1.7 miles long and 0.7 miles wide that is about 10 miles off the coast of Maine.  The only way to get there is by boat either on the Monhegan Boat Line, Hardy Boat Cruises, or Balmy Days Cruises.  We chose to take the Monhegan Boat Line out of Port Clyde, ME.  The boat is a no-frills way to get to the island, but it was nice to sit in the very front of the boat out on the deck and watch the islands go by during the one hour trip out to Monhegan Island.

Lighthouse at Port Clyde

Coming into the harbor you can see the smaller island of Manana which shelters the harbor from the harsh weather this far off the coast.  The smaller island is uninhabited.  It's last resident was a hermit and his herd of goats, but he passed away in 1975.  A film was made about his life called The Hermit of Manana.  There is still a herd of goats on the island, but not much else.  For a brief period there was a manned Coast Guard station there, but that has since been automated.  While the small island has no residents, you can make a day trip over to explore during your stay on Monhegan.  Just go to Swim Beach and ask/radio for Rusty who will take you across in his small boat.  We did not make the trek over, but I hope to go back someday to see it.

Manana on the boat ride to Monhegan

Closer view of Manana

Our first experience when getting off the boat was seeing The Barnacle right off the dock.  The Barnacle is a bakery and coffee shop that sells fresh made pastries, chowder, coffee, tea, etc.  The food is made at the Island Inn and then brought down to be sold at the store.  If you happen by The Barnacle, I highly recommend the raspberry croissant or the strawberry rhubarb muffins.

The Barnacle at Monhegan Island

Walking up the hill towards the village there is the Island Inn on your right.  This Inn has an amazing view of the harbor and holds 32 rooms and suites.  While we did not stay at the Island Inn, we did go there for supper on our last night on Monhegan - it was amazing.  I had a Curry Squash soup for an appetizer, Filet with lobster and white wine risotto for main, and then topped it off with a Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp ala mode.  A heads up to those that enjoy beer/wine with their meals - it is illegal on the island to serve alcohol.  You can buy alcohol at The Cantina, The Barnacle, or The Novelty and bring it to dinner, but they cannot serve you alcohol anywhere on the island.  Expect the prices at the Island Inn to be a bit more expensive than the rest of the island, but the food there was very good.  I also found the bulletin board with an FAQ sheet about the Inn to be quite interesting.  Tidbits such as how they get electricity on the island (3 large diesel generators power the whole island costing $0.70/kwh) and that they have to pay $10.00/bag just to send trash off the island.  It really put things in perspective when you think about how many people live on the mainland.

Across from the Island Inn is another place that offers accommodations to visitors to the island - the John Sterling Harbor House.  The Harbor House has no restaurant, and we did not stay there so I cannot speak much to the characteristics of the accomodations - but I thought it worth a mention.

Continuing up the hill there is a small craft store called Winter Works that we found very interesting.  Many people on the island do crafts during the winter to sell to tourists in the summer (hence the name Winter Works).  They assembled a craft co-op of sorts, and there were all kinds of interesting things to be found there.  Crafts made with sea glass or shells, painted ornaments, or even knitted items.  The woman who was working here was very friendly and open to questions about the island.  She is a full-time resident of the island, and she has lived there 20 years.  There are 40-50 full-time residents on the island, and they even have a one room school house which currently has one second grade student and two kindergarten students who attend half days.  The island residents are working hard to encourage young families to move out to the island, as the population has been declining as people move the less remote mainland.  Even though the island is remote, it still has things like high speed internet and a cell phone tower - some of the residents have telecommuting jobs where they spend the majority of their time working from the island with occasional infrequent trips to the mainland.

The island seems to attract many artists that wish to paint the coast landscapes, wildlife, and the small village itself.  This artwork can be found on display and for sale in many galleries across the island.  Most shops (and The Rope Shed) have a map of where the galleries can be found.  Another essential item if you plan on hiking while you are there is a Trail Map.  They can be purchased for $1.00 at either the Lupine Gallery or the Cantina (the island's only grocery store).

Taking a right at the end of the road, we headed by the Cantina (here you can buy groceries and find the Island's only ATM) and then Swim Beach.  Swim Beach is really the only safe place on the island to go swimming.  Much of the island's shoreline is very rocky with high cliffs and unpredictable waters.  Swimming anywhere other than Swim Beach is not a good idea - and after hiking the entire perimeter of the island, I can see why.  They have had people lost, swept out to see as late as 2011.  There is no emergency service on the island (not even a police force).  Swim Beach is also where you will find Rusty, who will take you over to  Manana for the day should you wish to explore the smaller island.

Just past Swim Beach you will find the "Rope Shed".  This is the go to place for all announcements, information, and events on the island.  It acts as a community bulletin board where you will see postings for everything from cleaning services to jambories to gallery events.  If you want to know what is going on on the island during your stay, take a peak at the Rope Shed on your way by.

Just past the Rope Shed is Fish Beach where you will find The Fish House.  The Fish House was not open during our stay, sadly, but it has great reviews on Trip Advisor and from word of mouth if you are in the market for some local seafood.  They are a take-out place, and as such they are a cheaper option than the Island Inn should you want to sample the local catch of the day.

Beyond Fish Beach you begin to get into the Village center.  There is a small Post Office, The Black Duck Emporium (gift shop), the island's only church, and The Monhegan House.  The Monhegan House is where we stopped for dinner on our first night on the island.  Their prices were much more reasonable than the Island Inn, and honestly - the food was a notch above.  We had Parsnip/Leek/Ginger Soup for starter, and I tried the Atlantic Trout for a main.  Both were amazing.  I will say that were I to recommend the ideal place for a sit down meal on the island, this would be it.  The staff were very courteous and the atmosphere was very laid back.  They also have a sandwich/pizza shop at the back of the Monhegan House called The Novelty.  We tried the pizza there one afternoon for lunch, and it was possibly the best pizza I've ever had.  It was also funny to meet the man working behind the counter and find out he was from The County not far from where we grew up.  Like many of the people we met on the island, he was a summer resident working just for the season.

Past the novelty the road inclines sharply, and in our case that meant carrying our bags up the hill to get to The Hitchcock House where we were staying.  In my opinion, if you are coming to the island for a weekend and just looking for the experience - no bells and whistles - this is the ideal place to stay.  We stayed in a room called "The Yellow Room" which had two twin beds and a semi-private bath.  It was just $85.00 a night, and that was very reasonable for the accommodations.  We had access to a large deck, patio furniture, and a propane grill.  The room was very comfortable, clean, and quiet - also being that it was on the top of the hill - the breeze kept it cooler than it was down near the harbor.  Barbara Hitchcock owns The Hitchcock House and The Black Duck Emporium.  She was very friendly, informative, and made us feel right at home on the island.

The Yellow Room at The Hitchcock House

We had taken the last boat out to Monhegan, so our first night there was spent just looking around the village, having supper, and then watching the sunset - which was gorgeous over Manana.  But the next day we decided to start out early and hike around the Island.

**An advisement to all hikers on these trails - they are not very well marked (take a trail map with you everywhere) and the terrain off the trails is very rough, so stay on the trail.  If you go off the trail to do something like watch the seals in the harbor from the rocks - make sure to come back to the trail before you continue on.  Bring a good pair of hiking boots, as well.  We packed light and brought sneakers rather than boots - learn from our mistake!  We are both very fit and sure-footed but with just sneakers it is still very easy to lose your footing on some of the rocky terrain.

The first half of our day took us to the northern side of the island.  We spent the morning climbing over rocks and watching the wildlife near shore, stopped to take photos of a local lobster boat setting it's traps for the day, and then stopped for a mid morning snack on a cliff overlooking the water.

Lobster boat setting it's traps

Seals playing off shore

Unlike many other hiking trails in Maine, these trails are not very well traveled (at least at this time of year).  So be sure to hike with someone in case of emergency, as there is slim chance of meeting anyone else on the trails.  Our trip around the island brought us to a trail that wound right back to The Hitchcock House where we re-stocked on water and walked to The Novelty for lunch.  From there we chose to explore the other side of the island at Lobster Cove where there was a ship wreck (an old tug boat that had crashed up on the rocks during a storm) and more cliffs to climb.  By early afternoon we had made our way around the entire perimeter of the island and gotten some great photos along the way.  It left us just enough time to clean up and head to the Island Inn for dinner.

Ship wreck at Lobster Cove

We had a relaxing day the next day waiting for our boat to leave at 12:30, and I couldn't help but think about how peaceful and easy-going life on the island seemed during the summer.  I'm sure it's much more harsh during the winter given the remoteness of the island, but for right then - the idea of living somewhere where you had to be as self sufficient as possible.... it just seemed like that is how we are meant to live.  Not a slave to the endless rat race trying to get ahead of the person next to you - but as a community living, working, thriving together.  Taking the boat back to the mainland it felt almost like traveling to another world - even now being home it hasn't really sunk in yet.  This little island just 10 miles from Port Clyde but worlds away in terms of quality of life.

If you live in Maine or are just visiting - whether you can spare a day or a week - Monhegan Island should be on your list of places to see.  It is one of those places in Maine that will show you why they say "Maine - The way life should be."

View from the cliffs hiking around Monhegan

Looking over one of the cliffs at Monhegan