Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park

Schoodic Peninsula is located in Winter Harbor, Maine but a portion is also part of Gouldsboro. Acadia National Park covers approximately 2,366 acres of the peninsula and is the only portion of the park on the mainland. There is a 5.5 mile one-way section of park road that hugs the coast around the peninsula with several turnouts. Most of the shore is composed of red granite. The forest is largely pine-birch but also consists of white, red and black spruce, northern white cedar, cherry, alder, mountain ash, and a variety of maples. (photos)

Several small villages are within a few miles such as Birch Harbor, Prospect Harbor, Corea, and Winter Harbor. Although only 4 miles as the crow flies from Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula is about 40 miles away via coastal roads. Ellsworth, the closest commercial center and considered the gateway to Downeast Maine, is about 30 miles away.

Schoodic Point, at the southern tip of the peninsula, provides one of the best places to view pounding surf during rough seas. It is also one of the best places to view diabase dikes. These are large veins of dark basalt that have forced their way through the older granite along the shore.

Schoodic Point is part of Acadia National Park. It has a good size parking area with a turnaround, interpretive panels, and restroom facilities. Frazer Point, located at the beginning of the park road, also has restroom accommodations as well as a picnic area.