SCHOODIC PENINSULA - I was tucking my paddle beneath the bungee straps of our tandem kayak when deep, throaty breaths punctuated the silence of Frenchman Bay. Twenty feet to our left, a harbor seal bobbed in the glassy water, sucking air before another dive.
Our guide, Darrin Kelly, was pouring cardamom tea with local maple syrup when the seal resurfaced to our right, and a bit closer. “He’s a curious teenager,’’ Kelly said, identifying the fur of a juvenile male.
Cruising along Yellow Island by way of Bunkers Cove, our intimate group - my sister, Diana, cousin Allie, and I - found unexpected solitude. We were mere miles off the coast of Bar Harbor in summer high season, yet we saw no other watercraft for the entire three-hour sunset tour. Maybe it was Kelly’s penchant for plucking spiny green urchins off the rocks for us to handle or the indeterminable horizon at dusk, but I stopped bemoaning Diana’s steering skills, forgot about my soggy bum, and relaxed into a contemplative paddle stroke.
Just northeast of Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Peninsula is home to the “secret side’’ of Acadia National Park, third-generation lobstermen, and inspired artists. It’s not a one-day destination. You need time to explore to appreciate it. Though tourism picked up in the mid-’90s when a few bed-and-breakfasts opened, this is still a series of sleepy harbor towns, minus T-shirt shops and other kitsch.
Tourism is only a small part of the local economy and the infrastructure reflects that. There are no public restrooms in downtown Winter Harbor, for example. Restaurants cater to fishermen’s hours, not vacationers’. When we returned from kayaking at 8 p.m., we had to drive off the peninsula and 40 minutes west to Ellsworth to find an open dining room - at Friendly’s.
Because the peninsula lacks such amenities, you won’t find cruise ships, traffic, overpriced food, and crowded trails here. We embraced the tradeoff.
Allie and I had come to visit Diana, who was finishing a local internship. As 20-somethings on tight budgets, we mainly stuck to free outdoor activities.
The Schoodic section of Acadia is less than 3,000 acres. Imagine a smaller Mount Desert Island, with similar geological features and equally enjoyable views. Trails here aren’t especially strenuous or long, but a few fun climbs on boulders and over tiny waterfalls keep hikes interesting. Moss seems to cover everything, turning the ground into a dense sponge.
At low tide, we walked to an offshore island to watch for wildlife. Schoodic Point, with its pink granite coastline and surging surf, is the ultimate playground for photographers and naturalists.
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