If I had to pick one of my favorite Day Trips from Augusta, or in Maine in general, i definitely think Monhegan on a sunny day would make the list. If you can catch it on not a super touristy day, the ferry ride from Port Clyde is nice, if only the times were better. I spent a decent amount of time looking into travel and planning for Monhegan and the biggest note to self, is that next time, I’d definitely plan on spending two days/nights on the island to hike the entire perimeter and enjoy it at a slower pace. I visited here in June of 2022.
Step 1: Getting There
Drive to Port Clyde and take the Ferry. Definitely check the ferry schedule and then you separately purchase a parking pass, a trip to the island and a trip back from the island. It’s not cheap, which is another reason I’m planning to stay a few nights next time – roundtrip with parking was a little over $50. Ferry Ride was ~1.5 hours. On the way TO the island sit on the port (left) side to see the Marshall Point Lighthouse (post to come on the lighthouse itself), or the starboard (right) side on the way BACK.
Step 2: Lunch
When you get to the island, depending on how early you’re able to get a ferry, wander off to get food before the crowd beats you. I chose The Fish House after reading tons of reviews but there are a few other places that also looked quite quaint. Obviously fresh seafood galore, but most of the coast is the same on that front. I liked this place particularly for the view. Other good options are The Barnacle and Monhegan House.
Step 3: Hiking
So, you can google maps of the island and see all of the trails. Apparently it takes several ours to go along the perimeter and it’s sketchy with rocks and open-face cliffs and stuff – the main reason I want to come back for 2 days is to do the whole thing – but you can just do a simpler one and it still is awesome. It’s hard to see on google maps, but I think this was the most sensible route to take:
- Walk to the Monhegan House and turn Left
- Walk up the hill towards Burnt Head Trail at the top of the mountain
- Once you get to the water make a Right heading counterclockwise around the island
- Check out and climb Gull Rock
- Keep going counterclockwise on the cliff trail until you get to the shipwreck
- Take Lobster Cove trail back in to make it to the brewery
Step 4 and 5 – Brewery & Lighthouse
One of my Main(e) goals was to go to Monhegan Brewing Company for the MaineBeerTrail. How cool to be at a brewery that is 11 miles out to sea! My hike was planned out particularly to end here. Afterwards, on the way back to catch the ferry, definitely recommend going to the lighthouse, mainly because the view of the island from the top is amazing. Oh, i also found a box of free books so…. I grabbed one. Monhegan was overall an amazing day, definitely planning a return trip down the line when I have a plus one and plans for a little getaway.
The Nomadic Pediatrician 