Maine Coastal Touring Trip – Acadia National Park – Sep 10 thru Sep 20

People have been drawn to the rugged coast of Maine throughout history. Awed by its beauty and diversity, early 20th-century visionaries donated the land that became Acadia National Park. The park is home to many plants and animals, and the tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic coast. And what brings us is our quest for wilderness adventure and of course, our sea kayaks. Check out the National Park web site http://www.nps.gov/acad/

This will be a truly wonderful sea kayaking experience for many to enjoy. This trip will be a combination of base camping and self contained island hopping for all to choose. We plan to paddle 6 days, explore the terrain, and even take in a local brewery ! Paddlers interested in this trip will require touring kayaks (at least 16 feet long, and under deck storage, sorry no recreational kayaks), comfortable with wilderness camping. Also, each paddler will be responsible for their equipment, camping gear, food, and camp site fees ($20 per camp site/night, 2 tents per site). Self contained island hopper paddlers should be comfortable with paddling from 1 up to 3 foot swells. Most day paddle trips from base camp will be sheltered with moderate swells anticipated.

Travel Plans

A group of us will leave Thursday evening, Sep 10, and expect to arrive at Acadia National Park Friday evening Sep 11 around 5 pm. Paddlers leaving on Sep 10, the overall travel expense will be shared. For those who want to leave earlier, and/or have an extended stay, the overall plan is to all be at Seawall Campground by Saturday, Sep 12. For those who would like to fly, possible transportation of your boats/equipment could be pre-arranged (compensation for gas, maintenance costs would apply). We will break camp and depart on Saturday Sep 19 early am, and return to Knoxville early Sunday Sep 20.

Paddling, Camping Plans, and Activity Plans

We plan on offering up to 6 days of paddling. Base camp will be at Seawall Campground (214 sites available, first come/first serve). On Sunday, Sep 13, we will head off for 2 nights, 3 day self contained paddle i.e. island hopping (packing all camping /food/ water/ beverage of choice, etc). Return to Seawall Camp on Tue Sep 15. We will have day trips exploring possible areas of Cranberry Island, Mt. Desert, coastal waterway exploration, inland lakes, or whatever the group would like to do. Other activities could include hiking, along with site seeing, or just laid back and “Do Nothing” day. We do plan to head out to Bar Harbor for a Brewery Day (yes, visit a local Brewery !) near the end of the week.

Contact Information

Pre-registration is required and number of paddlers will be limited. If you’re interested in this trip, please contact Doug Johnstone (865-804-5240), email canoeone@tds.net, or Gary Kilpatrick (423-914-4070), email GWKilpatrick@misincinfo.com