Cobscook Bay State Park

I am not particularly gifted with the ability to sit still, so we spent a lot of our vacation away from our campground, exploring other parks, hiking, poking around nearby villages, and driving to explore the coastline.  However, I don't want to give short shrift to the amazing Cobscook Bay State Park where we camped.

I originally chose Cobscook Bay State Park last year because I wanted to get away from tourists.  While being a tourist I don't want to be near other tourists.  I wanted to be in Maine, and on the coast, but not in the lovely but way too popular Acadia.

The pictures of the campground on the Maine State Parks website were very appealing, and the description of nicely secluded camp sites even more attractive.  Downeast Maine in general, and Cobscook Bay State Park particularly, certainly didn't let us down.  It's worth every minute of the 10+ hour drive to get there.  Cobscook Bay is two hours north of Acadia, over rough roads and through some towns so remote they are numbered rather than named.  Once you get there, though, it's a wonderful area, with some very nice picturesque towns near enough for easy access to supplies, including a very good grocery store and some other nice amenities in the college town of Machias.

Possibly the best feature?  Extremely limited blackberry/cell phone service.  Work would just have to make do without us for a week.  :)

Our favorite site at the Park is actually a non-reservable site.  First come, first served.  So we reserved another site and crossed our fingers that we'd get there at just the right time, which we did.  We were on the same site last year, and it has about 1/8 mile walk in from the car over a bridge and rugged trail.

You can't see other sites from it, which makes me ridiculously happy.  It also keeps our annoying dogs from barking at the neighbors.  Speaking of our annoying dogs, clearly they just hate camping:

Canine Paradise.  Woods, infinite things to whuffle, fresh air, exercise, and sleeping in a tent cave with their humans.  It doesn't get much better than that.

To me, Cobscook Bay State Park is sort of cheater camping.  Being only 1/8 mile from our car means we get to take the big LL Bean tent with its attached screen room, the squishy futon bed rolls, the nice cook stove, and other lovely amenities that we don't get to take when we're backpacking in the Adirondacks.  There's a potable water spigot only about 1/4 mile away, pit toilets, and luxury of luxuries: hot showers.  All told, it makes for a very pleasurable camping experience.

The views from our site are just gorgeous.  It's right on the water.  Here are a few random shots I liked, taken at all different times and lights and tides:

I have an ongoing love affair with this tree.  For some reason I think it's just aesthetically perfect:

My husband gets credit for this great sunset shot:

There are a few trails through the woods,

one of which leads to a nice scenic overlook.

There is a dock and boat launch, too.

There are more than 100 camp sites, for everything from tents to large campers, and there are a whole bunch of very appealing picnic sites as well.

The park rangers are incredibly nice and helpful.  They actually remembered us from last year, which is really saying something.  Either there aren't too many visitors to Cobscook Bay State Park, or my husband and I are memorable.  The other natives are friendly, too, if somewhat difficult to keep out of the food:

All in all, I highly recommend Cobscook Bay State Park for anyone who's looking for a Maine camping experience!