Shackford Head State Park

Perched on a rocky peninsula overlooking Cobscook Bay in Washington County, Shackford Head State Park offers 87 acres of rugged coastal beauty in one of Maine’s most unspoiled corners. This quiet state park sits just outside Eastport — the easternmost city in the United States — and rewards visitors with dramatic headland views, tidal mudflats, and dense spruce-fir forests that feel a world apart from the more trafficked stretches of the Maine coast.

The park’s trail network winds through mixed forest before opening to sweeping panoramas of Cobscook Bay, Campobello Island (New Brunswick, Canada), and the churning waters of the Western Passage. Birdwatchers will find plenty to spot here — bald eagles are common overhead, and the bay’s extreme tidal shifts (among the highest in the US) expose rich feeding grounds that attract shorebirds and wading birds throughout the warmer months. Hikers can explore several miles of well-maintained paths that range from easy woodland walks to more exposed coastal routes along the headland cliffs.

Shackford Head is a day-use park, so plan your overnight accommodations in nearby Eastport or at one of the campgrounds along the Cobscook Bay corridor. The best time to visit is late June through September, when wildflowers line the trails and fog gives way to clear days with long views across the bay.

Come for the solitude, the seabirds, and some of the most honest coastal scenery Downeast Maine has to offer.

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