Must visit if in Coastal Maine, honestly the view from the headlands is worth a trip from anywhere! We took the main trail to the headlands and then the trail 1 around the tip of the island. Well worth the hike, but it is a difficult trail. On a clear day you can see the coast of Canada in the distance.
Brian S.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Warwick, RI
Fog fish and isolation People have been coming to Monhegan Island for a long, long time. Archaeological evidence dates from more than 2,000 years ago and humans have probably been on the island much longer than that. Some claim that the first European to see the island was John Cabot in 1497 but that is questionable. We do know that Martin Pring landed on the island in 1603 and many others soon followed. The island immediately became known for the great fishing near it. The name Monhegan comes from the Algonquin for«out to sea island» and since the island lies at least ten miles from the nearest mainland it was well named. The number of year round residents change depending on who you talk to but roughly 75 hardy souls brave the brutal winters on the island. During the summer the island gets it’s share of tourists but nothing like more famous New England islands like Nantucket or Block. A beautiful, old hotel and a few small restaurants and stores and that’s about it in the«town». There are some really nice hiking trails, a nice lighthouse and of course great views of the ocean from just about everywhere but this is a place where you have to make your own entertainment. Monhegan Island can feel very lonely and isolated, especially when the frequently fog rolls in. But that’s why it’s so special. It’s easy to imagine that much of the island looks, smells and feels exactly like it did centuries ago. A wild, wet and wonderful place of splendid isolation.
