Located on Moose Island and one of America’s most eastern points, Shackford Head State Park, overlooking Cobscook Bay offers visitors several miles of hiking trails, picnic tables, and wildlife watching. With several prominent overlooks, visitors can see into Canada, Lubec, the Eastport federal marine, Husson Boat School, and multiple aquaculture pens raising salmon.
The park is a perfect stop when spending a weekend in Eastport, as it only encompasses 90 acres which can be accomplished in a few hours time. This small park does offer big variety, with a rocky shoreline, small grassy meadows that include wild strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and thick pine and birch woodlands. Each of these ecosystems offers unique wildlife. Twenty eight different bird species have been identified on the state park, including bald eagles, thrushes, sandpipers, and warblers.
If you go at low tide, keep an eye out for the 5 Civil War ships that were burned and sunk near the park entrance in the early 1900s.
Remember to dress accordingly, as the temperatures can change quickly, as the park is surrounded by water and fog can roll in little time. Also, tides can fluctuate by more than 20 feet. So when exploring the shore, keep an eye on the bay.
For more information, visit http://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=68