THE EARNEST TRAVELER
The candy-striped West Quoddy Head Light, standing where the United States meets the sunrise, is the reason most travelers come to Lubec — and it lives up to the postcard. Around it, Quoddy Head State Park packs cliffs, a rare bog, and the country's easternmost step of ground.
The Easternmost Lighthouse
West Quoddy Head Light — the red-and-white banded tower most people picture when they think of Maine lighthouses — marks the easternmost point of the continental US. The current tower dates to 1858 (a light has stood here since 1808), and the keeper's house holds a small visitor center and museum, open in season. It is the first place in the country to see the sunrise.
Quoddy Head State Park
The lighthouse sits inside Quoddy Head State Park. Day-use is only a few dollars per adult (Maine State Park rates; Maine seniors free), and the park is open roughly mid-May to mid-October with walk-in access in daylight otherwise. Restrooms, picnic spots, and the trailheads all start from the lighthouse lot.
The Cliff & Bog Trails
The Coastal Trail runs about four miles round trip along the cliff tops, with sweeping views to Grand Manan and Campobello — steep, rocky, and unguarded in places, so watch children and footing. The gentler Bog Trail is a one-mile boardwalk over a rare coastal-plateau (subarctic) bog; stay on the boards, as the plants take decades to recover from a single step.
Fog, Whales & Light
This is one of the foggiest headlands on the East Coast, so give yourself a flexible morning — late August into October tends to be clearest. On good days, watch for finback and minke whales, harbor porpoises, seabirds, and eagles from the cliffs, and come at dawn for the country's first light on the tower.
The lot is small and the light is best at sunrise — and the fog can erase the whole coast. Check the marine forecast, come early, and keep a second morning in reserve so you don't miss the shot that brought you to Lubec.
Sun, wind, and a camera for the easternmost point.