PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Doing the family vacation in mid-September in Maine. We have the place in Surry off Newburry Neck Road and now looking to fill in the time slots with photography venues. I understand there are a lot of hiking trails in the area - any great ones ? Also looking for good shore areas with wilderness or lighthouses. Have aging in-laws coming with us so need to find some accessible places to take them which are also photogenic. Will be splitting time being a tourist and being a photographer but wouldn't mind being a tourist in a place where there are great photo ops. The less accessible locations will probably be just be me alone or with my triathlete wife. Any suggestions from Linda or others ?

Also, is this a dark sky area ? Seems to be in general but not sure specifically in/around Surry. Would love to do some astro-photography with a working lighthouse.

Thanks in advance.
-- Ken --

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Something nice to do: Get up early and drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain and be among the first in the US to see a sunrise. Some nice views from up there as there are usually some patches of fog along the coast.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I haven't been back to Maine for nearly seven years, and longer since visited Acadia - sorry! More recent visitors will check in with you, I'm sure + Google searches are usually fruitful.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

thanks for the idea - looks like a promising location for everybody !

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks for the suggestion. Can't find too much but the touristy stuff. Will keep looking.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

I'd strongly suggest getting a copy of Colleen Miniuk-Sperry's guide to photographing Acadia National Park.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0983380473/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489467032&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=photographing+acadia+national+park&dpPl=1&dpID=51BpwF3ijVL&ref=plSrch

Colleen is a very accomplished photographer who spent a few years as the Artist in Residence at Acadia. Her guide will give you lots of great info on where, when, and how to photograph this exceptional national park. I believe it is also available in kindle format if you would rather download it to your phone or tablet. Well worth the price.

Also while there be sure to hit a lobster shack for dinner at least once, and a lobster roll for lunch whenever you can! Man does not live by cameras alone!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Make sure you look up the schedule of ship docking schedules for "Bah Hahbah" - it will be less in September. You don't want to be in town when a ship docks. Otherwise the town itself is photogenic. If they are still running schooner cruises when you are there, they are fun. Whales can often be spotted in august and September. Acadia is stunning, and there are many places along the loop road that will be accessible.

I don't know if there are official "dark skies" places, but trust me - there ARE dark skies. Head down the nearby Schoodic Peninsula for some dark sky photography.

A good day trip would be East to Lubec and Campobello Island (across the bridge in New Brunswick, Canada - you will need your passport these days!). In Lubec is the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse and state park - very beautiful - and at the far end of Campobello is the East Quoddy Head Lighthouse - also stunning (and you can sometimes see whales from there in September). If you time your trip for low tide you can walk out to the lighthouse - but that is for the more nimble in the crowd. If you don't cross the bridge to Campobello, then the longer return trip would be either swinging down the loop to Jonesport, a very traditional lobster fishing village, or from West Quoddy Head take the road that goes along the coast through Cutler, another little fishing village. There are some beautiful trails out to the rocky coastline along that road, but they are not very accessible.

Across the bridge from Jonesport is Beals Island - the Bay View Diner has the most amazing fried haddock sandwich anywhere, and their lobster roll was voted #1 in USA Today. Further East is Great Wass Island where there is some Nature Conservancy land with a trail to the north shore - definitely for those who can hike over rocks and through the woods for an hour or so. You end up on a beautiful rocky shore - usually all alone. No cell service there - take a compass, watch for the trail markers, and do NOT get lost!

You will catch the tail end of blueberry season - yum!

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks for the great ideas. I hadn't thought about books that may be available specific to photography in the area. Will check it out.
Definitely looking forward to the lobster too !Thanks Jim and SB.

CRoy

What a great trip. I have been four times and it is so beautiful there. Definitely visit Schoodic Peninsula, at high tide if possible. Sand Beach to Otter Point has an easy coastal trail that is quite scenic. Cadillac Mtn at sunrise or sunset is lovely. Bar Harbor has a short scenic coastal walk - nice little town. Stop at Jordan Pond for popovers and tea. I believe there is a trail around the pond, too. I was there last August. Weather was perfect.

CRoy

What a great trip. I have been four times and it is so beautiful there. Definitely visit Schoodic Peninsula, at high tide if possible. Sand Beach to Otter Point has an easy coastal trail that is quite scenic. Cadillac Mtn at sunrise or sunset is lovely. Bar Harbor has a short scenic coastal walk - nice little town. Stop at Jordan Pond for popovers and tea. I believe there is a trail around the pond, too. I was there last August. Weather was perfect.

banjoboy Loc: Austin, TX

I took a nice walk south along the shoreline path from the main town dock. There are some nice photographic opportunities along there.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

Acadia National Park offers some good photo opportunities and I would second the suggestion of getting up to the top of Cadillac Mountain for sunrise but sunset is also great. In and around Bar Harbor is another obvious location and I might add Thunder Hole. There is a lighthouse at Bass Harbor and you should take a drive down in that area as well.

But that is not the only direction to go from Surry. I'd highly recommend a drive down to Stonington. Yes, it is out on Deer island and on some maps it may look like you would not be able to drive there, but there are a couple bridges that allow you to drive there crossing Little Deer Island. If you have time, the coastline south of Winter Harbor is a part of Acadia National Park with a spectacular coastline that a lot of people miss. As I recall there are a couple light houses along there as well. There are not many restaurants or stores there however, so go prepared with water and some snacks.

A bit further afield, but still possible for a (quite long) day-trip is Campobello (it is in Canada so bring your passports). There are three lighthouses in the area with the Head Harbor lighthouse being the most spectacular. But the West Quoddy Head lighthouse is widely photographed and it is the only one of the three that is in the U.S. I recently saw a spectacular photo of it taken at dawn.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

Also, look for a lobster omelet for breakfast or lunch! I didn't think the combination sounded very good, but after taking a bite of my brother's, I ordered one for my self!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Found Surry on Google Maps, IMHO going to be a bit away from Mount Desert Island, we usually stay near Bar Harbor so my suggestions are in that area, have to get up very early to get to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, one of those ,"You Can't get there from here places", Bar Harbor Town is always interesting both as tourist and as photog, Jordan's Pond, get lunch, walk around the pond, in bad weather there is Seal Cove Auto Museum, the whole loop road is interesting, Bass Harbor Light, Southwest Harbor, all good for shooting, stop at the ranger station for trail suggestions, Check out Thirsty Whale in the Town of Bar Harbor, BTW, do you want to pick up my wife and I on the way up? If you need more ask, Bob.