The remote, tranquil setting of Bailey Island, Maine is far removed from boisterous vacation places, yet not enormously distant from more populous areas. Located on Casco Bay on the state's mid-coast, some 15 miles south of Brunswick (home to Bowdoin College) and within easy drives to Boothbay Harbor or Camden, it is part of the Harpswell peninsula that also includes Great Island (whose formal name is Sebascodegan Island), Orr's Island, and many small islands.
Once reachable only by steamship, Bailey Island is connected to the mainland by the historic Cribstone Bridge from Orr's Island built in the late 1920s by joining granite bricks to withstand the daily tides. A new replacement bridge was constructed after the erosion of the old bridge.
Cribstone Bridge built to accommodate rushing tides
Of the original structure, local native Nancy Orr Johnson Jensen, in her book Bailey Island Memories Pictures & Lore, wrote: "The granite was quarried in Yarmouth and Pownal, Maine and brought to the site on a barge. A railway was used to bring a crane out onto the bridge as it was being built. No mortar or cement, no steel girders, no suspension cables, and no base pillars of concrete were needed. Only the weights of 10,000 tons and the positioning of the granite slabs, laid crosswire and then lengthwise, was necessary to hold the bridge together. The cribstone fashion allowed the rushing tides to flow through."
Within sight of the bridge is the landmark Cook's Lobster House which opened on Bailey Island in 1955, and was once featured in a Visa credit card TV commercial, and serves lobsters, other seafood, and fish sandwiches. Though well known and popular, some reviewers of the restaurant have taken issue with the prices and quality of certain items on the menu and recommended opting for less expensive dishes.
Another family-run establishment, for lodging, which guests seem to give near unanimous praise is Sea Escape Cottages and Charters (207-833-5531). Donna and Les McNelly, who is retired from L.L. Bean, operate the different size cottages which all overlook the bay below and afford striking views of sunsets and the opportunity to see lobstermen hauling their pots nearly every morning. At times the location has been used for weddings.
The McNellys bring a gracious and welcoming hospitality to those staying with them and also offer full or half-day charter fishing for striped bass, bluefish, and Atlantic mackerel, and light house, sunset, island, and seal watch cruises. They are joined in the business by their daughter Bethany and son-in-law Perry Davis who have their own sailing vessel Tevake for chartered trips from Bailey Island.
Seeing the region by water on Casco Bay Lines
Another way to see the surroundings by water is Casco Bay Lines (207-774-7871), which has noontime summer cruises on Casco Bay from Cook's Wharf at Cook's Lobster House. A longer roundtrip lunch cruise also is available from Portland to Cook's Wharf and back.
The island, which is less than three miles long and under one mile wide, is quintessentially New England with its coves, bays, and inlets. It has one of the most commonly photographed spots in Maine – Mackerel Cove, with its many sailing, lobster, and other fishing vessels owing to the number of working lobstermen there. Mackerel Cove was where visitors arrived by boat, sometimes coming from Portland, Boston, or New York in the summer, before the Cribstone Bridge was built.
Bailey Island also draws a number of artists who come to paint its landscape of vistas, sandy beaches, boats, rocky coastal shoreline, and views of the ocean from open fields.
Land's End, at the southernmost tip of the island, has both a small rocky beach and an adjacent gift shop with Maine souvenirs. The location has a clear view of the ocean and offshore islands. By the gift shop is the Bronze Fisherman's Statute, paying tribute to everyone who has ever earned their living on the sea.
For a seaside hike on the eastern edge of the island, one often taken trip is on the Giant Stairs Trail, a rock formation resembling a large flight of stairs. The steps are evenly cut by nature out of the solid cliff. It is possible there to view the surf breaking on the ledges below.
Efforts underway to secure public access to beach
Some information on Bailey Island cites Cedar Beach as being the best on the island, but difficult to reach for the general public. Only nearby houses have the easiest access. The directions to it from Route 24 that runs the length of the island are to take Robin Hood Road to the east and follow it to the juncture with Cedar Beach Road. Drivers must park on the right side of the road before this point and walk down Cedar Beach Road to take a small marked path to the beach.
In 2011, after local voters at the annual Harpswell town meeting voted to appropriate up to $220,000 in town funds toward purchase of a permanent walking access easement for the public to continue to use the privately owned Cedar Beach via Cedar Beach Road, the Bailey Island Association and Harpswell Heritage Land Trust jointly established the Friends of Cedar Beach (with a page on Facebook). The group's objective is to find ways to secure additional funding for the easement.
To the joy of many, if not most who come, Bailey Island remains not nearly as developed as some other coastal communities. It is some 30 miles from the Portland Jetport. The route there by car is to take I-285 to the Brunswick/Topsham exit and continue on Route 1. On Route 24 go south from Cooks Corner through Great Island and Orr's Island until coming to the unmistakable bridge that is the entry way to a relaxing and peaceful pleasure.
Sources:
- Nance Trueworthy and David A. Tyler, Maine's Casco Bay Islands: A Guide, 2007.
- Nancy Orr Johnson Jensen, Bailey Island Memories Pictures & Lore.
- Sheryl Julian, "Coastal comforts: Easy chairs and chowder, birds and boats, shopping and other summer meanderings," Boston Globe, May 22, 2011
- Danielle (blogger), Restaurant Review: Cook's Lobster House, FoodLove, August 14, 2008
- Beth Brogan, "Beach access deal in works: Pact involves Cedar Beach on Bailey Island," Brunswick (Maine) Times Record, July 7, 2011
John Seidenberg - John Seidenberg has worked on newspapers, newsletters, radio news, and produced specialized news publications as well as freelance ...
