I call them the Boothbay Backdoor Islands, but you won't find that name on any official chart.

The Boothbay Backdoor Islands comprise a pleasant archipelago in the Sheepscot River estuary located near the "backdoor" to Boothbay Harbor -- the passage through Townsend Gut, the narrow passage that separates the peninsula from Southport Island.

Paddling near the Isle of Springs July 26.

There are more than half a dozen islands in the group, and a circuit paddle around and through them makes an excellent excursion of between half a day and a full day.

Largest is Isle of Springs; its shoreline is dotted with cottages and camps. About half the islands have no structures at all, and a couple are in conservation ownership and open to the public. Several are popular stops for paddlers and other small-boat enthusiasts.

Spectacle Island, a popular stop for kayakers, is owned by the Boothbay Region Land Trust.

There's a pleasant campsite on the larger of the two Ram Islands, but it's not part of the Maine Island Trail.

Kayaker paddles between the two Ram Islands.

Today I split my picnic lunch into two 'courses' -- one for Spectacle and one for Ram.

Best start points are two public boat launches. On the lower half of the tide cycle, use the state launch on the Barters Island Road, a mile or so west of the monument in Boothbay. At the upper end of the tide cycle, use the town landing on McKnown Point Road, just east of the Southport Island Bridge. In each case, start a couple of hours before low or high tide and return on the flood or ebb.

E-mail this entry to a friend