Downeast. Washington County. The Sunrise County. As far east as you can get and still be in the U.S. A long way from the urban environs of Portland, the home for this traveler. And a world away in more ways than just miles.

A sweet Sunrise County sunrise over the Machias River, Machias.
Carey Kish photo

Washington County is big, rural, forested, open, beautiful, ramshackle, poor, wealthy. A place of contrasts, for sure. Life on the edge. A place tied to the land and to the sea. You can feel it, see it, smell it. The home of tough, hard-working people. Reserved, but friendly. Serious eyes, warm grins.

My kind of place. Damn if I don't know why I don't get that way more often. To more fully enjoy and appreciate this wonderful area that's a bit rough around the edges.

Anyway, I was in Machias for the Sunrise Trail Business and Community Development Conference, as it turned out, a wildly successful gathering of local and state leaders, citizens and business groups, recreational interests.

The plan is to convert 87 miles of rail corridor into a multiple-use recreation trail and a sorely-needed economic driver for the region. Brilliant! Construction begins this summer, with completion scheduled for 2010. More on the Sunrise Trail later on, in a blog-to-be, however.

Given that I had tucked my hiking boots and rucksack into the car, I figured I might as well put some of my downtime to good use and see what could be seen on some the local trails.

Turns out there's quite a few, according to Cobscook Trails, a neat little trail guide published the Quoddy Regional Land Trust. I counted 19 preserves of one sort or another, from state parks and a federal wildlife refuge, land trusts and Nature Conservancy parcels, to conservation easements on private property.

There are many miles of scenic hiking trails in the Cobscook Bay and Bold Coast Region, thanks to the fine conservation groups that comprise Cobscook Trails.
Carey Kish photo

And what a variety of landscapes, too. Rugged cliff-top oceanside treks, beach walks, forested hikes, bumpy mountains, boglands and barrens and more. Wow! Enough to keep a hiker busy for many an hour over many a mile.

I settled on a sampler of three areas: Boot Head Preserve, Quoddy Head State Park, and Pike Lands. All of which happened to be within the confines of Lubec.

Boot Head Preserve is a 690-acre parcel owned by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust on Boot Cove Road. A three-mile loop trail leads through thick forest and open peat bog to Boot Cove, up the backside of Boot Head and on along the rugged coastline (100-foot cliffs!) to Brook Cove.

Boot Cove at Boot Head Preserve, Lubec.
Carey Kish photo

Drinking in the ocean views on the Boot Head Trail, Lubec.
Carey Kish photo

From Boot Head I headed east to Quoddy Head State Park and the iconic red and white-striped lighthouse, a place I'd never been. The long blue island of Grand Manan (Canada) loomed in the distance.

Quoddy Head Lighthouse: You can't any farther east in the U.S. of A.
Carey Kish photo

The Coastal Trail leads west from the light, hugging the ocean, passing the scenic highlights of High Ledge and Green Point. At Carrying Place Cove the trail touches the beach before returning east on the inland Thompson Trail, a winding forested track.

Along the Coastal Trail, Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec.
Carey Kish photo

Atop Green Point, Quoddy Head SP.
Carey Kish photo

Cobble beach near Carrying Place Cove, Quoddy Head SP.
Carey Kish photo

Tuckered but determined, I capped off the outing with a foray to Pike Lands, a property owned by the Quoddy Regional Land Trust. The Huckins Beach Trail beckoned and I followed it quickly down to the wide and long pebble beach at South Bay. All good.

Snow on the Huckins Beach Trail, Pike Lands, Lubec.
Carey Kish photo

Pebble beach at South Bay, Pike Lands.
Carey Kish photo

Put the Sunrise County on your "to-do" list for this spring, summer or fall, 'cause it's worth the trip. Maybe run into you on the trail there sometime!

Have you hiked the Cobscook Trails? Which ones? What was your experience?