Explore The Maine Coast By Bike And Foot

Bicycle along a popular coastal promenade to the state park on forested Mackworth Island, where you will hike along a picturesque loop trail before bicycling back to Portland.

Meeting at the pier, you’ll receive a safety briefing and helmet and then begin your biking adventure. Riding a bicycle allows you a wonderful up-close view of the area.

As you pedal along the tree-lined Eastern Promenade, you can expect to see other bikers, joggers and walkers enjoying this waterfront trail. The promenade was built along a former rail corridor and offers spectacular views of Casco Bay.

Every so often, you will pause for the guide to elaborate on the significance of landmarks like Fort Gorges, which perches on uninhabited Hog Island. The fort wasn’t finished until the end of the Civil War, by which time weaponry had changed making it obsolete.

Later, you will learn fascinating facts about Bug Lighthouse, which was once just a wooden tower, and the Casco Bay Islands, also known as the Calendar Islands because there are supposedly 365 of them.

Upon reaching Mackworth Island, you will hop off your bike for a one mile hike along a trail that encircles the island. In 1946 Maine’s governor set aside the island “as a sanctuary for wild beasts and birds,” and in fact, buried his own dogs here. During your hike you may also spot seagulls and ospreys.

After leaving Mackworth Island, you will pedal back to the pier.