Great Head Trail

Author's Comments

The trail begins at the far end of the Sand Beach parking lot and most people do not take it. They stop at the beach, which is the obvious thing to do, and they miss the loop that climbs the headland to the east. That is fine by me. Great Head is one of the few places in Acadia where I have stood alone at sunrise in August, the granite still cold under my hands, the Atlantic going from slate to pewter to something with actual color in it as the sun came up over open water. The headland is 145 feet of pink granite dropping straight into surf, and the eastern exposure is the whole reason to be here before six in the morning. There is no land between you and Europe. The horizon is uninterrupted in a way that the more famous overlooks in the park cannot match because they all face inland or across bays. Here the line is clean. The ruins of the old stone tea house sit partway around the loop, and they are worth a few frames if the light is doing anything interesting through the trees. But the photograph is the cliff edge looking south toward Sand Beach, which curves away below you in a long pale arc, with the Beehive rising behind it. Late September is when I would send someone. The crowds have thinned, the air is clear, and the light at that hour goes long and golden across the rock. A wide lens. Sturdy shoes. The patience to wait for a wave to break against the cliff base at the right moment. That last part is the photograph people remember.

Gallery