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GETTING THERE: The Down East Sunrise Trail’s southern terminus in
Ayers Junction, Maine (two miles outside of Ellsworth) is a three-hour
drive north from Portland International Jetport (PWM), a 4.5-hour drive
north from the larger Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and an
hour’s drive south from the smaller Bangor International Airport (BGR).
In the winter, PWM is more convenient, and ticket prices are often the
same as for BOS. In the summer, BOS fares are often less expensive.
Car-free trips also are possible. There is frequent bus (Concord
Trailways) and train (Amtrak Downeaster) service from BOS to Portland,
and less frequent bus service from Portland on to Bangor. In Bangor,
visitors can transfer from Concord Trailways buses to Downeast Transit
or West’s Transportation buses to travel to Ellsworth.West’s buses
continue on nearly to the northern terminus of the trail in Pembroke.
West’s also makes loops and shuttles possible. The bus route paral-
lels much of the trail, and buses make twice-daily runs on Route 1 and
Route 1A.
Bicycles are permitted onWest’s Transportation and Concord
Trailways buses, and on Amtrak’s Downeaster with a reservation and a
$5 service charge.
BIKE RENTALS AND OUTFITTERS: In Ellsworth, you can stop by Cadillac
Mountain Sports (www.cadillacsports.com; 207.667.7819) for bike rent-
als, bike service, outdoor apparel and equipment. Another rental option
is Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop (www.barharborbike.com; 207.288.3886). In
Machias, Sunrise Canoe and Kayak (www.sunrisecanoeandkayak.com;
877.980.2300) offers rentals and minor repairs. Visit the L.L. Bean Outlet
(www.llbean.com; 207.667.7753) in Ellsworth for general outdoor equip-
ment and apparel.
PERMISSIBLE USES:
Summer: Horse riding, bicycle riding, ATV use, motorcycle riding, hiking
Winter: Snowmobiling (very popular here), dogsledding, cross-country
skiing
CLOSINGS:
Mud season: The Down East Sunrise Trail is closed during mud season
(typically late March to mid-April) to protect the trail surface.
TRAVEL FACTS
in the area and, “more important, [snowmobilers] were
very efective advocates to get the project done.”
Te few I see slow down and wave, several stopping
to see if I need a ride. Jen Scribner of Sunrise Canoe and
Kayak confrms that user conficts aren’t an issue. “We’ve
been very fortunate; there haven’t been any conficts at
all. Even in the summer, when motorized trafc is fre-
quent, bikers go out of their way to mention how nice
everyone is.”
Ahead, at the 13-mile point, the forest draws back
and Schoodic Mountain rises above, surrounded by
a plain of white. I meet a father and daughter who
brag, “We climbed [Schoodic] in two hours last sum-
mer—with no crying!” Te view from the mountaintop
is reputed to be staggering, with Mount Desert Island
looming in an expansive bay.
Te sun is getting lower and the wind colder, so I
end the day 28 miles into the trail at Cherryfeld, the
“Wild Blueberry Capital of the World.” I join Peter and
Kathy Winham, owners of Te Englishman’s Bed and
Breakfast, for tea. Kathy cautions that the blueberry bar-
rens north of Cherryfeld “have miles of dirt roads with-
out signs. A fellow [who cycled here] last year detoured
through the barrens and was fnally rescued near dark by
a man in a pickup truck who also was lost!”
Hidden Treasure
Next morning, my eyes nearly frozen shut, I catch the
sunrise at 6 a.m. It’s 6 degrees, and the blueberry bar-
rens are a feld of white. As I stop for cofee at Elmer’s
Cross-country skiers head away from East Machias; below right,
crossing the East Machias River on the way to Dennysville.
An old schoolhouse
just off the trail in
Whitneyville.