Quoddy Head State Park

About this park

Quoddy Head State Park, established in 1962, protects 541 acres at the easternmost point of land in the contiguous United States, in the town of Lubec at Maine's far Downeast tip. The park's candy-striped West Quoddy Head Light, first established in 1808 and rebuilt in its current form in 1858, is one of the most recognizable and photographed lighthouses in the entire country. Dramatic bog and coastal headland trails wind along cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy, home to some of the highest tides in the world, and the park's rugged, foggy, often wind-whipped coastline gives it a starkly different character from the sandier beaches found further south along the Maine coast. A boardwalk trail crosses an unusual peat bog within the park, supporting plant species more typical of far northern boreal environments, another reflection of the region's extreme, edge-of-the-map location. Because Quoddy Head sits at the literal easternmost point of the country, it has become something of a bucket-list destination for travelers specifically seeking to stand at that geographic extreme, alongside more traditional visitors drawn by the lighthouse and whale-watching potential in the surrounding bay. Its remote location in far Washington County, several hours from Maine's more heavily touristed midcoast, keeps visitation lower than the park's striking scenery might otherwise suggest.