Coastal Wonders: Shackford Head State Park

Do not go here. There are tons of fire ants my dogs and I got attacked and hurt by them.

Nice but watch out for the fire ants!

I’ll preface my review with this- the park is lovely! Fabulous for adventurous hikers seeking gorgeous views of the area. There’s a bathroom- a nice spot to see a little beach - and clear trails. But this is a review from a cruise-goer - there wasn’t much to do in town, and a local said this park was about a mile and a half walk away. Anywho… Because we (mom and I) were in port all day (like 9-6), we figured we could do a - what, 30minute walk?, - for a fun hike or two, and finish up at the brewery back in town. (Keeping in mind it was a thirty minute walk back, should we not find an uber… spoiler alert: there’s no Ubers in Eastport.) The walk from the port to this park felt like a layer of hell that has yet to be documented. It felt like a crafted test from a master psychologist to test the bond between mother and son. For the first time on vacation, the bickering started as we walked past signs warning of fire ants. “How bad could it possible be,” we thought optimistically. The Maine sun never felt hotter, as we stopped for water. In our minds, we feared we’d run out of water and suffer heat stroke, but I we kept that to ourselves. We arrived at the park to more signs warning of fire ants. A quick google search showed us that, if bit, we’d walk around with an extremely itchy pus filed lesion at the site. That wouldn’t match well with our look for elegant night on the ship. But we were committed. Afterall, we just walked the sixth layer of Hell to get here, I swore at my mother, and we couldn’t turn back now. “Watch out for the fire ants,” said the woman who appeared quite literally out of no where. She proceeded to point out the large red welt on her daughter’s thigh. “NOPE,” said my mother who immediately turned around. “Let’s try another trail,” I say as I realize no uber is coming to save us. We either hike or start the trek back, and I wasn’t mentally prepared for that quite yet. We began to wonder why the ground was shimmering. Is it water from a pond glittering in the sunlight? No. It was thousands and thousands of ants. Extreme infestation was no joke. Regret filled our minds as memories of the Instagram post of our neighbor’s trip to the beach flutter in and out of our heads, all while sweat coats our backs. But, somehow, seeing dozens of other passengers begin the trek made us feel as if we weren’t going to be the only idiots of the day. If they asked, we recommended to turn around. If they didn’t ask… good luck. (Especially to the woman wearing black sweatpants and a sweatshirt.) I’m sure for those who are brave enough, the views were fabulous. We know, because we Google searched the images while drinking beer in town! I’ll end with a saying I read on a sign that was posted at the beginning of the trail… ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.

Great destination! Enjoyed the open trail and peaceful outdoor atmosphere.