My Favorite Preserve – Harriman Point

By Josh Ingram

About four years ago I moved to Ellsworth, which has been a wonderful jumping off point for adventures on the Maine coast. Since discovering the listing of preserves on Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s website, I’ve made trips to most MCHT preserves in Hancock and Washington counties. The Bold Coast preserves like Boot Head and Bog Brook Cove definitely have a “wow” factor, but when asked to write to you about my favorite MCHT preserve, a quieter, more subtle place came to mind.

Harriman Point in Brooklin is my favorite for so many reasons. Making my way into the preserve, I often see people who live nearby, and they’re always kind and happy to see me using the preserve. I also like knowing that E.B. White lived and worked in this area. As a preschool teacher and big fan of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, I appreciate the view of his home across Allen’s Cove.

Harriman Point offers two unique trails. The Island Point Trail to the left overlooks Blue Hill Mountain and, if you go at low tide, there’s a point that extends into the water. On a calm day the ocean is like glass and everything reflects and it’s just beautiful. The other trail leads to the East Beach, which goes on for quite a while and is often empty. There’s a kind of reddish seaweed that washes up on the beach, and on a sunny day it almost glows.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve visited Harriman Point. Sometimes my girlfriend and I will pack a picnic and walk out to the beach and look out over the water for 30, 40 minutes, watching the seals come in, or beachcombing. Harriman Point becomes more interesting and beautiful to me every time I visit. It lures me in, wraps me up in this warm blanket of nature.

Josh Ingram is a preschool teacher at Harbor House Children’s Center in Southwest Harbor. After living all over the country and abroad, he’s made his home on the Maine coast, where he loves to explore with his dog Obi and his loved ones. Josh documents many of his adventures on Instagram, where he’s @maine_shorts_guy. Give him a follow!