Maine State Parks

Owls Head State Park is one of the smallest state parks in Maine. Compared to many of its counterparts, there may seem like little reason to take a walk through it. However, if you skip Owls Head State Park, you will miss some of the best views in all of Maine.

Owls Head State Park has one big attraction and that is the Owls Head Lighthouse. It has consistently proven to be one of the most popular lighthouses in all of Maine, and there is definitely some stiff competition. It was built in 1825 and stands over 100 feet in the air.

Owls Head Lighthouse has long guarded the entrance to Rockland Harbor and was initially designed to help assist vessels carrying lime, which was the greatest export of the time. No one is entirely sure where Owls Head got its name, but one of the most common legends has to do with the native americans that lived in the area. Some say that Owl's Head is the literal translation for the native american's name for the area: Medadacut. Others say that the name came from sailors in 1759, who noticed a resemblance of an owl's head in the rock formation that the lighthouse was built on.

This lighthouse not only draws in visitors because of its splendor, but because of the legends surrounding it. In one story a couple were trapped on a ship during a winter storm and were frozen alive in a giant block of ice in 1850. The lighthouse keeper, upon discovering them, took them inside so that they could thaw, and they soon made a full recovery. Another story involves a dog that lived in the lighthouse named “Spot”. He always greeted ships as they past by the lighthouse by pulling a rope connected to the fog bell with his teeth. During a fierce blizzard, a mail boat went missing and Spot was sent out to the fog bell, which was made inactive by the snow. Spot started barking, which led the boat back to shore.

When going to see the lighthouse, keep in mind that it is now on land owned and operated by the Coast Guard. This means that you will not be able to walk right up to it, but rather must view it from the bottom of the steps that lead up to it.

While you are there, make sure to not only take the trail to the lighthouse, but also a trail that juts off from it. This will lead you to the beautiful, rocky shoreline. It is here that you can get the best views and take the best photogenic shots of the lighthouse and the rust colored cliffs that it is built on. If you feel like exploring, there is even an old graveyard hiding within Owl's Head State Park.


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