This easy family hike skirts the unspoiled and spectacular southern shoreline of Isle au Haut. Narrow passages through dark spruce forest connect high, dramatic headlands and isolated stony beaches. Enjoy a wealth of panoramic ocean vistas featuring seabirds, lobster boats, and crashing waves. Bring a picnic to savor amid the abundance of magnificent scenery. Adventurous hikers can combine this trail with the Duck Harbor Mountain Trail to create an immensely scenic and challenging loop, perfect for a full day's hike.

Hikers must travel to the island by a mail boat from Stonington. There is no auto ferry, and there is no service to or from Isle au Haut on postal holidays (i.e., Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day). Before submitting a campground reservation request, campers should contact the Isle au Haut Ferry Company ( Stonington, ME, 04681; (207) 367-5193) for the boat schedule. Round-trip boat fares are approximately $20 for adults and $10 for children. Disembark at the Duck Harbor Landing (not at the Town Landing, where the ranger station is located). During the summer, a ranger boards the boat at the Town Landing to answer questions about the island and its trails.

After arriving at Duck Harbor, climb up the narrow trail from the dock to meet Western Head Road, a wide, grassy "road" no longer used for auto traffic. Head south on the road. Blueberry and sweet fern grow profusely at its borders. Recognize sweet fern (not a true fern, though it resembles one) by rubbing its leaflets gently between your hands. The perfumy scent on your palms indicate you have massaged a sweet fern. Early settlers used the plant to scent candles and soaps.

"Watch your footing as the root-studded trail heads downhill through lush spruce forest. Log boardwalks and bridges keep feet dry as the trail crosses marshy areas and streams...."

Arrive soon at a junction with the Duck Harbor Mountain Trail on the left. Stay right and continue rising gently up Western Head Road. After approximately 0.7 mile from the boat dock, reach a junction with the Western Head Trail on the right. Leave Western Head Road and turn right (southwest) onto the narrow trail. Watch your footing as the root-studded trail heads downhill through lush spruce forest. Log boardwalks and bridges keep feet dry as the trail crosses marshy areas and streams.

After about 0.4 mile, follow blue blazes to climb from the wet forest. The trail emerges dramatically at the ocean's edge, where a wide sweep of the island's rugged western coast is suddenly visible. Saddleback Ledge Lighthouse sits a few miles offshore. A bare ledge provides an excellent perch from which to catch your breath and contemplate the beautiful scene.

					"At the beaches, old buoys and driftwood of every shape and size provide creative hikers with raw material for sculptures...."

The trail next travels along the ocean's edge for more than a mile, visiting a delightful series of stony beaches and view-filled headlands. At the beaches, old buoys and driftwood of every shape and size provide creative hikers with raw material for sculptures. Many have been inspired. "Installations" at the time of this writing included spruces adorned with buoys like Christmas trees and planks set up like tables and "set" for tea with shell plates, stick silverware, and other imaginative garnishes. Youngsters will have fun treasure hunting and building their own fanciful sculptures.

Follow cairns and blazes as the trail delves in and out of dark, moss-covered spruce forest, always to emerge at another pebbly cove or headland. The trail climbs from beach to headland, affording hikers sweeping views of the coast. As the trail rounds the southern tip of Isle au Haut, a small spruce-covered island, called Western Ear, becomes visible just off the coast.

At 1.3 miles from the beginning of the Western Head Trail, arrive at the junction where the Cliff Trail heads off to the left. At low tide, hikers can visit the tiny island of Western Ear by turning right at this junction and walking across the exposed stony tidelands. Views of Isle au Haut are quite nice from Western Ear. (If you are wondering, there is also an Eastern Ear, which lies just east of Isle au Haut's Eastern Head!) Visitors must keep track of the incoming tide to avoid getting stranded and must abide by all posted restrictions, as Western Ear is privately owned.

					"About 0.7 mile from the junction with the Western Head Trail, the Cliff Trail climbs very steeply to emerge atop a magnificent bluff towering almost 100 feet..."

Those continuing on the Cliff Trail head north and travel once more in and out of forest to the headlands and rocky coves. The views are spectacular at each turn. About 0.7 mile from the junction with the Western Head Trail, the Cliff Trail climbs very steeply to emerge atop a magnificent bluff towering almost 100 feet above the water. The trail then descends to meet the south end of the Western Head Road in just 0.1 mile.

To return most expeditiously to the ferry dock, turn left onto Western Head Road and walk an easy and mostly level 1.4 miles back to the boat dock.

Alternatively, hikers can retrace their steps along the Cliff and Western Head Trails and return to the dock by this longer, more scenic route. Backtracking adds approximately 1.3 miles to the hike.

A third alternative is to make a wider loop and include a portion of the scenic coastal Goat Trail, then head inland on the Duck Harbor Mountain Trail and climb over Duck Harbor Mountain to reach the dock. This strenuous route adds about 0.4 mile and an additional elevation gain of about 300 feet.