West Quoddy Head State Park

Quoddy Head Road, Lubec, Maine

Available Activities

Hiking
Whale Watching

🏆 Official Guide: Quoddy Head State Park — Home of the iconic West Quoddy Head Light (red-and-white striped lighthouse) at the easternmost point of the contiguous United States in Lubec, Maine — featuring 5–6 miles of scenic coastal trails, the unique Bog Trail (boardwalk through sub-arctic bog with carnivorous plants), dramatic ocean cliff views, whale watching, and a lighthouse museum. Open May 15 – October 15.

Quoddy Head State Park marks the spot where the sun first rises on the contiguous United States — a dramatic headland in Lubec, Maine crowned by the iconic West Quoddy Head Light with its distinctive red-and-white candy-stripe pattern. Beyond the lighthouse, the park offers some of Maine’s most spectacular coastal hiking and a unique sub-arctic bog ecosystem found nowhere else this far south.

Visitor Information

Detail	Information
Location	Lubec, Washington County, ME
Distinction	Easternmost point of contiguous USA
Lighthouse	West Quoddy Head Light — 1808 (current tower 1858)
Season	May 15 – October 15, 9 AM – sunset
Off-Season	Walk-in access during daylight (park outside gate)
Lighthouse Tower	Closed to public — grounds + museum open

Trails

Trail	Details
Coastal Trail	Moderate — dramatic ocean cliff views
Bog Trail	1 mi RT — boardwalk through sub-arctic plateau bog
Coast Guard Trail	Coastal hiking — headland views
Inland Trail	Forest walk — connects to coastal trails
Thompson Trail	Additional woodland hiking
Total Network	5–6 miles of interconnected trails

Activities

Activity	Details
Hiking	5–6 mi — coastal cliffs, bog boardwalk, forest
Lighthouse	Grounds + keeper’s house museum — tower closed
Whale Watching	From shore — humpback, minke, finback whales
Bird Watching	Bald eagles, shorebirds, puffins (offshore)
Photography	Iconic lighthouse + dramatic coastal scenery
Picnicking	Scenic areas near lighthouse

💡 Pro Tip: Don’t miss the Bog Trail — this easy boardwalk loop passes through a unique sub-arctic plateau bog with carnivorous pitcher plants, sundew, and arctic plant species typically found much farther north. Stay on the boardwalk — the bog is extremely fragile. The Coastal Trail offers dramatic cliff-top ocean views — scan for whale spouts offshore, especially in summer. Arrive early to photograph the first sunrise to hit the contiguous US (though you’ll need to be here before the park officially opens for the absolute earliest light).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you climb the lighthouse?

No — the West Quoddy Head Light tower is an active Coast Guard navigational aid and is closed to the public. However, the lighthouse grounds and the keeper’s house museum are open to visitors during park season (May 15 – October 15).

Is this really the easternmost point in the US?

West Quoddy Head is the easternmost point of the contiguous United States (lower 48 states). The absolute easternmost point of the entire US is Sail Rock in the Semisopochnoi Islands of Alaska.

Last updated: May 16, 2026