Carrying Place Preserve

Discover

Carrying Place Preserve on Deer Isle offers a woodland walk shaped by steep ground, salt-marsh views, and the island's long relationship with coastal travel. Island Heritage Trust protects this land beside Long Cove, with routes ranging from a shore-focused outing to more demanding hillside circuits on Bray's Mountain. The name recalls a canoe portage between Long Cove and Greenlaw Cove. A visit can connect that history with the terrain itself, choosing a route that gives both landscape and observation room.

Geologist Ann Hooke donated the property in 2023, and public trails opened the following year. Her field guide invites close attention to small changes in trees, ground, and rock rather than hurrying to the highest point. That approach suits this preserve especially well. The upper hill is wooded, and its significance lies in the experience of forest and boulders as much as in elevation; the summit should not be expected to provide an open panorama.

The Sunshine Road entrance leads toward the Cove View and Shore routes. The manager identifies these as the more approachable choices within a network that also includes tight paths and considerable changes in height. A shorter out-and-back can give a complete sense of the shore setting without adding the harder ridge. Use the current map and choose according to the group's footing and energy rather than trying to include every named branch.

The forest changes with the slope. Spruce and fir occupy some sections, while birch, aspen, and oak add different forms elsewhere. Mosses and lichens bring texture to ground and stone. Hooke's guide explains how glacial deposits and exposed granite contribute to the setting, offering a way to connect the small details beside the path with the larger shape of the hillside. Leave the rocks and plants where they are, observing from established access.

The same guide describes how the severe winter storms of 2001 and 2002 affected parts of the woods. Some areas received forestry intervention, while steeper sections were left to recover differently. This is a useful perspective on the woodland seen today: downed trees and young growth can be evidence of change rather than simply untidiness. Compare the structure of different stands while allowing the manager's current routes to determine where the walk continues.

At the cove, marsh and tidal flats broaden the view. The historical carrying place linked waters that Wabanaki people used for travel and gathering over many generations. That history does not make every shoreline a present-day launching or portaging route. Appreciate it from the protected paths, leaving fragile marsh plants, banks, and cultural material undisturbed. Rebecca Goldfine's original account enjoys the mossy shore walk and the option of climbing higher, while noting that the ridge requires additional exertion.

Use the public Sunshine Road access and respect private boundaries; maintenance connections are not additional public entrances. Keep pets controlled, carry out waste, and follow the no-fire and day-use rules. For photographs, connect woodland with marsh or show mossy boulders within their forest setting without leaving the trail. Carrying Place rewards a route chosen for its details: a cove, a hillside, a storm-shaped forest, and a history of movement can all be understood within one careful visit.

Fun facts

1. Ann Hooke donated the preserve in 2023, with public trails opening in 2024.
2. The name recalls Wabanaki canoe travel between Long Cove and Greenlaw Cove.
3. The woodland includes areas affected by major storms in 2001 and 2002.

Read the official sources →

Visitor perspectives

1. Rebecca Goldfine enjoys the mossy shore route and higher woodland options while noting that climbing the ridge requires exertion. Her account was updated July 15, 2026; exact visit date is unknown.

Capture

1. Connect forest and salt marsh from the established route.
2. Show mossy boulders within woodland without stepping onto sensitive ground cover.

Social

Carrying Place Preserve protects woodland slopes, salt marsh, and tidal flats beside Long Cove on Deer Isle.

Geologist Ann Hooke’s 2023 gift became a public trail destination in 2024.

The name recalls a Wabanaki canoe portage connecting Long Cove and Greenlaw Cove.

Cove View and Shore routes offer a different outing from the more demanding ridge and hillside trails.

The wooded upper hill rewards attention to boulders and forest rather than expectations of an open summit view.

A donor field guide explains contrasting woodland recovery after major storms in 2001 and 2002.

Rebecca Goldfine enjoys mossy shore walking and the option of a higher route, while noting extra exertion on the ridge.

Use the public entrance, protect marsh vegetation, and respect private boundaries and maintenance-only connections.

Hashtags

1. #Cre8Travel
2. #Maine
3. #CarryingPlaceDeerIsle
4. #LongCove
5. #WoodlandGeology

Sources & visitor information

• www.islandheritagetrust.org
• www.islandheritagetrust.org