We woke up this morning to 2-3 inches of snow on the ground. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold and the roads were well treated by the time we headed out. We started out around Portsmouth, New Hampshire and headed up to Portland, Maine, stopping at a few locations along the coast.
Sohier Park
The most visible feature at Sohier Park in York, Maine is the lighthouse located on a little island near the mainland. The little red structure on the island was decorated with a large wreath.
The park is situated at the end of a small peninsula and surrounded by a rugged rocky coastline typical of what we’ve seen in the area.
We saw a quite a few birds in the water and on the land. There appeared to be gulls of some sort, what appeared to be mergansers, and larger billed ducks. There was also a black and white diving bird that looked very unfamiliar. We’ll need to do a better identification of these species at some point as some are definitely new to us!
Two Lights State Park
Our next stop was at Two Lights State Park near Portland, Maine. We started out at Dyer Cove, a small rocky black sand beach with a lighthouse nearby. The appeared to be quite a difference between high and low tides based upon the current water level as well as where the snow ended.
We then walked on the point of land, identified as Dyer Point on Google Maps, between the cove and the ocean. We didn’t go too far, just to the transition between land and rocks. It appears to be possible to walk all the way out to the end.
We were able to see the other light that is much further inland from atop the point. It is on the left behind the white building.
The ground was completely snow covered and many of the plants had a nice layer of snow and ice.
We next drove to the main area of the park featuring a number of trails, picnic areas, and old defensive gun batteries. We did a quick loop above the coastline. There was a beautiful view of the ocean as well as the interesting rock formations below us.
Once again, everything here was covered with snow! Some of the larger trees looked quite beautiful!
Fort Williams Park
Fort Williams Park was quite popular today with families for sledding! However, that’s not why we were there. We continued further into the park to Portland Head Light. We were able to see the lighthouse from a variety of perspectives both near and far.
We didn’t spend too much time there was it was getting late and we were getting hungry! We walked a little bit to check out the coast before heading back on the road.
Spring Point
We drove to Spring Point in Portland on the grounds of the Southern Maine Community College. There was a small beach as well as the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse at the end of a short jetty. Out in the distance, we could see islands and old defensive structures.
We could also see the city of Portland on the other side of the Fore River.