MAINE

Right off the top, Maine leaves a bad taste in the mouth of canine hikers. How would you like to hike more than 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail and not be able to finish? That’s the case for dogs who are not allowed in Baxter State Park and the northern terminus of the AT on Mt. Katahdin. Moving past that, your dog will likely get over it in the Pine Tree State’s half a million acres of state and national parks, 90 percent of them under tree cover. If your dog is still moping for missing Mt. Katahdin, head up in the North Maine Woods to Debouillie Mountain. Acadia National Park, one of the Crown Jewels of the national park system, is also one of the dog-friendliest. Marquee trails like the Jordan Pond Loop, the Bubbles, and Cadillac Mountain to the highest point on the Eastern seaboard are all open to dogs. When you toss in the 3,000 islands offshore Maine has more miles of coastline - 3,478 - than California and there are plenty of nooks and crannies for your dog to explore. It is hard to imagine what the profile of the United States would look like without  Maine, its most northeasterly appendage. America's only single syllable state stands out as the country's exclamation point - the place where the sun's rays strike first every day on Quoddy Head Point. Your dog can bask in those rays hiking along a bluff above the Atlantic before dropping to a sandy beach. The Megunticook Trail in Camden Hills State Park takes your dog to the top the highest mainland mountain on the Atlantic seacoast.

The Best Day Hike You Can Take With Your Dog In Maine

Coastal Trail/Thompson Trail
Quoddy Head State Park • Lubec

How would you like to stand with your dog on the easternmost point in the continental United States and experience the nation’s first sunrise (at least part of the year, depending on the earth’s tilt.) You can do just that at Quoddy Head State Park where a lighthouse guiding ships through the fog has perched on 80-foot black rock cliffs since President Thomas Jefferson signed the authorization papers in 1808.

The Coastal Trail rolls south from the West Quoddy Head Light for two miles along the clifftops. Seaman will thrill in this rollercoaster romp at land’s end, eagerly bounding to the top of the many hillocks to see what awaits on the other side as the path dips and rises. Keep an eye on the waves crashingin from the Atlantic Ocean - tides can fluctuate as much as 20 feet. The fi- nal drop is into Carrying Place Cove where Seaman can enjoy the shal- low waters on a sandy beach.

The return trip over the inlandThompson Trail rolls through maritime forests of shallow-rooted white spruce and hardy balsam trees battling thewind and salt spray. Many of these arboreal warriors remain standing after losing the fight, leaving spectral sculptures along the coast. A side trip leads to the Carrying Place Cove Bog, a Na- tional Natural Landmark, where the subarctic remnant houses carnivorous plants that survive in low temperatures and thin, non-nurturing soil by sucking nutrients from captured insects.

HIKING TIME: 1-2 hours

(from the book 300 Day Hikes To Take With Your Dog Before He Tires You Out: Trails where you won’t be able to wipe the wag off your dog’s tail)