Frenchmen's Bay lies between the Schoodic Peninsula to the north and Mount Desert Island to the south. The bay is generally 4-5 miles across and 8-10 miles long. Within the bay are a number of islands, most notably the Porcupine Island group, Ironbound and Jordon Islands and the Egg Rock Lighthouse at the mouth of the bay.
Most of the Schoodic Peninsula, parts of Mount Desert Island and all/most of Isle Au Haut, another large island to the south, make up the Acadia National Park.
Schoodic Peninsula contains a 6-7 mile loop road along its coasts. The shoreline is made up almost entirely of pink granite cliffs ranging from 10-20 feet tall. Eons ago there was significant volcano activity that caused fissures in the granite through which black, molten basalt seeped, making a sharp contrast to the pink granite. Basalt is softer than granite and erodes much faster leaving large crevasses, canyons and other interesting rock formations behind.
Schoodic Point is a series of large ledges, composed of these formations, and extending several hundred feet out into the ocean. As the ocean swells encounter these ledges, they rise up into larger than normal waves and crash into the point's walls with seemingly extra force and send up geysers of spray as much as 40 feet in the air during severe storms.
Mount Desert Island contains a dozen or so mountain peaks in the 1,000 foot range, including Cadillac Mountain which lays claim to being the tallest mountain on the US eastern seaboard. The entire north and east coasts of MDI are granite cliffs ranging from 20-100+ feet, sometime sheer and smooth, sometimes jagged and broken. The Otter Creek cliffs rise over 100 feet and are the tallest cliffs north of Rio de Janerio. Most of the islands in Frenchmen's Bay are also heavily forested granite rock with 50-100 cliffs with almost no developement on them.
This, then, is the setting for paddling in Frenchmen's Bay. Granite cliffs to the north and south with many mountain peaks in the background on MDI as well as on the mainland. Many islands with wonderful rock formations and cliffs. Add to this the probability of several bald eagle and many seal sightings, a porpoise or two and the remote chance of minke whale sightings and I don't see how you could ask for a better paddling environment.
Paddling around the islands I came across several areas with tiny baby mussels so numerous they looked like a thick black carpet stretching off into the distance. These attract 100's of red starfish which feed on the baby mussels adding another dimension to the seascape. Throw in a few thousand sea urchins and you have a really interesting environment. Unfortunately, none of these guys move very fast. The starfish is probably the fastest and watching one of them move is like watching paint dry. If you could see some fish swimming around it would be just like a giant aquarium.
Most of this paddling was done while camping on Schoodic Peninsula to the north and Lemoine State Park to the west of Frenchmen's Bay. When I actually moved onto Mount Desert Island, I spent more of my time hiking than paddling. Unless weather conditions deteriorate, paddling is usually a very quiet and peaceful experience and not very demanding physically. I've had a minor physical problem that has prevented me from running, so hiking gives me an opportunity to get the old heart pumping a little more.
With a dozen or so mountains on the island, all under 1500 feet, and several trails to each summit, it's a great place for those of us preferring something a little smaller than Mount Everest. I would consider all of the trails I hiked in the easy category. What steep pitches there were, were generally pretty short.
I'll be in touch again in late October or early November. I'm taking time to visit friends and family in the NH/MA area and in NJ. I'll be attending a couple of sailboat shows in Newport, RI and Annapolis, MD. After that, depending on weather, I may spend sometime on the Chesapeake Bay and then head for the Great Smoky Mountains on the NC/TN borders. From there, back to the NC coast and southward for the winter, hopefully avoiding those hurricane things.