Sandy Beach

Most of Mount Desert Island is surrounded by a beautifully inhospitable, rocky, coastline. The small exception is aptly named Sandy Beach, seen here from atop Great Head peninsula. Cliffs on each side not only provide dramatic scenery, but also funnel cold ocean air onto the beach, which is quite refreshing on a hot summer day.

The hike up Great Head turned out to be fairly easy, notwithstanding its classification as “moderate.” The trail is a loop and you can choose to either follow it to the right or to the left. We’d seen some other folks turn right on the trail so we decided to go the other way, because, screw them. As it turned out, the way we went looped around a fairly gradual assent to the pinnacle. Going the other way requires a somewhat arduous climb up the cliff side. Ha-ha, suckers.