Maine's Hidden Treasure

The rocky coast of Cutler, Maine, is seen from Pulpit Rock Tuesday, July 15, 2008, along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve. The trail's remote location along Maine's Bold Coast makes it a travel destination rather than a place for tourists to stumble upon.

A section of a bog bridge is seen Tuesday, July 15, 2008, along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve in Cutler, Maine. Maine's Bold Coast is a little-known treasure east of Acadia National Park where the tourist hordes thin out, the tall spruce and fir reach the shore and the coast assumes a wildness that beachgoers at the southern end of the state can hardly imagine.

Lindsay McMahon, a ranger for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands walks with her dog Nika Tuesday, July 15, 2008, along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve in Cutler, Maine. The Bold Coast's crown jewel is the nearly 5-mile stretch of shoreline that is open to hikers.

Reporter Jerry Harkavy looks out to the ocean along a section of trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve. Hikers who perch atop a nearly 100-foot rock cliff that plunges to the crashing surf below are greeted by a spectacular vista with no signs of civilization, perhaps the same scene that caught the eyes of European explorers who passed by these shores 400 years ago.

The rocky coast of Cutler, Maine is seen from Tuesday, July 15, 2008 along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve. The Bold Coast generally refers to the 30 or so miles between Western Head in Cutler and West Quoddy Head in Lubec, which is worth a visit because of its distinctive red-and-white-striped lighthouse.

Lindsay McMahon, a ranger for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, left, joined by her dog Nika, tosses a stack of kindling over the edge of Pulpit Rock Tuesday, July 15, 2008, in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve in Cutler, Maine. Although there are three campsites on the trail, fires are not permitted.

Lindsay McMahon, a ranger for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, left, joined by her dog Nika, speaks with trail steward Lynn Bradbury, as they sit on Pulpit Rock Tuesday, July 15, 2008, along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve in Cutler, Maine. Visitors have access to a network of well-maintained trails within the reserve.

Lindsay McMahon, a ranger for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, left, joined by her dog Nika, speaks with trail steward Lynn Bradbury, as they sit on Pulpit Rock Tuesday, July 15, 2008, along a trail in the 12,000-acre Cutler Coast Public Reserve in Cutler, Maine.