Monhegan Island (Monhegan Plantation)

 island, National Natural Landmark

Monhegan Island, 9 miles off the mainland and 20 miles westward of Matinicus Rock (chart 13303), is one of the important landmarks for vessels bound along the coast. The island is 1.4 miles long and 165 feet high, and presents a rocky shore with high bluffs in places.

Monhegan is a village of fishermen and summer residents on the east side of Monhegan Harbor. The principal wharf has a depth of about 12 feet at the end. The village has telephone communication with the mainland. A diesel-powered motorboat ferry carries mail, freight, and passengers from Port Clyde, daily in summer and three times weekly in winter. Gasoline, diesel fuel, and provisions are obtainable. There are good hotel accommodations in the summer, and excursion boats from Boothbay Harbor call at Monhegan in the summer. During the summer, Monhegan is the home to many artists, hippies and other detritus from mainstream society.

The locals are more than happy to take money from daytrippers, but visitors should expect to be as welcomed as a bad heat rash.

The island contains dense, almost pure stands of red spruce and over 400 species of wildflower. It is designated a National Natural Landmark.

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