BLUE HILL

outer harbor

inner harbor

outer harbor: 44° 24.49’N 068° 33.92’W inner harbor: 44° 24.42’N 068° 34.67’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 292

Click here if there is no index to the left

Charts: 13313, 13312

Chart Kit: 70, 22

Mount Desert region overview chart Harbor chart

YEAR-ROUND residents and summer people have cared about Blue Hill for a long time. The old clapboard houses are freshly painted, the lawns are tended, the market and the hardware stores are housed in handsome old buildings, the imposing town hall rises high on a grassy slope, and the public library stands on a quiet block. A pleasing selection of restaurants and attractive little shops offer quilts and antiques. There are many things to do here, including a number of special cultural events.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
An impressive collection of elm trees forms the background for this little town, many of them enormous, all of them healthy. They were saved by the efforts of a dedicated warden and a community united in its determination to preserve these magnificent trees.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Blue Hill was settled in 1762. The first industry was shipbuilding, which was later replaced by the mining of copper and the quarrying of granite.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
In summertime, Blue Hill is jammed with people, threatening the very tranquillity and charm they seek, but it remains a most delightful town to visit.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
For the yachtsman, this requires a little doing. The center of town is at the very western end of the inner harbor, which dries out at low. You can bring your boat in to the town wharf at high tide, or anchor some distance away and arrive by dinghy, or find land transportation from the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
Approaches. Blue Hill Harbor has inner and outer portions, both inside Sculpin and Harbor Points. Once past the ledges of Closson Point, run along the northern shore and north of the large ledge near the entrance, leaving cans “1” and “3” well to port. Then pass through the narrow entrance at Sculpin Point between can “5” and nun “6.” There is a substantial current here at midtide.
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
The Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club is in the outer harbor, on the eastern shore, opposite Peters Point. After leaving nun “6” to starboard, head for the moored boats and the gray, flat-roofed clubhouse.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Anchorages, Moorings—Outer Harbor. The yacht club has fifteen reservable guest moorings for rent. If none is available, there may be room to anchor south of the moored boats in 17 to 24 feet, or try the inner harbor.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Approaches—Inner Harbor. Beyond Peters Point, the inner harbor provides even better protection and gets you considerably closer to the town of Blue Hill. There are a number of small craft and fishing boats moored here, but you might find room to anchor. Enter for the first time at midtide or below, when all the dangers are visible. It looks a bit daunting, but it’s easy if you trust the buoys. Leaving can “7” close aboard to port and watching for crosscurrents, head for nun “8.” Turn sharply around nun “8,” leaving it to starboard, and head for the northernmost spire in Blue Hill.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
Anchorages, Moorings—Inner Harbor. Continue until you reach the moored boats, then turn westward among them. Anchor in 14 to 20 feet at low, in a good mud bottom. This part of the inner harbor is completely landlocked and makes a good hurricane hole. You are surrounded by rocky islets, with the masts of the yacht club to the east and the steeples of Blue Hill to the northwest—a lovely spot. Seals bask here undisturbed by your approach, and there are ospreys.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
Getting Ashore. If you are at the yacht club, row in to the dinghy floats. If you take the dinghy in to town, land at the ramp next to the town wharf.
For the Boat. Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club (Ch. 09; 207-374-5581). Gas, diesel, water, and ice may be obtained at the floats, with 10 feet alongside at low.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
Raynes Marine Works (207-374-2877). Located in a cove just west of Peters Point, this small yard can haul boats up to 32 feet for storage and for hull, rigging, and engine repairs. The cove dries out at low, so call from the yacht club.
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
For the Crew. The Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club has a pay phone. To get into Blue Hill, walk up the yacht club road and turn left. It’s 1.7 miles from the club into town, but you probably can arrange a ride.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
The Merrill & Hinckley grocery and fish market (374-2821) is close to the town wharf, up the hill on Route 177. Children love to shop here, pushing their miniature shopping carts down the aisles. Grown-ups do too—the market is also a liquor store. For a small fee, orders can be taken over the phone and delivered to the yacht club. The Blue Hill Food Co-op, north along 177N, sells organic grains and cereals and fresh produce. A laundromat is around the corner from the Co-op. The Tradewinds supermarket and a Rite Aid, .6 mile out of town at the intersection of Routes 15 and 175, might be better for major provisioning. A hardware store and an auto parts store are nearby.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Turn right from the town wharf onto Main Street to reach the post office and several restaurants. Fishnet Seafood on Main, heading north, fries up classic takeout. Jean Paul’s (384-5852), on Main, serves more refined lunches in a beautiful garden setting from 11am to 3pm. Try Jonathan’s (374-5226) at the Blue Hill Inn (374-2844) for dinner. If you sound hungry enough, both will pick you up at the yacht club.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
Directly across from the town wharf is the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital (374-2836) which, along with St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor, must rank as one of the most water-accessible medical facilities anywhere.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
A Federal Express box is diagonally across from the market, near Blue Hill Travel.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
Things to Do. Right next to the town wharf is a pleasant little grassy park on the water, with picnic tables and a beach.
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
The hill for which the town and harbor are named is 940 feet high, with open blueberry fields, spruces, and granite ledges. The magnificent views are well worth the climb. The distance from the post office to the base of the trail is 1.25 miles. Walk up Route 15 (north) about .75 mile an turn right on Mountain Road. You’ll see the watchtower from the intersection. Continue half a mile to a sign that says, “Trail to Tower.” It’s a steep woodland trail, often masquerading as a stream bed. Allow l1&Mac218;4 hours to get to the top and back to the base of the trail.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
As you near the summit, a clearing provides wonderful vistas west toward the northern end of Penobscot Bay and the Penobscot River and southwest to the Camden Hills. There are also clearings on top, from which you can see south to Isle au Haut, southeast down Blue Hill Bay, and east to Mount Desert. If you are feeling adventurous, climb the stairway of the watchtower whose sign reads “Visitors Welcome—At Your Own Risk.”
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
The Jonathan Fisher Memorial, a lovely early-19th-century home built by one of the town’s most illustrious residents, is worth a visit. Among the building’s attractions are fascinating inventions attributed to the multitalented Fisher.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
Blue Hill supports a rich and varied music scene. Even before you arrive you can tune into Blue Hill’s wonderful community radio station WERU, 89.9 FM (469-6600) to hear listings of local events or to simply enjoy great music. The station began broadcasting in 1988 from a studio known as the “henhouse” in a converted chicken coop of Noel Paul Stookey, “Paul” of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
The renowned Kneisel Hall School for String and Ensemble Music, based here each summer, presents twice-weekly concerts on its campus at the edge of town. Call 374-2811 for the schedule. The unique Bagaduce Music Lending Library is a short walk out of town on Main Street. It lends vocal and instrumental music to music lovers worldwide.

The Blue Hill Peninsula is also the home to the calypso sounds of a huge community steel band, Flash in the Pan, as well as two youth steel drum bands, the Rhythm Rockets and Planet Pan. It is worth planning your cruise around their free street performances. Typically, they play at 7:30 pm in Blue Hill, Buck's Harbor, Castine, and sometimes Stonington.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
The Blue Hill Fair has been an annual event for a century or so, and it draws people from all over the state in early September. This is a real country fair, reputed to be the inspiration for E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, with oxen straining to pull the heaviest loads, harness racing, sheep trials, and many other traditional events. The fairground is 1.3 miles east of the post office, on Route 172.
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
Resident E.B. White donated the original Stuart Little illustrations to the mouse-sized Friend’s Library, right downtown.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
The brick Blue Hill Public Library is a couple of blocks south. Hanging on a wooden stand by the fireplace is an extraordinary relic—a chain-and-plate vest reputedly worn by Ferdinand Magellan when he was killed in the Philippines in 1521 during the first circumnavigation of the world.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
The yellowed exhibit card in the library reports that a General Rumbough, with the U.S. force that conquered the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, searched the beach where Magellan was killed and found numerous artifacts. Most were given to the Metropolitan Museum, but the fanciest piece of armor was given by General Rumbough to the Blue Hill Public Library.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
Carroll Connard, married to the General Rumbough’s grandaughter, however, has written us to clarify a few points. David Rumbough, having graduated from West Point in 1917, acquired the vest while serving as Chief of Staff to the commanding general in the Phillipines in the early 1930s, not during the Spanish-American War. Mr. Connard has not been able to verify its authenticity or the existence of the companion pieces. Beyond those facts, the waters get murky. “Exactly where and how he acquired it,” Mr. Connard writes, “and with what provenance is not known.”
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.

calendar of events