Saltwater Canoeing In Wicasset Maine

These photos are from a school trip I went on a year ago with our tenth grade to the Chewonki Foundation in Wicasset Maine.

Note: For obvious reasons I'm not including any identifiable photos of students in this article.

The eighth and tenth grades each spend four days at Chewonki. Eighth grade does a traditional camping experience. The older kids go on a saltwater canoeing expedition out to a a group of islands where they camp and participate in various activities.

We spent the first night camping in a field on the campus of the Chewonki Foundation.

We stowed some of the gear that wasn't coming with us to the island at Chewonki's nature center. This skeleton of a finback whale hangs over the lecture hall at the Chewonki Foundation.

After a night camping on the mainland and some paddling lessons, we loaded our equipment into drybags and headed for the waterfront.

Canoes began moving out.

 We spent a while waiting until the whole group was afloat and then set out for our island.

Finally, we headed down the inlet toward open water, passing by a series of islands, coves, and bays. 

With the maple trees just turning their Fall colors, the view from the water was spectacular.

It took us about three hours on the water before our destination was in sight. This island was home for three days.

One of the most interesting features of this area is the difference in water levels due to the tides.

When we arrived, our canoes were completely afloat where we tied them up. Here is the same spot at low tide:

The tidal rocks were covered with a thick mat of slippery seaweed and numerous shellfish like this periwinkle.

We saw lots of other wildlife on our way out and while camping and paddling around the islands.

Here is another view of the rocks around the island, showing the high-tide/low-tide difference.

Here is an osprey's nest on a pole:

We saw bald eagles, harbor seals, red squirrels, and several species of shorebirds including these killdeer:

And sanderlings like this one:

In the evening, we got to watch some gorgeous sunsets.

We had rain one afternoon, but otherwise the weather cooperated, and we had a smooth paddle back to the mainland on Friday to finish up a great trip.