Cobscook Bay State Park

The name "cobscook" is an Abenaki Native American term meaning "boiling tides." In Whiting Bay, as elsewhere along the Bay of Fundy, the drop from high to low tide is extreme and the currents powerful. The 21- to 24-foot tides in this area of Maine are the highest in the United States.

The 888 acres of Cobscook Bay State Park are surrounded by these waters on three sides. Many of the park's 106 campsites offer front-row views of the wild tides and the resident wildlife, including bald eagles and ospreys.

The campground offers showers and an RV dumping station.

The park is staffed from May 15 to Oct. 15. During the off-season, staff and services are very limited. Visitors using the park during this period should be self-sufficient. Winter camping and other activities are allowed, but vehicle access is restricted to protect roads, waterlines and other resources.

The park has a state-of-the-art boat launch and sea kayaking is popular and, despite the severe tides, feasible for beginners with advice from park staff.

The sea fishing, for mackerel and flounder, is good. Freshwater fishing, near the park, for trout, smallmouth bass and land locked salmon, is very good.

The park's seven-mile gravel roads are open to biking. Bikes are not allowed on trails.

Park roads are groomed in winter to permit about five miles of cross-country ski trails and snowshoeing.

The park was originally part of the Edmunds Unit of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, and the refuge is adjacent to the park.

Covering more than 7,200 acres, the refuge has gravel roads open at times for hiking, biking and vehicular access. Call refuge headquarters at 207-454-3521 for more information.

Other wildlife in the area includes merlins, seals, loons, black ducks, deer and moose.

The park is located in Edmunds Township, near Dennysville, on South Edmunds Road off Route 1.