Seal Watching at Fort Point State Park (plus Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory)
Where: Fort Point State Park is located in Stockton Springs. Fort Knox and the Observatory are located in Prospect. The parks are within 15 minutes of each other and make a nice combined trip.
What: Fort Point has a lighthouse, a historic earthenwork fort, views of the Penobscot River and Penobscot Bay, picnic facilities, hiking trails and a small beach. Fort Knox is a large fort with views of the Penobscot River. The Penobscot Narrows Observatory provides incredible views of the surrounding area from a height of over 400 feet.
Trails: At 120 acres, Fort Point is not large but has around a mile of trails. Fort Knox has few "trails" but walking the entire property including the fort tunnels is over a mile. The observatory has no trails but a small walkway, an overlook and an elevator to the top. A paved road connects Fort Knox with the Observatory and can be driven or walked
Tick Index: For Fort Point, likely low to medium due to grassy trails, although the trails were well maintained. For Fort Knox, low provided you stay on the walkways and paths.
Commentary:
My son and I visited Fort Point State Park today. We were treated to a group of approximately 10 seals and numerous seabirds feeding offshore in the outgoing tide. The weather turned sunny just as we arrived at the park. Here is a trail map from our Fort Point meanderings today. We didn't hike all of the trails in the park as we had both run in the Champion for the Cure race the day before and had just come from exploring Fort Knox.
I've covered Fort Knox in a previous post, although the last time we visited both the fort and the observatory were closed for the season. Today both were open. If you plan to visit Fort Knox, I'd recommend bringing a flashlight to explore the dark tunnels. A trail map of our Fort Knox ramblings is here.
What: Fort Point has a lighthouse, a historic earthenwork fort, views of the Penobscot River and Penobscot Bay, picnic facilities, hiking trails and a small beach. Fort Knox is a large fort with views of the Penobscot River. The Penobscot Narrows Observatory provides incredible views of the surrounding area from a height of over 400 feet.
Trails: At 120 acres, Fort Point is not large but has around a mile of trails. Fort Knox has few "trails" but walking the entire property including the fort tunnels is over a mile. The observatory has no trails but a small walkway, an overlook and an elevator to the top. A paved road connects Fort Knox with the Observatory and can be driven or walked
Tick Index: For Fort Point, likely low to medium due to grassy trails, although the trails were well maintained. For Fort Knox, low provided you stay on the walkways and paths.
Commentary:
My son and I visited Fort Point State Park today. We were treated to a group of approximately 10 seals and numerous seabirds feeding offshore in the outgoing tide. The weather turned sunny just as we arrived at the park. Here is a trail map from our Fort Point meanderings today. We didn't hike all of the trails in the park as we had both run in the Champion for the Cure race the day before and had just come from exploring Fort Knox.
I've covered Fort Knox in a previous post, although the last time we visited both the fort and the observatory were closed for the season. Today both were open. If you plan to visit Fort Knox, I'd recommend bringing a flashlight to explore the dark tunnels. A trail map of our Fort Knox ramblings is here.
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| Fort Point Lighthouse |
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| Watching seals from the shoreline at Fort Point |
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| Beach at Fort Point State Park. |
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| Beach at Fort Point State Park. |
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| The seals were clearly visible from our binoculars. Here they look a bit like the Loch Ness Monster. |
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| View from the top of Fort Knox, with the Penobscot Narrows Bridge in the background. |
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| Inside one of many tunnels at Fort Knox. |
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| View from atop the Observatory. |
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