My husband and I lived on Peak’s Island for a short time and were actually married on the Island. Last week, we took the kids to Peaks Island to do some exploring. The Island makes for a very fun day trip.
To get to Peaks Island, you must take a Casco Bay Lines ferry boat from the Old Port in Portland. The boat ride itself is a lot of fun for kids and a great way to take in the sites of the Old Port and Casco Bay, including a great view of Fort Gorges. There are approximately 14 daily round trips for Peaks Island (in the summer) so you can stay and play all day or go for a few hours. You can pay to have your car transported to the Island via ferry but there is really no need. Peaks Island is fairly small and can be explored by foot, bike or golf cart. (Casco Bay Lines charges a nominal fee to transport bicycles to the Island or you can rent a bike on the Island.)
We explored the Island by golf cart and it was just perfect. Golf carts can be rented from Paul’s Carts which is just steps away from the ferry boat landing. Paul rents carts by half day or full day. A half day rental is plenty to fully explore the Island. The cart makes it easy to get around the Island and with various sizes of carts, you can transport an entire family plus any gear you’ve brought along. Kids love the experience of tooling around the Island in the cart (note that only licensed drivers can drive the carts). During the peak of summer, it is best to reserve carts in advance.
We stopped at the Wicked Good Street Kitchen food truck (located next to Paul’s Carts) to pick up some items for a picnic lunch. I highly recommend their delicious smoothies and my kids absolutely loved their fries!
Once we had the cart geared up and a picnic ready to go we set off to explore. It doesn’t take long to make a full circle of the Island. With unbelievable views of the ocean, it is hard to decide on which spot to stop for a picnic. We stopped along the rocky coast where we built our own rock sculptures to add to the amazing collection of man-made rock creations on shore.
After a picnic lunch, we headed to one of the sandy beaches for a quick dip. (The ocean is mighty cold so it was certainly a fast swim!) We then returned the cart and explored the “downtown” area near the ferry boat landing. Peaks Island has some terrific restaurants and a few cute (and touristy) shops. Of course, no Island visit is complete without a stop into Down Front for some ice cream.
The kids have already asked when we can head to Peaks Island again. I think it will make our summer bucket list each year!
