Cape Porpoise Kennebunkport Lighthouse Tours 

This trip is suitable for all level of paddlers.  We provide instruction for the beginners with a introduction to safety techniques. Enjoy  paddling in one of the remaining working harbors’ along the Maine coast..  Visit one of the few remaining kept lighthouses left in Maine.  Enjoy the waterfowl and marine mammals.  This is a relaxed day paddle  tour.

Coastal Maine Kayak provides kayak, with PFD, paddle, and Registered Maine Guide. 

Attendee is responsible for hat, sunscreen, and water.

Fee:   $80.00 per person and equipment .

Meeting time and place:   Coastal Maine Kayak shop - 8 Western Ave, Kennebunk Lower Village

Dates:  e-mail or call for more information

To register  e-mail info@coastalmainekayak.com  or call 207-967-6065

We encourage the use of personal boats and gear provided it meets our safety standards.

Hear what one paddler has to say about this tour: 

Cape Porpoise, a Paddling Paradise in Southeast Maine, June 10, 2008.

About an hour and a half north of Boston, take exit 25 off the Maine Turnpike, and a few miles north on Rt. 9 past the heavy tourism in Kennebunkport you will find the hamlet of Cape Porpoise. Follow Pier Road to the end at the town wharf for a view of the archipelago of small offshore islands, a unique feature on southeast Maine's coastline. You can put in at the causeway 300 yards short of the wharf, being sure you start two hours before high tide, and plan to return no later than two hours after high tide, or else you are in for an unpleasant surprise--a mile or two walk across sand and silt to get back to your car. The tides here are 9 to 10 feet and about 80% of the harbor area is exposed flats at low tide.

The Cape Porpoise harbor islands are a paddler's paradise, in my opinion. Immediately you will notice that the water is crystal clear. The water only gets more beautiful. It is a deep blue-green but still transparent at 20-foot depths. On 6/7/08, air temp was about 70F, and water temp was 51F, but up to 70F in spots where it had recently covered sand baking in the sun during the previous low tide. I am told that 65F is typical water temp by Labor Day.

Beautiful granite rocks line the rugged shore of Trott. In fact, there appears to be an outcropping on these islands of the same coarse-grained pink and gray granite that made Stonington famous on Deer Island much further up the coast. Seaweeds 6 feet long lift and sway in the mild swell under you. Blues are herding minnows and they sparkle as they jump out of the water around you. I recommend you join MITA (Maine Island Trail Association. Your membership card is your permission to land on countless islands]. Go to: www.mita.org or call 207-761-8225. Camping at most Cape Porpoise islands is allowed via permit, easily obtained. See the guidebook for particulars.

I have described a four-hour leisurely paddle. But for those inclined, there are many outlets to open ocean, and breakers are visible or audible for the entire paddle just described. If you go out through the channel, keep away from "Old Prince," a house-sized submerged rock which can cause large breakers to rear up without warning. It is well marked on charts.

I can't emphasize enough how beautiful this little archipelago is, and how wild. I was told that seals can be found on the east side of Trott Island, and definitely on the rough east side of Cape Island if you want to risk open ocean. Fort and Stage are other islands to explore to the northeast. No island is more than a half mile distant from the next, so you can see how the area fits into most paddlers' idea of a fine half-day exploration. Use NOAA chart #13286 which has a special section on Cape Porpoise which you can cut out and take with you.

Another benefit here is that there is little traffic, for the simple reason there's no public ramp for amateur fishermen to put in their speedboats. This is a working commercial lobster-boat harbor.

I recommend that you hire a registered Maine Guide for your first paddle. It will cost $75 in cash for a half day. Theresa Willette at Coastal Maine Kayak [207 967 6065] is really excellent. Or you can consult seakayakguides.comwww.maine.