I didn’t go out in search of a topless beach near Mount Desert Island. But while I was looking for a hiking trail on Great Cranberry Island — part of the Cranberry Isles, near Acadia National Park in Maine — I was surprised to find this sign:

If you squint, you’ll see that the sign advertises a topless beach. High up in the trees, it points directly toward the Preble Cove Preserve trail, which leads out to Preble Cove.

Calling this a “beach” is a bit of a stretch, since Preble Cove — like pretty much every other beach nearby — is a long pile of rocks. But unless you go to Acadia National Park’s Sand Beach, rocks are all you get in this part of Maine.

Hmm … Is This Beach Really Topless?

I must admit that I have questions about the “topless” part. Preble Cove is managed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and nothing on their website suggests that Preble Cove is a topless beach. So I’m guessing that either (1) locals once used Preble Cove as a topless beach, and the sign is a remnant of a bygone era, or (2) someone nailed up the sign as a joke to reel in hapless tourists.

At the end of the day, it may not matter why the sign exists. I’m pretty sure that it’s legal (if not common) to be topless on all Maine beaches. I visited on a warm fall day, and there was no one to be seen for miles, so I took the sign at its word.

Getting to Great Cranberry’s Preble Cove

If you want to pay a visit, just hop on the daily mail boat that serves the Cranberry Isles from Mount Desert Island’s Northeast Harbor.

From the dock, it’s about a 10-minute walk up the main road to the Preble Cove trail, which you’ll find tucked back in the woods on your right shortly before Hitty’s Cafe. From there, you take a short walk down through the woods to the beach (again, if you’re not a New Englander, take the word “beach” with a grain of salt).

If you’re willing to do some bushwhacking, you can continue walking south around a point (with great views back to the mountains of Acadia)…

… to the longer, equally-rocky Whistler Cove:

Then you can make your way back to the main road via the twenty(ish)-minute Whistler Cove trail.

All of this makes for a nice little walking loop, whether or not you choose to make use of the beach itself. And it’s an easy day trip from Mount Desert on a boat that runs all year round!

Topless in Maine was just the beginning. Don’t miss my sun-soaked (and clothes-optional) moments in Australia and Europe for more.

Planning a trip to Mount Desert Island in the off-season? Check out my guide to Acadia in November.