Not everything during our visit to Eastport, Maine went according to plan. In fact our hike at Shackford Head State Park quickly turned into a bad situation that could have easily been the plot of a Stephen King novel. Shortly after starting our hike, we were fleeing from the trail!
When we arrived we were greeted by this sign, warning us of a severe fire ant infestation.
Odd that we could have missed such a warning when researching our visit online, we broke our vacation unplugging rule, and immediately rechecked the Maine.gov page for Shackford Head State Park. No mention of the fire ants there. In fact they only warned about mosquitoes, black flies and ticks. We also visited three additional sites that reviewed the trails, and none of them mentioned the fire ants.
As we pondered what to do, another couple arrived. They had traveled a long way from the midwest to visit this historic site where 5 Civil War ships were burned on the beach after being salvaged for scrap metal. After dismissing the sign, they ventured down to the beach, but quickly returned warning us that’s where the fire ants were located. Undaunted though, they decided to hike the wooded trails instead. After all, they drove halfway across the country to see this place.
After waiting in our car awhile longer to see if they returned, we decided to walk down the trail to the informational kiosk, which was located a few feet away from the trailhead. There we read a notice warning simply of an “ant infestation.” No mention of them being fire ants, just ants. The notice also recommended taking the Bypass Trail to avoid the infestation. There were also the usual reminders to keep your dog on-leash and pick up after your pet. Nothing at the kiosk mentioned the seriousness of fire ant bites, or other precautions to take.
Feeling more confident that we’d be safe, we hiked on and found this weathered, handwritten sign for the Bypass Trail. One more google search of “what do fire ant nests look like,” we set off on our hike.
And it was a really nice hike…until it wasn’t. On alert for the fire ant mounds pictured in our search, we happily hiked along. We even made it as far as the Schooner Trail. That’s when Mom finally felt safe for us to pause for a photo.
However, it was shortly after snapping that photo, Dad noticed one ant on Asa’s paw, and Mom found a couple more on the fur feathers on the back of my leg. We quickly backtracked to a more open area of the trail to get them off and inspect for more. Suddenly Mom felt the telltale burning sensation on her leg. She got bit! That’s when Dad realized the area we were standing was covered in fire ants! Even the Bypass Trail was covered! We sprinted out of those woods faster than we ever hiked before! Only briefly pausing to warn another hiker with his dog. Thankfully, he heeded our warnings and turned around too.
Back at the car, Mom and Dad gave us each a thorough brushing finding a few more ants trapped in our fur. But none between our paw pads or near our skin, and based on our happy demeanors, no signs that we were bit or in distress. Thankfully only Mom got bit, and it was just by a single ant, as opposed to a swarm. She described it as feeling like a burning wasp sting, with a dime size welt.
Wondering why we didn’t see any nests, Dad googled further. On a different Maine.gov website, we learned that these are European Fire Ants, and they don’t build mounds like the fire ants found in the southern United States. No wonder we didn’t see their nests to warn us! This site listed several counties in Maine where fire ants can be found, but no specific warnings about places to avoid, like Shackford Head State Park.
Long story short, we do NOT recommend a visit the Shackford Head State Park. We are disappointed that for us, and no doubt others who have traveled far to see this location for its Civil War connection and glowing descriptions of the views, that the official Maine State Park website didn’t mention the fire ant infestation. A warning on their website before traveling to this park, so we could have made a more informed decision about visiting, would have been appreciated.
