Hi all, I recently visited Cobscook Shores Red Point in Lubec on my hand cycle.
This visit was truly a pleasure. The punchline of this report is I’d recommend any adaptive hand cycler who happens to get to the Lubec area to get to the site and enjoy what it has to offer.
To start, the entrance is well-marked on the main road into Lubec, the parking lot is large, and the Kiosk provides ample detail about the site.
The main trails were wide open, with well-maintained and finely crushed gravel throughout. I encountered not a single person – even on a beautiful day in August – but did see many species of bird, mammal, and insect that together made it feel like I was on a personal tour of the natural wonders of Lubec, Maine. The sense was of being alone in a special place that had been prepared with high standards, just for me.
In some places the trails were so manicured it felt like I was in fact visiting a country club or golf course, and I wondered whom I should ask for permission to be there.
There were even several pagodas where I might lunch if I so fancied. (“To lunch” is not a verb I normally use, but somehow the country club vibe called for it).
I also appreciated how attentive the managers are to prospective bikers. There were racks in several places, plus water refill stations and signage indicating where bikes were allowed – all very helpful and inclusive.
I should note that some of the individual trails were not quite so welcoming to folks with adaptive needs. For instance, the Red Point Island Trail looked great on the map because it heads out and around a whole island (passible when the tide is low enough). But sadly, upon approach to the inlet crossing this is what I encountered…
…There were over 20 steps down – so even at low tide when the island is available for exploration, I could not access the step-stone pathway to the island (stairs and I don’t really get along).
Similarly, I found that other trails off the main network looked great on the map, but upon visiting them I encountered narrow and impassable foot bridges.
So if there’s one thing that can result from these trail reviews, I have the following wish: that when it’s time to create new footbridges or upgrade old ones, managers of properties such as this one would make their bridges at least 36” wide so that folks in wheelchairs and hand cycles can pass.
To the credit of managers of this site, in fact the site already has several bridges of this type. They’re out in a grassy field loop as in this image (which may not be suitable for wheelchairs, being so grassy and having a good bit of slope in some areas):
And the bridges look like this...
It is a great bridge design for adaptive users – perhaps other trail managers will copy it:
All told my favorite part of the visit was the tidiness and overall feel it conveyed, of being in a magic orchard. It was even mysterious and tunnel-like in some areas – I’d love to see it in high fog or dawn light.
Go visit!
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