Frenchman Bay, separating the Schoodic Peninsula from Mount Desert Island, has always been a busy place. Even before all the tourists arrived, sailors and fishermen settled in the bay's small coves and snug, secure harbors. Codfish racks covered the banks, as well as lobster traps and wooden wharves. With a small investment, shipyards sprang up all along the coastline.
   During the mid 1800s, artists and journalists introduce this beautiful section of the country to the rest of the world. Artists of Hudson River School inspired the well-to-do to explore the area in and around Frenchman Bay. When villager's cottages and cabins stayed filled all summer long, seaside motels and hotels sprouted up by the late 1800s. Prominent industrialists moved in. Summers retreats, built by Rockefellers, Fords, Vanderbilts and Carnegies, were some of the most elegant mansions in the area.
   Today, tourists are introduced to the bay area from the water. Boat tours show off the Bay's islands, Egg Rock Lighthouse, and bay area wildlife. Sea birds, porpoises, seals and resident raptors thrill the coastal tourists. With classic Maine seaside scenery and mountainous backdrops, it's understandable that tourism is Acadia's leading industry.

     Schoodic Peninsula Map