Great Cranberry Island is an island located in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. It is the largest of the five islands of the Town of

Cranberry Isles, Maine Cranberry Isles is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 160 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Town of ...

. It is roughly long and wide. Great Cranberry Island is a favorite vacation spot for many. Access to the island is provided by ferry from either Northeast Harbor or

Southwest Harbor Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Located on Mount Desert Island, the population was 1,756 at the 2020 census. The municipality contains within it the villages of Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Wonderland, ...

, both located on

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

. Many islanders also have their own boats and dock at Spurling Cove. The population of the island is over 300 in the summertime, but the year-round population is only around 40. The year-round population is mostly fishermen who fish the shores for the ever-popular seafood,

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

. Notable locations on the island are the History Museum, which includes a public trail to the shore, the General Store, the school and library, Post Office, Whale's Rib Gift Shop and Crow Island, which is accessible only at low tide. The Ladies' Aid Fair, held each year since 1900 in August, is a highlight of the annual calendar. The island was home to award-winning artist

Wini Smart Wini Smart (1932-2017) was a watercolorist and oil painter of marine and landscapes, many of them scenes of Maine, and her specialty was watercolors. She was also a muralist, bas-relief sculptor, and illustrator including "Early History of Toms Ri ...

, who painted hundreds of oil and watercolor paintings around Great Cranberry Island and the surrounding Mount Desert Island area. It is the setting of the fictional children's book ''My Kindergarten'' by

Rosemary Wells Rosemary Wells (born January 29, 1943) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She is well known for using animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby (later adapted into ...

. The island is also featured in a

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the Fallout (series), ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for P ...

expansion pack, Far Harbor. Great Cranberry Island was also home to the GCI 50K Ultra Marathon and The Great Run put on b
Crow Athletics
and long-distance runner Gary Allen.

External links

Photograph of Main Street, Cranberry Island, ca. 1910, from the Maine Memory Network

Great Cranberry Island Tour Map (PDF)
Islands of Hancock County, Maine Islands of Maine Coastal islands of Maine {{Maine-geo-stub