Three POTA Parks in Maine
This labor day weekend (2025) I went up to Stockton Springs, Maine where my father lives for a visit. There are a lot of POTA sites nearby. It was pretty easy for me to make quick trips for radio fun between visits.
Here’s a map of the contacts I made doing three POTA activations in Maine. Each of the parks I visited were within a 15 minute drive of my dad’s place.
I used the following gear for each of these activations:
Fort Point State Park
Fort Point State Park (US-2389) is a small but scenic spot at the mouth of the Penobscot River, known for its historic lighthouse and sweeping coastal views. It’s a quiet place where you can set up a station right on the beach and watch the tides roll by while making contacts.
It was a cloudy but beautiful morning. Radio contacts were coming at a steady pace. There were sailboats navigating downriver into the bay. A heron was fishing the shallows nearby.
Here’s a map of my QSOs from my Fort Point activation.
Fort Knox State Historic Site
Fort Knox (US-8291) is one of Maine’s best-preserved coastal fortifications, built in the mid-1800s to protect the Penobscot River. Activating here means operating radio within sight of thick granite walls and sweeping views from the nearby Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.
In my early youth I lived in nearby Orrington, ME. Fort Knox was a wonderful park to explore and I have a lot of fond memories of exploring the fort with a flashlight.
After a brief tour, I set my station up in the picnic area.
A short walk from my radio station provided a nice view down into the gun batteries.
I could also see across the river to Bucksport, ME.
Here’s a view of the fort itself from the picnic area on a hill rising up from my radio operating area.
And here’s a view of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge which crosses the Penobscot River.
Here is a map of the radio contacts I made from this POTA site.
One special contact I made from Fort Knox was with AA1CX. Wes was a friend of my grandfather, Fred Bean, who I inherited my call sign (W1YTQ) from. He was 17 miles away in Bangor, ME. Ground wave allowed us to connect.
Moose Point State Park
Moose Point State Park (US-2396) sits right on Penobscot Bay and offers grassy fields, rocky shoreline, and wide views of the water. It’s a popular picnic and walking spot, and a great place to enjoy the sea breeze while chasing radio contacts.
I set my radio station up in a picnic area just above the beach.
This was my setup for the weekend; I had my G90, Rite in Rain pad, MX-K2 CW Keyer and my Modern Morse key.
I use the external keyer because the G90’s internal keyer skips and stutters for me. Current firmware is the 1.79b. I’ll have to upgrade and see if it works better.
The requisite selfie of me (W1YTQ) enjoying the beautiful morning on Penobscot Bay.
Here’s a map of my radio contacts from Moose Point.
No donuts for me
On the way home, I took a brief detour to bring some donuts home to the family.
Holy Donut makes amazing donuts but this Labor Day weekend I didn’t get there in time.
Returning Home
It’s always nice to come back home to Lexington, MA. The next day I met at Minute Man National Historic Park to do some more POTA with my friends AA1N and KC1UML.
Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts preserves the opening battlegrounds of the American Revolution. Activating here means setting up among historic fields and trails where the first shots of 1775 were fired—a perfect mix of radio and history.
