Marie Taylor and Dick tenEyck walk in Acadia National Park’s Thompson Island with their 4-month-old golden retriever puppy Kelley. This was Kelley’s first weekend at Acadia.—STAFF PHOTO BY MADELINE LEWIS

Newly Released Book Details Where to Walk Dogs in Acadia

Marie Taylor and Dick tenEyck name their golden retrievers after places. There was Binney Park Wendy, Longfellow Pond Molly and Tickle My Osterville Fancy. Now they’ve got 5-month-old Osterville Kelley by the Sea.

“I saw this little fluff ball and I was smitten.”
— marie taylor, "doggy walks and destinations" author

“With Fancy, we thought about places in Acadia,” said Taylor, adding. “Maybe Acadia and call her Katie.”

This year, the second edition of Taylor’s book “Doggy Walks and Destinations — Acadia National Park and Vicinity” (On Point, Inc. Publisher, 2008) comes out. The book advises fellow dog owners where to take their dogs when visiting Acadia.

Taylor’s love affair with Hancock County began in the 1970s when she stayed at her sister and brother-in-law’s home in Surry. The house is now the Surry Inn.

“When you walk into the door, you’re where she had her living room,” she said of the Inn.

Not long after, Taylor’s brother-in-law got a dog. It was the first golden retriever she’d ever met.

“I saw this little fluff ball and I was smitten,” she recalled.

Taylor and tenEyck bought their own golden, Wendy, in 1983. The selection process was out of the pair’s hands. At the breeder’s, Wendy came over and sat in front of Taylor.

Dick tenEyck of Wellesley, Mass. holds his 4-month-old golden retriever puppy Kelley at Thompson Island in Acadia National Park.—STAFF PHOTO BY MADELINE LEWIS

“She picked me out,” said Taylor. “I didn’t pick her out.” 

A spirited dog, Wendy put tennis balls in her owners’ coffee cups to get their attention. She visited Acadia only one time, but she really loved it.

“She was very playful,” Taylor remembered. “You could tell she was having a good time.”

The couple often took their next golden, Molly, to Acadia. And their romps with Molly in Hancock County formed the basis for “Doggy Walks and Destinations.”

The pair usually came to Acadia in September with Molly. They preferred that time because the area seemed less busy, but businesses were still open.

Taylor suggested dog walkers start at Thompson Island. The scenic island, which lies between the mainland and Mount Desert Island, has a large grassy area, on which owners can walk their dogs or enjoy a picnic.

Motorists must cross the Thompson Island Bridge to get to Mount Desert Island. Some don’t realize it is an island at all.

“It’s just very low-key,” Taylor explained. “It’s a nice introduction.”

She and tenEyck have learned that it’s better to begin slowly in Acadia. The first time they took Molly to the park, the golden had a difficult time navigating the rocks at Eagle Lake.

“Dick had to carry her,” said Taylor. “We felt so badly.”

Marie Taylor of Wellesley, Mass., holds Kelley on Thompson Island.—STAFF PHOTO BY MADELINE LEWIS

To make the next step, Taylor recommended pets and their owners walk the Carriage Road alongside Upper Hadlock Pond. This road is a good option because it’s wide and not often crowded with people. Taylor, tenEyck and Molly usually completed the trip in 50 minutes to an hour, but other walkers can choose to go for a shorter excursion.

“You can go as far as you want and turn around,” she said.

For a more challenging walk, Taylor recommends going to Ship Harbor in the Seawall area of Southwest Harbor. The walk’s rocky areas and occasional uphill slopes make it more difficult than trips on flatter terrain. But even this walk isn’t very hard, she said. They only do walks that their dogs can comfortably enjoy without too much strain.

The second edition of “Doggy Walks and Destinations” features a new walk, which Taylor described as “a new discovery” for her and tenEyck. The walk is a tour of the west meadow at Little Long Pond. Taylor said that because the area is privately owned, it has different rules for dogs. Owners can take their dogs off the leash and let the animals romp around more freely than in Acadia National Park, she explained, which requires dogs to remain on a leash less than 6 feet long.

Taylor and tenEyck have taken their goldens all around Hancock County, but there are places in Acadia National Park where the dogs cannot go. These include steep hiking paths like the Ladder Trail to Dorr Mountain, Beech Cliff Trails, and the Beehive. The park also forbids dogs from swimming in its lakes and, during the summer, in its public beaches.

When Taylor and tenEyck walk Acadia’s paths and roads, they take care to look out for anything that might harm their dogs. Taylor said the dangers are often “unexpected” so constant vigilance is the best policy. For example, the couple recently found a Portuguese Man-of-War on one of the paths. Contact with the marine invertebrate, which resembles jellyfish, can cause both humans and animals enormous pain.

“I didn’t even know they came up this far north,” said Taylor.

They found the Man o’ War while waking their new puppy, Kelley, last July. Longtime pet and agility champion Molly passed away in October. Taylor could well recall Molly’s final romp in Acadia on a rainy, overcast day.

Never long without a golden, the pair soon purchased Fancy, but had to return her to the breeders after they discovered she was deaf. Honey-colored Kelley was born last March. She, a sister and two brothers were the product of artificial insemination. (Taylor’s niece owns Kelley’s brother “Jacoby,” who is named for Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.)

Taylor and tenEyck consider the dogs their children.

“We haven’t had to send them to college,” said tenEyck, laughing. “But we’ve had some big bills.”

On her first trip to Acadia, the dirt-loving Kelley visited Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor and Thompson Island, but didn’t spend much time walking.

“She conked out on us,” said Taylor, smiling.