Remote Islands In Maine Locals Wish Tourists Wouldn’t Visit
Maine’s rugged coastline hides dozens of secluded islands where life moves at a different pace, and locals have carved out peaceful communities far from mainland chaos.
While tourism drives much of the state’s economy, some island residents worry that too many visitors threaten the delicate balance of their remote havens.
These tiny dots on the map offer stunning natural beauty and authentic coastal living, but increased foot traffic strains limited resources and disrupts tight-knit communities.
Here’s a peek at the islands where year-round residents secretly hope you’ll choose somewhere else for your next adventure.
1. Matinicus Island
Lobster traps outnumber people on this speck of land twenty miles out to sea, where about fifty hardy souls brave isolation year-round.
Getting here requires either a pricey mail plane or a ferry that runs maybe once a month, depending on weather and the captain’s mood.
Locals fiercely guard their way of life, and newcomers quickly sense they’re intruding on something precious.
2. Isle Au Haut
Half of this mountainous beauty belongs to Acadia National Park, which sounds wonderful until you realize daytrippers flood the limited trail system during summer months.
Year-round residents number fewer than seventy people who cherish their solitude and the unspoiled forests that surround their homes.
The island’s single town landing gets overwhelmed when tourist boats arrive, creating parking nightmares for locals trying to unload groceries.
3. Swan’s Island
Quarries once made this island famous, but nowadays fishing and aquaculture keep the three hundred or so residents employed and content.
Three villages dot the landscape, each with its own personality and collection of families who’ve lived here for generations.
Summer people bring money but also traffic, noise, and expectations that don’t match island realities.
The ferry ride from Bass Harbor takes forty minutes, just long enough to make locals hope you’ll reconsider.
4. Frenchboro
Barely thirty people call this eight-mile-long island home, making it one of Maine’s smallest year-round communities.
Frenchboro fought hard to keep its school open and maintain services that prevent the island from becoming just another summer colony for wealthy outsiders.
Every visitor represents potential disruption to the fragile social fabric that holds this micro-community together.
The island offers stunning hiking and birdwatching, but locals wish you’d admire it from afar instead.
5. Great Cranberry Island
Artists and fishermen coexist peacefully here, at least until tourist season kicks into high gear and daytrippers swarm the tiny downtown.
With around forty year-round residents swelling to hundreds in summer, the island’s character transforms completely for three months.
Limited infrastructure means the single café gets overwhelmed, trails erode from overuse, and parking becomes a blood sport.
Locals treasure their off-season quiet and secretly count down until Labor Day arrives.
6. Little Cranberry Island
Known locally as Islesford, this charming spot features a historic museum and enough quaint photo opportunities to make Instagram influencers weep with joy.
That’s precisely the problem, according to the seventy or so people who actually live here through brutal winters.
The island’s tiny footprint means even modest crowds feel overwhelming, and visitors often treat the place like a theme park rather than someone’s home.
Respect for private property seems optional to many tourists.
7. Monhegan Island
Artists discovered this rocky paradise over a century ago, and their legacy attracts hordes of culture-seekers every summer who clog the island’s narrow trails.
About sixty brave souls winter here without cars, regular ferry service, or easy access to medical care.
Summer brings thousands of visitors who snap photos, buy paintings, and generally forget that real people depend on this island for their livelihoods year-round.
The off-season peace feels almost sacred by comparison.
8. North Haven
Wealthier than most island communities, North Haven still maintains a year-round population of about three hundred fifty who treasure their privacy above all else.
The island attracts a particular type of summer resident—old money families who’ve vacationed here for generations and understand island etiquette.
Day-trippers and curious tourists, however, often miss the memo about respecting private roads and beaches.
Locals appreciate visitors who actually understand island culture and boundaries.
9. Vinalhaven
Maine’s largest unbridged island community boasts over a thousand year-round residents who’ve built a genuine town complete with schools, shops, and services.
Yet even here, locals grumble about tourists who clog the ferry, rent all available housing for short stays, and drive up property prices beyond what fishing families can afford.
The island’s famous quarries and swimming holes get loved to death each summer.
Residents just want their home respected, not Instagrammed constantly.
10. Bustins Island
This tiny Casco Bay gem operates as a private summer colony where about a hundred cottages sit empty nine months yearly.
The handful of year-round residents and summer families prefer keeping their paradise completely under the radar, thank you very much.
No public ferry service exists, and visitors arrive only by private boat or water taxi.
The island’s private nature means most tourists never even hear about it, which is exactly how residents want things to stay.