Community Programs
The Otolith Education Outing Club is a conduit for families, couples, individuals, teens, and college students to come together, explore parts of MDI, connect with their natural surroundings, and practice skills or gain knowledge that will promote positive interaction with the world around them.
Mountain Biking
Picture yourself moving with speed on narrow trails in the Maine woods, hearing your heartbeat throughout your body and your breath circulating heavily. Enjoy learning about bike maintenance, riding techniques and all that there is to love about roots, rocks, and mountain tops.
Hiking
Explore the detail of your natural surroundings while taking time to feel comfortable moving at a slower pace in a typically rushed world. Seize the opportunity to encounter rare plants, beautiful animals and birds, and sights from high perches.
Rock Climbing
Knock your socks off testing your vertical limits while connecting with a group and learning the technical skills of knots, setting up anchors, belaying, crack climbing, and bouldering. Maine's coast features some of the best cliffs to climb as you hover over the incoming tide.
Sea Kayaking
Become familiar with the nomenclature of your kayak, paddling techniques, marine life, weather patterns, sea navigation and chart reading, and feeling confident grooving your way across the waters of coastal Maine.
Road Cycling
Feel your body slice through the air as you work in rhythm and balance on this highly efficient mode of transport. Familiarize yourself riding with a group and gain confidence claiming your own space on the open road.
Orienteering
You can get there from here through alignment, precision, and an open mind. Develop your map and compass aptitude from authentic challenges and creative instruction.
Cross Country Skiing
Take advantage of winter's white blankets by gliding through its silence and cultivate your classical and skate skiing skills on the infamous carriage roads of Acadia.
Night Hikes & Astronomy Instruction
This family oriented night walk along relatively flat hiking trails on the coast of Maine is designed to expose participants to the dark. Record numbers of people are more accustomed to being in light or lighter environments (even when sleeping) than in the dark. Scientists are beginning to link certain diseases and disorders with an unmet need for darkness balanced with light. We start the group out with mild experiential activities that evoke a higher level of awareness of our senses, animals of the night, and of our surrounding environment. Brief hikes of no more than two miles round trip terminate at rocky beaches or points where it becomes evident just how dark the night skies are here on Mount Desert Island. Peter Lord from the Island Astronomy Institute has been known to help augment these night hike experiences by meeting groups on a beach and acting as an interpreter and thought provoker for all participants. Peter's knowledge and passion for the cosmos is contagious. Many people have experienced the beauty of MDI during the day. We encourage you to experience its magic at night. Please call for a list of what to bring and to register.
Dates & Times
Please check back for a list of program dates.
