4 Best Sights in Sedgwick, Brooklin, and Brooksville, Blue Hill Peninsula

The 1,230-acre Holbrook Island Sanctuary protects the region’s fragile ecosystem and has nine hiking trails (pick up trail maps in the parking lot), a gravel beach with splendid views, and a picnic area. There's a good chance you'll spot a blue heron, osprey, or bald eagle here. Note that the sanctuary, which is open from 9 am till sunset, is on the mainland; Holbrook Island itself is privately owned.

A few miles south of Brooklin, take Naskeag Point Road to a broken shell beach at the tip of the point. From there you'll have a view of the small islands of Jericho Bay while you sit on a bench dedicated to "all the fishermen who brave the sea."

The Good Life Center is on the site of Forest Farm, the historic homestead built in the 1950s by Helen and Scott Nearing, a back-to-the-land couple who practiced and advocated for simple, sustainable living. Sign up for one of the lectures or workshops, take a garden tour, or peace out in the meditation yurt. The center is open to the public from 1 to 5 pm, though opening days vary by season.

This school, which sits on a 60-acre oceanfront campus, is renowned for its weeklong woodworking and boatbuilding workshops. It also offers sailing and kayaking courses, as well as coastal-theme photography and art classes. The school is off the road to Naskeag Point, a sleepy, serenely beautiful spot at the end of the peninsula road with a small rock beach, a teeny park, and a lovely view across the harbor.