The Owls Head Pumpkin Walk used to take place at Plaisted Preserve, the town's spruce-wooded preserve off North Shore Drive near the fire station. Tomorrow night the fifth walk opens in a new spot, on the trails behind the Owls Head Transportation Museum at 117 Museum St.
The move is small, but it comes at a time when much of the town's season is ending. The lighthouse is closing up. The general store has an uncertain future. The museum, meanwhile, has added events through the end of November. Taken together, the museum grounds are where much of the Owls Head calendar now happens after dark.
The walk's new trails
The PenBay Pilot reported the new location on October 10, using a Georges River Land Trust news release. This year the Owls Head Conservation Commission runs the walk with the land trust and the museum. Friends, neighbors and community members carved or donated nearly 150 jack-o'-lanterns.
The release, as quoted by the PenBay Pilot, describes the partnership this way:
"The Owls Head Conservation Commission is excited to partner with Georges River Land Trust and the Owls Head Transportation Museum to bring the magic back."
The walk is free and open to all ages, and costumes are encouraged. Volunteers are still welcome for either night, and the land trust has asked anyone interested to email [email protected].
The land trust's involvement is a reminder of the scale of the group behind this neighborhood event. Georges River Land Trust has worked in the St. George River watershed since 1987. It has conserved more than 5,700 acres of forest, farm and shoreline and maintains more than 80 miles of public trails in 19 towns, from Cushing to Liberty.
Two nights on one property
Moving the walk puts it on the same grounds as the museum's own Halloween program. Night at the Museum features costumed reenactors playing historical figures, plus activities and candy. The museum is also collecting coats for the Penobscot Bay YMCA's Harvesting Hope effort, so bring one if you can spare it. The museum lists Night at the Museum as free.
| Night | Pumpkin Walk | Night at the Museum |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, October 23 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Not on the museum's calendar |
| Saturday, October 24 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | 5 to 7 p.m. |
The museum's own event pages put Night at the Museum on Saturday, October 24, and suggest pairing it with the walk for a full evening. The PenBay Pilot item tied the museum event to Friday instead. If you're planning around the reenactors, check owlshead.org before you leave the house.
Saturday is the night when everything overlaps. The museum doors open half an hour before the pumpkins are lit, and both events end within 30 minutes of each other.
The lighthouse grounds go quiet
The museum's calendar matters more this month because the town's best-known landmark is closing up. According to the American Lighthouse Foundation's schedule for Owls Head Light, tower-climbing tours run from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. That date was October 12 this year, so the tower has already closed for the season. The keeper's house museum and gift shop stay open from May 15 through late October, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week. That means they have about a week left.
The grounds themselves stay open from sunrise to sunset all year. That window closes earlier each evening as fall goes on, so with the keeper's house closed, the lighthouse becomes a daylight walk with nothing scheduled after dark.
A store that just marked six years
The other daily landmark in town has its own news this fall. Maya Sousa bought the Owls Head General Store in June 2020, when it had been closed for almost three years. After renovations to bring it up to code, she reopened it on October 9, 2020. Earlier this month the store marked six years since that reopening. WOKQ has since reported that she decided to sell.
In its WOKQ coverage the station describes a loyal local customer base and summer visitors who come back each year for the store's award-winning "7 Napkin Burger." No new owner or change in operations has been announced publicly since that report. The store's own website remains the best place to check its current hours before you plan a lunch stop.
With the lighthouse closing and the store's future open, the museum's calendar now carries more of the town's fall.
What Plaisted Preserve is between Octobers
The walk is leaving Plaisted Preserve, but the preserve is still worth a visit. Georges River Land Trust describes it as a public preserve that the Town of Owls Head owns and maintains, with the land trust holding the conservation easement. The trailhead is on the north side of North Shore Drive, about 2.5 miles from the Route 73 intersection. The town describes the spot as near the fire station. The land trust lists 0.6 miles of trail, and the town calls it about half a mile. Either way, it's a short walk through spruce forest, and the town notes water access to Broad Cove.
In 2022 the PenBay Pilot reported that a Land for Maine's Future grant would help buy 7.14 acres for the preserve, with the goal of extending the trail system to within a quarter-mile of the village center. The Conservation Commission has since announced that the expansion is complete. The town's Conservation Commission page lists Plaisted among the town's properties. It invites people to walk the trails and to join work parties. The commission organizes the Pumpkin Walk, and it also invites neighbors to help care for the preserve the rest of the year.
The museum's November
The schedule continues after Halloween. The Owls Head Transportation Museum has events on its calendar through Thanksgiving week:
- Thursday, November 5: Junior Inventors, Leaf Chromatography, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., an after-school STEM session for K-8 families.
- Thursday, November 12: Junior Inventors, 3D Shapes, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 14: STEM Saturday, Turkey STEM Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with activities on aerodynamics and kinetic energy.
- Saturday, November 28: museum vehicles, lit up for the season, join the Rockland Parade of Lights.
The museum's listing for the parade shows a block from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. but doesn't give a route or viewing time. Check Rockland's own announcements before choosing a spot along the street.
From the Pumpkin Walk to the Parade of Lights, the museum has something on its calendar most weeks of the off-season. Its last scheduled event of the season takes the museum's vehicles into downtown Rockland.
If you'd like to talk about Owls Head through all its seasons, from the lighthouse months to the quieter weeks after them, the agents at Legacy Sotheby's Intl Realty know the town and are glad to share what they know. Work With Us.
