Peaks Island is reached by ferry. The Casco Bay Lines terminal is located in Portland’s Old Port. Besides being a major tourist destination, filled with popular restaurants and shops, the Old Port is home to the original inhabitants, fish and lobster processing plants, fishing and marine suppliers and other marine related businesses. The Old Port is always busy. In the summer it is extra busy.
Parking is at a premium. Check the Bay Lines’ parking map for possibilities. The CBL arrival lot, for passenger and island freight handling, shares space with municipal buses, semi-trailers delivering fish to a processing plant, pedestrians heading onto the Maine State Pier. In summer, add a schooner company, occasional concerts on the Pier, as well as cruise ship passengers (a thousand or two per ship) debarking to explore Portland, and the taxis and tour busses they attract. Allow time to find parking and buy your ferry ticket.
The deckhands count boarding ferry passengers and at 399, the boat is full and further boarding stops. If you do not get aboard, you will have to wait for the next ferry. During the summer this is not an uncommon occurrence. It is more common on the Peaks side when everyone wants to return to Portland at the same time at the end of a beautiful afternoon. There are three restrooms on Peaks, available depending on the season.
Plan ahead and use the restrooms at the CBL Terminal in Portland, or use the restroom, or “head”, on the ferry, before you arrive at Peaks.
