Where in Maine is the Perfect Place to Watch the First Sunrise in the United States?

I never thought about this before, but Maine is the eastern and northernmost state in the contiguous United States.

OK, I admit I had to refresh my memory about the difference between "contiguous" and "continuous" when referring to the United States.

My point is, Maine is obviously the state which see the first glimpse of daylight, but where is the best place to view this?

It turns out the answer to that question is not so clear, cut since the sun is in a different location across the sky throughout the year.  According to NewEngland.com, there are three points throughout the year where the sun shines first in the lower 48 states.

How can this be?  Well spectrumlocalnews.com explains it like this:

In the winter, the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun which means the sun appears farther south in the sky.

This makes Cadillac Mountain the place to catch the first glimpse of the sunrise from early October through early March.

However, "In the summer, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun so the sun rises farther north than in the winter", according to Spectrum Local News.  This means the first sunlight is actually at Mars Hill, just south of Caribou, Maine, from late March to mid-September.

There's a third point that's in the mix, too.  NewEngland.com points out that from March 7 through March 24, and September 19 through October 6, the easternmost point of Maine, West Quoddy Head State Park, sees the sun first.  Although this is point furthest east, the way the sun rises, it's partially blocked by Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick during most of the year.

So there you have it.  There are three different Maine sunrise locations, so plan your trip to the location you most want to see.