Bushy

Bushy Island sits at the entrance to Winnegance Bay on the east side of the New Meadows River roughly 1 nm north of The Basin. It offers a convenient place to camp, picnic or stretch while exploring the lower New Meadows River. When approaching Bushy, please give a wide berth to Hen Island, which is just to the south. Hen Island is a seabird nesting site and is not open for visitation.

Landing a boat on Bushy Island is relatively easy at any tide. The west-facing sand beach provides the best landing option during the lower half of the tide. The northeast-facing sandy spit offers a more sheltered possibility that is particularly appealing when the tide is high. When approaching from the east, be mindful of the many rocks located just off the eastern shore of the island.

Three short paths lead up the high bank to an elevated, interior campsite among a copse of poplar trees. This cozy spot is sheltered from the elements and screened from surrounding homes on the mainland. Low tide exposes stretches of sand beach that make circumnavigating the shoreline on foot relatively easy. Low-impact fires are permitted on the beaches below the high tide line with a state permit.

In the 19th century, Bushy Island was treeless and inhabited by Henry "Hermit" Tripp, who settled there late in life and built a small hut atop the bank on the west side. Tripp believed the island contained buried treasure from Captain Kidd, and spent years sinking his shovel into its soil. Tripp died on the island in 1908 and was buried there by a woman who had been living with him at the time. Shortly thereafter, the woman relocated to the mainland. Today there is almost no visible evidence of the hut structure or burial site.