Acadia National Park is really special. Whether you visit Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island, the nearby town of Bar Harbor, or climb Pemetic Mountain or the stunning Schoodic Peninsula. Whatever you do, here is your Arcadia National Park Travel Guide to all the fun hot spots.
Maine’s Acadia National Park is really special. Home to mountains, lakes, and valleys, a visit to Acadia National Park has more to offer visitors than most realize. It really is worth a second look… and a third look too.
The scenery in Acadia National Park is just plain cool! Have you ever witnessed the sunset or sunrise from the Easternmost point of the US?
We did. The sunset on Mount Desert Island’s Cadillac Mountain is absolutely spectacular. What do you think?
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A little about Acadia National Park
Acadia is a stunning national treasure on the coast of Maine in the USA. The Acadia Region stretches from Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island to Winter Harbor on the Schoodic Peninsula and includes the Cranberry Isles. Whatever region you choose to visit, the views are spectacular, and nature abounds.
In the space of a few miles. visitors travel from lush forests, through lazy towns featuring local flavor, laze on local beaches, or explore the rocky coastline. Our senses were treated to brilliant ripe blueberries, fragrant honeysuckle, mouth-watering lobster – in all forms and sizes, and unexpected wildlife sightings. Ever seen the night sky on a clear starry night during a meteor shower? Breathtaking, and one of the most extraordinary scenes we experienced in the Acadia region.
In this Arcadia National Park Travel Guide you will learn exactly why you need to plan a visit.
Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor is a small seaside resort on the northeastern side of Mount Desert Island. It has a unique relationship with Acadia National Park. A drive through Bar Harbor is a curious combination of travel back in time and tourist-land. While Mount Desert Island has various places for visitors to stay, Bar Harbor offers some of the most reasonably priced lodgings for visitors.
There are lots of reasons to visit Acadia National Park
Seriously, this is no lie. We kayaked from our rental house near Sullivan out to Mount Desert Island. On the mainland, we witnessed numerous families “crabbing” on newly exposed sandbars. We enjoyed deep-sea fishing and witnessed an adult eagle strafe our boat diving for fish- barely clearing the heads of fellow boat-mates.
Watching the eagle in action was really cool – like, how often can you say that you have been a part of that?
Common Acadia activities
Acadia National Park was filled with bicyclists during an August visit. Bicyclists enjoyed both trails and roads, and their paths were well marked.
Carriage paths offered visitors an opportunity to experience the park in a private horse-drawn carriage.
Hiking is a great recommendation for a visit to Acadia
Acadia offers magnificent trails scattered throughout the park. Cadillac Mountain is a popular hiking destination but is not for a novice hiker.
Here is how the National Park Service describes the Pemetic Mountain Trail
NPS rating: Strenuous
Pemetic Northwest Trail
This trail begins at Bubble Rock parking area, on the west side of Park Loop Road 1.1 miles south of Bubble Pond. The path enters the woods east of the road and climbs in almost constant cover. Sometimes following a rocky stream bed, the trail ends at a junction with Pemetic North Ridge Trail about 0.1 miles north of the summit. Feel free to detour toward Pemetic Mountain summit for excellent views of the Jordan Pond, The Bubbles, Sargent Mountain and Eagle Lake. Return to junction of Pemetic Northwest Trail and Pemetic North Ridge Trail when finished.
If I told the truth, which I always do… the only purpose for sending pictures back home was to create a GPS trail that someone knew about. Because there was NO way I was making it off the Pemetic North Ridge Trail alive. I had to leave someone – anyone, “bread crumbs” to find my dead rotting corpse at the end of the day.
I made it to the Pemetic Mountain summit, and back down. Literally by the skin of my toenails (which I lost as a result of the hike). Seriously, have you read the story The Less Glamorous Side of Travel? Our escapades aren’t all sunshine and roses.
Hiking Cadillac Mountain.
Am I glad I climbed Pemetic Mountain? Absolutely. Would I do it again… I would like to say no, but I probably would. What I am not excited to do is climb Cadillac Mountain – I am not up to that challenge… but I could always change my mind. Here is how DownEast Acadia describes the Cadillac Mountain North Ridge Trail:
Cadillac Mountain North Ridge Trail: Moderate Hiking, 2.2 miles one-way. The mostly bare rock of the North Ridge of Cadillac Mountain offers hikers spectacular views in all directions. From the brilliant blue of Eagle Lake to the west, to the village of Bar Harbor and the islands offshore to the north, to Dorr Mountain in the east, hikers can see it all on the Cadillac North Ridge Trail, one of the most popular mountain hikes in Acadia National Park. The trail ends, of course, on the 1,528-foot summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak in the park,
Cadillac Mountain is one of the most popular hiking trails in Acadia, I may just have to change my mind and give it a whirl.
Maine offers a really great website to rate trails – be sure to check it out the trail ratings – there are some really great hikes in the area.
Maine offers much more than Acadia National Park.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include some of Maine’s highlights, so here goes.
A visit to the Acadia region is not complete without a visit to the Cranberry Isles. This five island community is only accessible by boat and is a year-round home to lobstermen, boatbuilders, and craftsmen. The islands are also home to numerous summer residents who’ve been returning each summer for years, if not generations.
The Isles feature hiking paths (no “trails” here), local artisans and craft shops, and a local library. Think this all sounds quaint? Well, it is, but overall this stop is very charming.
A required Maine experience is sampling local lobster
One of the surprises was the seemingly infinite number of lobster traps present in the waters surrounding Acadia. There aren’t many things better than freshly caught lobster. Unless it’s a freshly baked pastry stuffed with blueberries straight from the bush. Yep, another local favorite and why it made the cut for our Arcadia National Park Travel Guide.
Visit the lighthouses dotting Maine and Acadia’s shores.
Another great thing on this Acadia National Park Travel Guide to visit is the Lighthouse. Lighthouses are a big deal here. We were lucky enough to get inside a couple along the coastline, which was pretty cool. Each has its own personality, brightly colored exteriors, and contribution to the local legends.
The last treasure featured here is Campobello Island
Located just across the border in Canada, Campobello Island offered an interesting insight into US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Today Roosevelt Campobello International Park serves as a memorial to FDR and a symbol of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada and is a few short hours from Acadia National Park.
For many years, Franklin D. Roosevelt summered on Campobello Island. As an adult, he shared with his family the same active pursuits he had enjoyed there as a child. Although he visited less frequently after contracting polio, Campobello remained important to FDR.
What are our takeaways from our visit to the Acadia region?
Entrance fees for the park range from $15 per person to $30 per car, unless you choose to purchase an annual pass. If you visit many National Parks – and I recommend you do, I highly suggest the annual pass.
Activities in the park are… wait for it… FREE. No charge for hiking, bicycling, lazing on the beach, etc. Excursions to the Cranberry Isles or guided tours, of course, are additional fees but are well worth the minimal cost.
Have you ever seen a 12-foot tide? You will here!
We chose to stay on the mainland, just outside the small town of Sullivan. If you like being surrounded by nature, away from active nightlife, and don’t mind the commute to the park, staying on the mainland is a great way to go.
Our rental included a fully furnished house, kayaks, and a magnificent venue for the meteor shower away from city light pollution. If this seclusion isn’t your cup of tea, rentals were also available in Bar Harbor and elsewhere on Mount Desert Island, but were somewhat more costly.
A visit to Acadia National Park is a popular bucket list item.
It is easy to see why. The scenery is beautiful. There are lots of outdoor activities. It is easy to get to. In a nutshell, the bucket list ranking is well deserved. According to the National Park Service, it is one of their most visited parks.
Acadia National Park Travel Guide Final Thoughts
There are many great National Parks to visit. This Acadia National Park Travel Guide is just one of the great posts we have to help you get a feel for what you might find on your travels. For more information about other National Parks, visit our National Park page.
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