We finally made it to Acadia National Park! Our travel notes and tips…

 

Acadia National Park, Maine

Growing up in New York City, the state of Maine always seemed so far and distant.  Driving distance of roughly 8 hours from NYC to Maine is not inconsequential.  Because of this reason, and also because we could never make the time while we both worked, we had been seriously considering and hoping we would get a long term rental in Maine, now that both my wife and I were retired.

Distance and time were no longer as big of an obstacle to us getting up there.  Having retired early gives us time, which we never really had while working…

My brother was also instrumental in getting us to visit Maine, as he absolutely loved Maine, especially Acadia National Park, seafood, and local produce.  When opportunity came to book a two months long stay in Stratton, Maine for June and July, we jumped at the chance.

On our way up to Maine from our parent’s place in New York City, we stopped over at the Kittery, Maine rest stop and visitor information center.  My wife got to chat with a friendly information desk staff member who gave us itineraries for our travels to the state.  

One of those was of course Acadia National Park.  What we didn’t know was that we needed to book a reservation online to drive up to the Cadillac Mountain during the peak season!  We picked up a pamphlet about the reservation process, then headed our way to our two months long rental.

We knew Acadia National Park is one of the top 10 most visited national parks in the United States, so we wasted no time in planning our trip to the park.  I reserved the Cadillac Mountain reservation via website ‘recreation.gov’ for June 6th at 3:00 p.m., then prepared for our trip.

Tip:  Entrance fee is $6 per vehicle to Cadillac Mountain.

We left around 8:45 a.m. from our rental in Stratton on a sunny Monday morning for Acadia National Park.  We prepared some light snacks and plenty of water, as we were planning on doing a bit of hike at the park.

We set our Google Maps to arrive at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center at the north end of the park.  By the time we arrived, at around 11:45 a.m., we were brimming with excitement!  There were plenty of cars at the parking lot, already half full.

We walked up to the visitor center to purchase the America the Beautiful annual pass for $80, used the restroom, then asked for a park map.  Note:  Vehicle entrance fee is $30, or $15 per person if on a bicycle or a hiker).  We asked about the Island Explorer Shuttle Bus, the free shuttle that operates inside the park which connects to nearby communities, but unfortunately, they weren’t running yet.

We got in our car to explore the park, which turned out to be easier anyway…

We found out the best way to see the park is via Park Loop Road, which is a 27 mile long road that connects the lakes, mountains, and the seashore.  We got on the road, just like everyone else right outside the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, then drove deep into the park.

First stop on our journey was a beautiful overlook, which we had to check out.  Views were stupendous, with small batches of low lying clouds, clear blue skies, tiny islands jutting out from the sea, and the town of Bar Harbor.

The overlook got real busy in a hurry, so we got in our car to continue our journey.  We passed the Cadillac Mountain entrance on our left, then pulled over at a small parking area with incredible views.

The day was just about perfect.  Not too hot nor cold.  It was a great day to explore a new place, especially somewhere as nice as Acadia National Park!

After several minutes of taking in the scenery, we headed south until we saw a sign for Jordan Pond.  We pulled into the large parking lot, but we couldn’t find one spot!  Every spot was taken, and there were cars waiting to find a spot ahead of me, so we got out of the parking lot, to try our luck at the Jordan Pond House instead.

Our luck did not change, as that parking lot was also completely packed!  Word to the wise:  Arrive early or arrive late for Jordan Pond and Jordan Pond House!

We gave up after going around in circles looking for a spot.  It was really frustrating to not find a parking spot, and at that time, we were wondering if this was all Acadia National Park had to offer.  It seemed we couldn’t park anywhere to see anything!  

We came out of the parking lot at the Jordan Pond House, frustrated, then we got on the Pond Loop Road again.  We followed cars in front of us blindly for some time, when we all realized we had excited the park!  The two cars ahead of us were from California(!), and they were traveling together.  They both pulled over to the side to reassess where to go next.

We passed them, then we ended up in Seal Harbor at the southern end of the park.  There was a place to park on the side of the road in front of Long Pond, so we parked and got out, about a half mile out from Seal Harbor.  We were glad we did as the crowd had thinned out, and views were awesome.

We continued on Route 3 going west, after few minutes of enjoying the rocky beach area.  Pretty soon, we passed the Thuya Landing & Boat Dock to our left, which had a parking lot finally that wasn’t completely full!  We promised to stop by on our way back.

We continued on Route 3 until we arrived at Northeast Harbor.  Northeast Harbor is a popular place to book boat excursions, and it has a nice waterfront park overlooking the harbor.  We got out to walk around the park, and to eat our granola bars.

Had light snack on one of those benches facing the harbor!

As nice as the Northeast Harbor was, we were frankly underwhelmed by Acadia National Park at that time.  We thought it would be as incredible as Zion National Park, or Grand Canyon National Park, but we didn’t get that feeling at all.

We were frustrated with lack of parking for one, but we were also frustrated that we had exited out of the park altogether.  In retrospect, we should’ve studied the park map closely, but oh well, next time…

After enjoying our light snack, we headed back the same way we had come via Route 3.  We stopped by Thuya Landing & Boat Dock, as we previously promised ourselves.

We found plenty of parking spots, parked, then walked down the short walkway to the boat dock area.  Our mood lightened considerably after finding a parking spot!  We were glad we stopped there, with its nice views of the harbor and the waters.

On our way back up to the parking lot, we met a friendly local couple visiting from nearby town of Bangor.  We talked about the state, the many attractions, and the beautiful summer weather.  We said our goodbyes then continued on, back towards the park.

We turned left from Seal Harbor to get back into the park via Stanley Brook Entrance.  Traffic seemed lighter for whatever reason, but we weren’t complaining!

We made the same trip, but in reverse, passing Jordan Pond to our left, then Cadillac Mountain to our right.  We did perhaps the best thing that day, by turning right towards Sand Beach area.  

By heading towards Sand Beach, we finally found some parking spots!  We parked at the base of Cadillac Mountain trailhead, then tried our hands at climbing the mountain.  We had reservations to drive up the Cadillac Mountain later in the day, so we decided to climb as far as needed to get a good view below.

We got on the Cadillac North Ridge trail that showed the summit was 2.2 miles.  Along our hike, we met several hikers and dogs, who we had to say hello.  We stopped frequently to take in the scenery.

Every time the terrain opened up revealing nice vistas, we stopped to take some photos and to breathe in the fresh Maine air in the summer.  We loved the little islands off the coast, the clouds, and the seashore!

By the time we had hiked about 20 minutes ascending, which was 1:25 p.m., we decided to head down, so we can try one more hiking trail, the Kebo Brook trail at the other side of the road.  It took 10 minutes to get to the start of Kebo Brook trail.  Our reservation to Cadillac Mountain was at 3 p.m., so we figured we could do maybe another half hour hike before heading up to it.

Kebo Brook trail is a quiet trail that branches out to Gorge Path.  We walked about 10 minutes, passing the sign for Gorge Path.  My wife wanted to continue further but I thought we were getting a bit close to our reservation time at 3 p.m., so we headed back to our car.

I was correct.  The trail would’ve been too long for us to make it, had we pushed on further.  It took a total of 20 minutes or so get back to the car, which was around 2:05 p.m.  We hurried towards Cadillac Mountain, but realized there weren’t any parking spots near the mountain entrance.  We decided to take our 50+ minutes remaining to see sights along the way instead.

We stopped to check out the beautiful wild lupine growing near a valley on our right.  Lupine were absolutely stunning in their vibrant color of purple on a backdrop of majestic mountains in the distance.  

Wild lupine

We moved on, needing to time our 3 o’clock reservation to Cadillac Mountain just right.  We made frequent stops, checking out the jaw dropping views along the shore, but at the same time, fully aware of the time remaining!

At around quarter to 3, we made our way over to Cadillac Mountain.  We made it at a tad over 3 o’clock.  We checked in with a ranger at the mouth of the Cadillac Mountain, then drove up the mountain.  Finally!

The drive to Cadillac Mountain is a must-do at Acadia National Park!  The views are unlike anything we’ve seen, as it’s the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the U.S., that offers magnificent views of glaciated coastal and island landscape.

 We stopped at the first parking lot near the summit to enjoy the scenery!  Wow…

We were eager to check out the summit, so we drove on for about a minute, parked, then got out.  The views were even better at the summit!  We walked down a good 15 minutes, marveling at the incredible scenery all around us.  Views just got better and better, and they kept on coming…

We were incredibly happy we had finally made it to the famous Cadillac Mountain!  The photos doesn’t do justice to how beautiful and majestic the place is…We were totally in awe…

We sat down on one of the many flat rocks admiring the views, if only for awhile…We talked about how lucky we were to visit wonderful places like Acadia National Park, and how excited we were to finally have made it to the park.

It’s times like these when we thank the lucky stars we are retired, and can travel to great places like these.  We love that we can relax and enjoy places without that constant nagging feeling that time is always too short while on vacation, always thinking about the upcoming work week as soon as vacation is over…

We tried etching that scenery deep within our psyche, then reluctantly got up to leave.  In all honesty, we were getting hungry by then, and we were eager to try some local seafood, including the famous Maine lobster!

For dinner, I had scoped out a restaurant in Bar Harbor called Terrace Grill.  It overlooks the beautiful Frenchman Bay, and it serves fresh seafood.  We got there around 4:30, and were promptly seated within 5 minutes.  Even at that hour, place was packed.  The views certainly explained that…

We sat enjoying the views of the bay, then ordered our food.  Our waitress was extremely friendly, which made the experience memorable.  We ordered a haddock sandwich and a lobster dinner.  The haddock sandwich was one of the top 2 fish sandwiches I’ve had in my lifetime!  It was grilled to perfection, slightly blackened, and perfectly seasoned.  

Lobster, although pricey at $42(!) was really fresh and succulent.  The haddock sandwich was more reasonable at $18.  We loved our dinner, and we loved the views just as much as our food!

In conclusion:

Acadia National Park was exactly what I imagined it to be.  It was as advertised, with sweeping views, unique scenery, and incredibly diverse terrain, all in one place.  I totally understand why it is one of the top 10 most visited national parks in the United States.

We were so happy we got to finally visit it, as it was certainly a long time coming!  

Thank you all for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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