So for my last few days in Bar Harbor, I kind of mixed a few things together that I would re-do if i had better weather. My day 4 was actually the sunniest day so that’s where the pictures are coming from. I tried to do half of the adventures and hikes on days 2-3 but ended up rushing through to repeat them on Friday when the weather shaped up before I Left. Still, since a lot of people probably take closer to 3 days (eg: a weekend), i tried to write this to fit more that itinerary. BUT can totally stretch out Acadia to 4 days or probably a few weeks frankly! Anyways this is my opinion on how to have an efficient breakdown. At the end of the day, there are ENDLESS blogs and maps on doing Acadia – but the itinerary I put together worked pretty cohesively to see a good amount and targeted specific food experiences.
It’s the most simplistic map and helped so much to get a general understanding of the plan!
Day 2
- Morning: Cadillac Mountain Sunrise
- Acadia National Park Loop (27 miles): Sand Beach > Beehive Trail > Thunder Hole > Hunters Beach Overlook > Little Hunters Beach > Otter Cliff
- Breakfast/Brunch: Milk & Honey in Northeast Harbor (You can exit the loop on the Western side and slide out to this amazing little hidden gem)
- More Coffee: Choco-latte
- Rainy Day Adventure: Seal Cove Auto Museum
- Lunch: Abel’s Lobster
- Afternoon Low Tide: Bar Island Trail (Bar Harbor Sand Bar Walk)
- Other Things to Do: Walk around downtown – There’s a book store (like the oldest in Maine) and stuff
- Brewery: Atlantic Brewing Company
- Dinner: Thirsty Whale Tavern (I ended up choosing this place because of the vicinity to the before and after bars/breweries. It’s a super dive-y little place which is also awesome).
- Ice Cream: Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium – You can get LOBSTER ICE CREAM here much to the chagrin of locals…
Acadia National Park Loop
Cadillac Mountain Sunrise
Arguably one of the most touristy but most sensational things to see; at many times of the year this is the FIRST place the sunrises in the United States, so that’s super cool. Not the whole year as it’s touted, but worth it. I’d go early when they allow entrance; there’s rules, read the website… Sadly I got rained out on this one RIGHT as the sun came up a storm swept us all off the mountain. Many tickets are sold in advance but then they save a large number that are NOT available until 48 hours or something prior to the day of travel. You can only go up ONCE in a 7 day period… Eg: You can buy a ticket when it opens on a Monday for that Wednesday but can’t cancel it within a certain amount of time and can NOT go back up later in the week if you have a bad sunrise…
Beehive Trail
Ascending a 450-ft cliff with exposed edges, steep drop offs and a total loop mileage of 1.4 miles, Beehive Trail was one of the more challenging little hikes i’ve done in a while. Don’t even think about this when it’s raining, people have literally fallen off and died. I met some lovely medical people though as I tried not to fall off the rock face that were really nice and said they would tell people If i fell off… Thankfully it didn’t get that awkward. Would NOT recommend this for Grandma trying to amble through one last stretch at Acadia. It was amazingly worth the view. There IS a back way though for those that have a fear of heights or aren’t spry enough to basically rockclimb.
The Rest of Park Loop Road (Thunder Hole – Otter Cliffs – Little Hunters Beach)
Basically if you take the Park Loop Road all the way around Acadia, you can see some of the most beautiful things and places. You can go rock climbing at the Otter Cliffs. Make sure you look at a tide chart before you plan your trip to Thunder Hole so that you can catch the loudest time when it transitions from low to high tide. Since it was hard to remember the exact stops for each picture, I just decided to smash them all together into this little bit to see. Hope you like them!
bar harbor / mount desert island
Bar Harbor Town & Bar Island Trail
A relatively small town on Mount Desert Island and the gateway to the gorgeous cliffs and mountains of Acadia National Park, this small town becomes much too saturated with tourists during the summer time. I went in early June which was when it started to get a little busier, but thankfully wasn’t awful. Definitely recommend the Hampton Inn Bar Harbor. If you get a top room you can watch the sunrise without having to climb to the top of Cadillac Mountain even!
Seal Cove Auto Museum
Basically if you really like cars or it’s an awful rainy day like when I went I’d go here. It’s actually pretty neat, even for someone that’s not that crazy about old cars. I think it was like $10 to go in. I took like 100 pictures here so just picked a few of the cars for the collage. Definitely worth a visit if you have the time or need something to do.
The Nomadic Pediatrician 