Snapshot Planning Your VisitWhen we visited the park We went to Acadia in the middle of August. This is a peak time to visit Acadia, and there are large crowds in popular areas of the park. The weather however, was perfect! It was cool in the mornings, but warm in the afternoons. It was comfortable being outside any time of day, as long as you had some layers to use when needed. With it being a peak time to visit Acadia, planning ahead is a good idea, and prioritizing what activities you want to do will help you see the things you most want to.  weather-us.com Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, how spread out this park can be, and how you are going to best reach the areas of the park you want to see. If you can plan on using the free park shuttle, that can ultimately save you time with trying to find parking. (Areas to consider using the shuttle; Jordan Pond, Sand Beach, Hulls Cove Visitor Center, Beehive Trail). This was the busiest park we have visited, and we wished we would have been more prepared and known the shuttle schedule. 2. Find a spot to search the tide pools. Bar Island sand bar had our favorite tide pool spots. Just follow the people at low tide, heading north in Bar Harbor. Many people walk to Bar Island during low tide. 3. Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain requires a permit ahead of time if you are driving. Plan ahead and make sure you get a permit early. It is worth the early morning wake up. If you plan to hike the mountain, no permit is required. You will also want flashlights and blankets for sunrise, the wind is strong on top of the mountain. 4. The ocean is freezing here, even in August. If you want to swim more comfortably, try swimming in one of the lakes in the park. Echo Lake was beautiful! It was shallow and clear, perfect for swimming with younger kids. 5. There is no lodging within the park. Campsites with limited facilities are available for rent. Otherwise, there is lodging in Bar Harbor and other surrounding communities a short drive away.   We camped in Blackwoods Campground How to Get There From Boston take I-95 north to Augusta, Maine, then Route 3 east to Ellsworth, and on to Mount Desert Island. For an alternate route, continue on I-95 north to Bangor, Maine, then take I-395 to U.S. Route 1A east to Ellsworth. In Ellsworth, take Route 3 to Mount Desert Island. Additional Maps offered by the Park Where to Stay Inside the Park (Camping Only) Blackwoods Campground This 280-site campground is a popular spot about five miles south of Bar Harbor in Acadia. The campground is open seasonally between May and mid-October. Most sites are for tents, but some can accommodate RVS, without electricity. It is $30/night to reserve a site, and sites are available two months prior to desired dates. There are no showers in the campground, but pay showers are located about half a mile away. Seawall Campground This 178-site campground is located on the west side of Mount Desert Island. It is located within walking distance of the coastline. This area is considered a "quiet" area of Acadia, and is further away from Bar Harbor. The campground has running water, and flush toilets, however showers are available one mile away for a fee. The campsites are primarily tent sites and cost $22/night to reserve one. You can make reservations up to two months in advance of your desired dates. Schoodic Woods Campground This 90-site campground is located on the Schoodic Peninsula about an hour north of Bar Harbor and the main area of Acadia. It is open seasonally between late May and early October. There are some RV sites here in addition to tent sites. It costs between $22-$36 per night to reserve a site. You can reserve sites up to two months prior to your desired dates. There is running water here and some electric sites, however there are not showers available here. Duck Harbor Campground This remote 5-site campground is on Isle au Haut is open mid-May through early-October and only accessible by mail boat. It is a remote campground and you must carry all supplies in for your stay. It costs $20/night to reserve a site, and you can make your reservations up to two months prior to your desired dates. You must have a reservation and follow the ferry schedule to access the lean-to sites. You can use the link below for the ferry system schedule. Outside the Park Under Canvas If you want a camping experience, without having to provide all the supplies, Under Canvas is a cool option. They have multiple options available across the country, and one located about 30 minutes from Acadia, along the coastline. The amenities offered here are well beyond just camping, with food, activities, and entertainment. The prices range from $299-$815 depending on the size of the tent and time of year you are booking. Bar Harbor There are many options for lodging in Bar Harbor. It can be pricey, as it is a popular destination. You will want to try to book early, if you can. Visit their tourism page linked above to see the different types of lodging available.   What We Did Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain has been on my bucket list for years now. We spent three days in Acadia and stopped in some of the small towns along the way. We found that three days was not enough to see everything Acadia has to offer, and can see a return trip in our future. Day 1 The first thing we did when we got to Acadia was drive a part of the Park Loop Road. This is the main road into the park from Bar Harbor. With us traveling in August, we found that there was a lot of traffic, our drive was slow, parking lots were full, and there were crowds in many popular areas. With that being said, we still made the most of our time there, and got to see almost everything we had set out to see. One of the first places to stop on the Park Loop Road is Thunder Hole. This is a great place to get out and walk among the rocks, but watch your step. The waves were calm the day we visited, but it was still cool to get out and walk along this stretch of rocky coastline. We then headed to our campsite at Blackwoods Campground. We got set up, and then decided to head back into Bar Harbor for a true Maine Lobster dinner. We wanted to be right on the water, and found ourselves at Stewman's Lobster Pound. We were seated promptly on the deck and had a great view of the surrounding area. We ordered all the fresh shellfish we could, and ate it all! The kids loved digging into the lobster with us, and trying different local favorites! We spoke with our waiter and asked for recommendations on what to do with the kids in the area before sunset. They immediately said we had to go tidepooling and to walk up the street a few minutes to find "The Sandbar." The sandbar is a stretch of land that is exposed during low tide between the mainland and Bar Island. We found out that you can't miss it during low tide; there were people coming from all directions to get out to the tide pools or Bar Island itself. If you have kids, this is the perfect spot to take them to explore tide pools! Our kids asked every night to go back to this spot so they could spend more time exploring, splashing, and finding sea life. We stayed there as long as we could before the sun got too low, and we headed back to the main downtown area of Bar Harbor. The town was getting busier as the night went on, and we found ourselves enjoying ice cream from Jordan Pond's Ice Cream and Fudge Shop, and eating across the street on the green space. We watched the sunset while looking out over the water, then headed back to our campsite.  Day 2 The next day we got up early and headed over to Northeast Harbor, ME to go on a morning cruise with Sea Princess Nature Cruise. This is one of the only cruises that is operated within Acadia. There is a Park Ranger that runs a program on the boat on the way out to Little Cranberry Island, to the working fish camp of Islesford. We enjoyed this cruise because it got us on the water, exploring some of the islands off Acadia, allowed us to see all wildlife (except a whale), and we got to walk around and see what life on Islesford is like for its residents. We especially liked the break from the tour, which allowed our kids to move around on their own, and also to do our own exploring. If you have kids, this was a great experience! There are other tours offered, this company really has something for everyone!  Walking back from Wonderland Trail After the cruise, we decided to stay on the west part of the island. We headed to Echo Lake to take the kids swimming. The ocean here is quite cold, even in August. This lake is chilly at first, but you quickly adjust to it, and it becomes the perfect swimming spot for families. The lake is surrounded by cliffs, and hiking trails in the area. It was a great way to spend the afternoon with our kids, and a highlight of their trip. There is a decent sized parking lot here, but it was full and we had to take a couple of laps before a spot opened up. There are also places to rinse off the sand and nice changing rooms here. After swimming, we headed to Southwest Harbor again to find food. We found a cute restaurant, The Upper Deck, that looks out over the marina. We ordered all the fresh seafood and shellfish we could again. We sat in a covered deck area, that kept us out of the elements, but also allowed us to enjoy the scenery. The prices for food were way more affordable here than in Bar Harbor, so if you are looking for a place with good food for good prices, this is it! After dinner we made the short drive to Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. This is an iconic symbol in Acadia, and we couldn't pass it up. We walked around for a short amount of time, but then decided to head up the road to the Wonderland Trail. Wonderland Trail was another recommendation for tide pool exploring with the kids. It is about a half mile hike through the woods to get to the coastline. The trail is clear and easy to walk. When we you get to the coastline, you enter the most beautiful bay area overlooking the ocean. One thing we did not anticipate is how slippery the rocks would be here. Make sure to pack good water shoes or grippy shoes if you are going to explore tidepools here. We spent the rest of the evening walking the coastline, finding sea life, and watching the sunset. It wasn't planned to watch the sunset here, but it was stunning and we couldn't pull ourselves away. We made the short hike back to the car with some more stunning skylines just before it got too dark to see. I would highly recommend this trail at low tide and sunset if you can make it work. Day 3 Our last day was the day I had been waiting for! Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. We had an early wake-up at 3:30am to drive to the entrance for this. This has become such a popular event, that it is now ticketed between May-October. You need a reservation to be able to drive up the mountain at this time of day, in addition to the park pass. It costs $6 to get a vehicle reservation; you can make a reservation 90 days in advance, or if you miss that, you can try two days prior to your trip to get a reservation. You make reservations through recreation.gov. Turns out, we were early. We were the first ones in line, and the park rangers didn't show up until after 4am, and they started letting people in around 4:30. We had more than enough time to get up the mountain, find a spot, and setting in for the show. The drive up the mountain takes you pretty much to the viewing area, with a short walk a few minutes to the observing area. Some people do choose to hike up the mountain for sunrise on the trail. If you choose to do this, you do not need a ticket for sunrise. You will also want to bring a couple of things for sunrise. It is cold and windy on top of the mountain. Bring a blanket, jacket, layers, and a flashlight. All of these items will help tremendously as you wait for the sun. When we were done with sunrise, we had the whole day ahead of us! We had previously tried to make it to Sand Beach, but the area was always so busy, we moved on quickly. After sunrise, you come out pretty close to this area, and we headed straight there. We got in a short morning walk along the beach, and we were the only ones there. It was so peacefully, as you are tucked into the cove area. The next place we went to in Acadia was Jordan's Pond. This was an area that was so wildly busy last time we stopped here, that we decided to keep going and come back in the early morning. There are food options here, so it is a great place for lunch if you can make it work. I had underestimated the crowds here, and thought we could make it work. If you are visiting, I highly recommend knowing the shuttle schedule and using that for this area of Mountain Desert Island. Jordan Pond has easy trails that go around the lake. One of the well known sights is the Bubbles along Jordan Pond. If you visit, make sure you allow yourself time to explore these trails. If you can make it a morning visit, even better! The final stop was at the Hull's Cove Visitor Center. This was another very busy place to go, but early morning was much better than later in the day. There is a shuttle stop here, so if you stop here first and then go to other parts of the park, this is a good starting place. You can also get the maps and Junior Ranger books here before you explore parts of the park. It is unusual for us to go to a visitor center at the end of a trip, but that is how it worked out for us this time. We had to also stop and get an obligatory sign picture. The one thing that we did not get to do, partly because we had small children, and partly because of time, was the Beehive Trail. This is a very popular trail that takes you scrambling over rocks, climbing ladders, and spikes to get to the top of a cliff. It isn't a long trail, but there are some strenuous sections to climb. This would be one of the first things we tried on a return trip! Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the final stop of our two week road trip. It is such a long drive to get to this part of Maine, and we made the most of it stopping at multiple places along the way. We spent time in Cape Code and Boston prior to driving north to Maine. If you can make it work, Boston is a great place to stop or fly into and then drive the rest. There are a ton of coastal towns to pop into and see along the way if you want to experience coastal Maine. One of our favorites was Booth Bay Harbor. We drove home over a long two days of driving, stopping in Niagara Falls, NY and then driving the rest of the way home the next day. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information.
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