Acadia national park is one of the most magical national parks I’ve been to yet. I had the opportunity to visit during the fall time and the fall foliage enhanced the beauty of the park. Acadia is located nearby Bar Harbor, Maine and it provides stunning mountain, coastal, lake views and scenery. Here’s a guide to things I’d recommend doing on a trip to Acadia.
Things to Know About Acadia
🎟 The park requires a park fee. It’s $35 for a 7 day period. I’d highly recommend purchasing the America the Beautiful pass if you plan to visit multiple national parks at once. The annual pass is $80 and gets you into national parks around the country for a year!
🦞 The closest town to the park is Bar Harbor and when I say close, I mean very close! Bar Harbor is about 15 minutes away (or less) from popular spots in the national park. The proximity is so convenient and it was so nice having lodging and eating options close by.
🏕 There are four established campgrounds within the park. I’d suggest making a reservation well in advance if you plan to camp, typically reservations open 6 months before your trip date, however, Acadia’s reservation period opens 2 months before your trip dates. We stayed at Blackwoods campground which is the most conveniently located campground in the park if you plan to visit major spots inside the park and Bar Harbor. Be sure to research on where in the park you’d like to be, the campgrounds are spread across the entire park. There are also no showers within the campgrounds so be prepared to find a way to shower elsewhere if needed. While we were staying at Blackwoods campground, there was a nearby shower house that is open 24 hours to the public. It’s located at 14 Otter Creek Drive.
Aside from campgrounds, there are plenty of hotels and lodging options inside Bar Harbor. It seems like a popular area, so I’d also recommend booking accommodations in advance if possible, especially if you plan to visit during the summer or fall time.
🌊 The park loop road is the scenic road that connects major highlights and viewing points of the park. Keep in mind, there is an area on the road that’s one way only so if you miss your stop, you’ll have to go around the loop again.
Best Things to Do in Acadia
Go on a Hiking Adventure
Acadia has so many incredible hikes! They are known for three hikes that require use of a ladder or iron rods to complete the hike. Although this may seem a little intimidating, it added such a fun element to a hike we’ve never experienced before. Here are some hikes I’d recommend adding to your list:
- Jordan Pond path. This is an easy 3 mile loop trail near the Jordan Pond restaurant. This trail offers beautiful views of the “bubble” rocks from a distance as you walk along the perimeter of Jordan pond.
- South Bubble trail. This was our favorite hike in the park! It’s a fairly easy to moderate 1.4 mile hike that brings you to the top of the south bubble rock. There are a few ways to complete this hike, we started at the bubbles parking lot and followed signs for the south bubble rock.
- Beehive trail. The beehive is one of Acadia’s three iron rod/ladder trails. The beehive is considered the second most challenging as most of the hike requires use of the iron rods to hike to the top of the beehive summit. This trail is short and steep, only 1.4 miles to the top of the summit. If you are scared of heights, I’d reconsider completing this hike. Luckily, you can still hike to the summit by taking the Bowl trail which avoids the iron rods but still brings you to the top view point. If you do hike with the rods, I’d recommend going down the Bowl trail to make it a loop so you don’t have to use the rods on the way down. We really enjoyed this hike because it gave us such a different experience. Keep in mind, this is the park’s most popular hike so plan to hike early if visiting during busy season. We started around 7:00am on a weekday and by the time we were finished, there were so many people!
- Beech Cliff Ladders trail. This is the third hike included in the ladder/iron rods collection and the least challenging. This is a 1.8 mile hike that is another short and steep trail with four ladders. This was such an enjoyable hike and it was on the quieter side of the park so we were one of the only couples there. The top view point gives you an incredible view of echo lake. For this trail, we parked at the echo lake parking lot. On the hike down, we took the Canada Cliffs trail to make this a loop and it was also easier to hike down without ladders.
- Ocean Path trail. This isn’t technically a hike but this trail is along the park loop road and it provides stunning views of the ocean and the mountains of Acadia. I’d recommend walking along parts of it to experience a different perspective of the park.
Drive to Cadillac Mountain
This is a must do while visiting the park. Cadillac mountain is the highest point in the park and there’s 360 views of the park, Bar Harbor, and other coastal parts of Maine. Keep in mind, during peak seasons, the park requires reservation tickets to limit the amount of crowds at a time. I’d recommend making a reservation for sunrise because during certain seasons, Cadillac mountain is the first point on the eastern coast that sees the sunrise. We were planning to visit during sunrise one day during our trip but unfortunately it rained so we rescheduled for a different day in the morning which was still beautiful!
Explore Bar Harbor
As I’ve mentioned, Bar Harbor is an amazing Maine town! I’d take some time exploring the streets, shops, and restaurants. We spent several afternoons here shopping around for souvenirs and trying different restaurants. If you’re a camper like us, we were also able to do laundry in town which was helpful. Here are a few of my favorite spots in town I’d recommend:
- Acadia Perk coffee ☕️
- Cafe This Way (such great breakfast!)
- Mount Desert Island ice cream 🫐 (be sure to try blueberry ice cream, a Maine must have)
- Side Street Cafe 🥞
- Cool As A Moose store (great place for shirt souvenirs)
- Bark Harbor pet supply
- In The Woods store 🌲
- Christmas Vacation Shop (a great spot to find an ornament souvenir)
- The Acadia Country Store
- Frenchman Bay Lobster Rolls 🦞
Drive the Park Loop Road
As I’ve mentioned, this a beautiful scenic road! There’s a lot of trails and spots along the road so you’ll likely drive along this at some point. I’d recommend spending time at Otter cliffs, Thunder Hole, and Sand Beach which are all located off the scenic road.
Spend Time at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
This beautiful lighthouse is located in the Southwest harbor area of the park, about 20 minutes from the Bar Harbor area. This lighthouse is a must see while visiting the park. I’d recommend walking down to the rocks to get a great photo and view point of the lighthouse.
Visit the Jordan Pond Resturant
An iconic activity in the park is to have lunch at the Jordan Pond house restaurant and to try their famous popovers. This was on our bucket list while visiting, however, we didn’t have a reservation so the wait time was too long for us the day we tried. If you’re serious about trying a popover, I would recommend making a reservation or being prepared to wait for a while. The restaurant is beautiful and it’s surrounded by gorgeous Acadia views.
Acadia Tips
- Be sure to make reservations for any necessary areas of the park. Right now, it seems like Cadillac mountain is the only requirement during busy season.
- Book overnight accommodations as far in advance as possible to ensure you have a place to sleep. Acadia is a popular national park that draws a lot of attention so it’s helpful to book in advance when possible.
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