What to do in Acadia

Craving adventure? Acadia National Park has it all! From the impressive landscapes of rock formations to the first sunrise of the year, this national park is one of the most popular parks in the country, and it is easy to see why!

Because the park is so popular, we decided to go to Acadia in the Spring. Oddly enough, we went the weekend before the park officially reopened for Labor Day weekend and had a great experience. Although not everything was open during the spring, it was nice to avoid both the humidity and the crowds.

Day 1: Boston, MA to Bar Harbor, ME

If you do not live on the East Coast, I would recommend using a day to travel from Boston to Bar Harbor, as flights to Bar Harbor can be expensive. We flew into Boston and rented a car to travel for 4 hours to Bar Harbor. There are amazing inns and hotels to stay in Bar Harbor. We stayed in the Mira Monte Inn in the Agamont suite. The Mira Monte Inn is open year-round, which is amazing since most inns are only open during the summer. The Agamont room was quite nice as it's on the 1st floor and has a private entrance.

Due to the rainy weather, we were unable to visit any other cities or towns along the way. However, we made it to Bar Harbor in a little over 4 hours. Once we got in, we had a hot dinner at the Side Street Cafe for a delicious Lobster Roll. After dinner, we chose to rest and prepare for our next day of exploring.

Day 2: Acadia National Park, ME

The next day, we headed over to Acadia National Park. Our first hike was Ocean Path (4.1 miles) to see the stunning ocean views that Acadia has to offer. Some of the sites on this path are Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Otter Cliff, & Otter Point Overlook. The hike is relatively easy and is perfect for those that are wanting to familiarize themselves with the park.

After hiking for a couple of hours, we headed back to Bar Harbor for some lunch. After lunch, we headed over to the Bar Island Trail (1.9 miles). The Bar Island trail is a unique hiking trail that only reveals itself during high tide. You can find the schedule here.

Don’t worry about your timing, as it takes hours for the trail to disappear. We made the mistake of waiting to see when the trail would disappear, but never discovered exactly what time that was.

Once we finished hiking, we went over to Galyn's for a delicious, you guessed Lobster meal. If you are craving dessert, you can head over for some delicious ice cream. They also serve Lobster ice cream, too, in case you need more! ;)

Day 2: Acadia National Park, ME

The next day, we headed out early in the morning to catch the first sunrise in all of the United States at Cadillac Mountain. If there is one thing that you must do, I would recommend seeing the sunrise, as the view is breathtaking. It truly is worth waking up at the crack of dawn and freezing to death...During the busier months, you do need to make reservations, and you can do so HERE. As we went in the off-season, there were no reservations required.

Since it was super early, we headed back to our B&B for breakfast and then headed back out to the park. Our first hike of the day was the Beehive Trail (1.5 miles). This trail has amazing ocean views, but it does have several points where there are metal holds along cliff sides that can be somewhat scary for some folks who may be afraid of heights.

The next hike we ventured on was the South Loop Trail (1.5 miles). This one is also quite high with a lot of rocks. If you do not like heights, I would not recommend this trail. However, this has a great view of the park. After our workouts, we went to grab Indian food at Royal Indian. It was quite delicious. We headed back to the B&B for some rest. Once we rested up, we headed over to town to do some souvenir shopping and to eat dinner at the Thirsty Whale Tavern for another Lobster Roll.