A Holiday Weekend in Acadia National Park, Maine
After our adventures in Salem, we drove northward to the ultimate end point of our northeastern road trip: Maine!
Since it was a holiday weekend, campgrounds were packed & we paid a bit more in campsite fees than we originally intended. That being said, the Bar Harbor KOA was perfectly situated for exploring Acadia National Park AND it offered gorgeous sunset vistas & tide pool access right off the edge of our tent campsite.
We had previously heard mixed reviews on Acadia National Park due to the crowds, but late Spring ended up being the perfect time to visit! We packed out early in the morning to hike the Jordan Ponds trail, a beautiful elevated plank trail that circled the perimeter of the clear & picturesque pond. The 3.1 mile loop is easy-to-hike with gorgeous views & its elevated nature drastically limits any tick woes. If you time your trip better than we did, you can even visit the Jordan Pond House for some post-hike popovers!
Unlike many other remote National Parks, Acadia is adjacent to the town of Bar Harbor, so we took a break from outdoor activities to eat a delicious lunch at Side Street Cafe followed by an afternoon coffee at Mount Dessert Bakery (I mean a pun name…are you joking??).
I can’t say that I’m complaining too badly about a national park with a side of foodie finds.
While walking around Bar Harbor, we were also pleasantly surprised to see a gigantic L.L. Bean Boot on wheels, as if it were the Oscar Mayer Weiner-mobile. Of course, I had to see for myself what was taking place. It’s a much-larger-than-life-size Bean Boot for crying out loud.
With my curiosity in tow, I joined the line & walked away with a new custom-made pair of shoestrings for my Bean Boots. Did I need them? No. Did I want them? Absolutely. They were free, okay!
After reading more about Acadia, we made the spontaneous decision to head to the Schoodic Peninsula for beautiful sunset views. The Schoodic Peninsula is the only portion of Acadia National Park that is attached to mainland Maine and is located 1 hour away from the main portion of the park. While we were a bit skeptical as to whether or not the drive would be worth it, believe me when I say this:
The Schoodic Peninsula was our favorite part of Acadia National Park.
It’s remote, not at all crowded, and offers gorgeous, cliffy views of the Maine coast. The sunset at Schoodic Point, framing Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island, was so magnificent that we drove back for a second night to soak up the views.
Since it is located away from the rest of the park, few visitors make the trek to Schoodic, but I can’t imagine missing out on this beautiful area.
Between the sunset views at Schoodic and the Maine Blueberry Pie from the Travelin Lobster (buttery, flaky, tart, sweet, should I go on?), I’m already desperate to make it back to Maine.
I’ve always heard it’s beautiful and yet, it’s still underrated. Noah Kahan may have been on to something…
“I wanna gooooo to Maine…”
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