Acadia National Park

Visited: August 2018

Duration: 3 days, 4 nights

Accommodations:  Holiday Inn, Bar Harbor.  Only place I could find with Bunk beds in a separate room.

Acadia National Park!!  We were so excited to get to this park on National Park Trip Season 3. Me, for the views and hiking, kids for beach and whale watch and Chris, my husband for the lobster.

We arrived in Bar Harbor in the afternoon on a Friday, we checked into the hotel, let the kids swim awhile and went down into town for some lobster. It didn’t disappoint, none of our dining options did while here.

Day 1 Acadia

This morning we had a whale watch so we had to be in Bar Harbor at the crack of nobody is up.  This took all morning and if interested I would definitely book a trip through Bar Harbor Whale watch they are the best in the business and we could see why.  Check out our post on Maine for info on our Whale watch here.

We set out after lunch (lobster of course) and headed to the park.  We stopped off at the visitor center for our map of the park, Junior Ranger books and our cancellations.  We drove the park loop road and were able to pull off anywhere and find parking.  This really surprised us for a Saturday and we found out why later that night.  Bar Harbor rents their vacation rentals by the week. They end on Saturday and start on Sunday so people are busy packing up to leave on Saturday and just getting there on Sundays so the park is pretty empty. We lucked out.

First stop Thunder Hole, this place was cool. We climbed on the rocks and walked around here for hours, watching the tide come in, it was awesome!  Relaxing and beautiful views of the ocean and coastline. We sat out on the rocks until we couldn’t anymore.

We cruised past Otter Point which was gorgeous and a must stop for photos. We drove on over to Jordan Pond and Jordan Pond house for the famous popovers.  Guess what, no wait at all! How did that happen?? The popovers were amazing, even my picky 11 year old loved them and asked for more. This is a must stop as well. It’s a gorgeous view of Jordan Pond from here. We also enjoyed shopping here as well, there is a great little gift shop and if your wait is a long one. The hike around Jordan Pond is easy and beautiful.

Off to check out Cadillac Mountain, we stopped and picked up a hitchhiker that had hiked down the mountain with her husband and baby and didn’t want to hike back up. Kids had tons of questions for her and we are sure she was glad to get out at the top 🙂

The view from the top of Cadillac Mountain was another breathe taking site we encountered while here in Acadia (there are lots of these). We walked around here and took pictures until it was turned dark on us.

We headed to Thurston’s for dinner (we hit this place more than once), it was amazing!  You could sit on the deck and watch the boats come in. Everything we ate was delicious, we highly recommend this place for good food.

Day 2

Today we got off to a late start out of the gate, we enjoyed a great breakfast at the hotel and were in no hurry. We started the day with a hike on the bee hive trail, our training for the precipice trail tomorrow. This trail was “buzzing” with exciting views and fun, but thrilling trails up the side of rocks.  I am deathly afraid of heights so of course I signed up for this with no worries.  It really wasn’t that bad, or maybe I’m just not as afraid as I think, use your own judgement. Great photo ops on this trail.  I wish I knew we could swim after that hot hike it looked fantastic.  Heads up pack your suit so you can enjoy a cool dip after this hot hike.

After working up a big sweat we headed over to Sand Beach for a couple of hours before heading in to Bar Harbor for a late lunch. Kids played here in the water and sand while we sat back and enjoyed. It is gorgeous here, make sure to add this to your stop.

We cruised the park loop road and headed to Bar Harbor for lunch and shopping the rest of the afternoon. The park was filling up quickly and getting crowded.

Day 3

This morning we had a good breakfast at 2 Cats, a must for breakfast in Bar Harbor.  We sat on the porch which was great but for what we got I thought it was a little expensive.  I really wasn’t impressed with this place as much as everyone who claims this place is a must, but don’t let me deter you.

We finished up our Junior Rangers and went to Sieur de Monts to get our Junior Ranger patches.  This is set up as a Junior Ranger station that we wandered around and looked at for most of the morning.  Lots of fun activities for the kids and adults to participate in and learn.  You could choose a patch or a badge, my kids both chose the patch, they are going to sew them onto a backpack when we have all of them.

This afternoon we rented kayaks and kayaked out in seal cove.  This was the highlight of our trip! We rented through National Park Sea Kayak Tours and they were top notch! Fun from the time we walked in the door!  Our guide was terrific and this excursion really “sealed” the deal for us!

What a great trip to Acadia National Park! We did everything we had on our list to do except the Precipice Trail. There were cars for miles and no parking when we showed up each time to do it. Looks like we will be back to enjoy more of those wonderful popovers! ❤

Have you been to Acadia? Did you love it as much as us?? Gunnar says it is his new favorite park. That says a lot.

For our dining choices and whale watch check back for the Maine post.  The food in Bar Harbor is the best so be sure to check it out. Also while you are there do some shopping. I was in heaven here!!