New England - Maine

Acadia National Park

A Karen Brown Recommendation

After the town of Ellsworth, you leave Route 1, taking Route 3 down into Mount Desert Island and the Acadia National Park. This park is an unforgettable experience and will cap your trip on the Maine coast, well worth the effort of getting there. Plan on at least one overnight in this area if you intend to spend any time in the Acadia National Park (we have inn recommendations in Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor). The smallness and compactness of this area allows for easy visiting of all that there is to do.Mount Desert Island is about 108 square miles in size, its beauty lying in its granite quarries, mountains, pine forests, and freshwater lakes. From high on top of any of its mountains are panoramic views over the park and the surrounding islands. There are rocky mountains with exposed granite, and charming plants that seem determined to make the most of a short-lived season. Bright and diminutive wildflowers, blueberries, and plants with colorful leaves and berries will reward your camera with yet another photo opportunity. You can tour the park by car, guided bus, bicycle, or horse and carriage. You will want to linger and stop often, so I urge you to arm yourself with informational materials available at the National Park Headquarters and head off on your own.Be sure to find and follow Loop Road, the park’s main attraction, as it winds its way along the coast and up to Cadillac Mountain. There are many places to park, to gaze, to photograph, and to smell, and many birds to watch in this ever-changing landscape. Be sure to get to the top of Cadillac Mountain for the spectacular views. (Take a windbreaker with you to protect you from the chilly breezes.) Other points of interest include Otter Cliffs and Thunder Hole—the water rushing into this narrow cavern with the changing tide sounds like thunder. If you have time, be sure to walk the Beach Cliff Trail, and visit Bass Head Light and other areas of the national park located in the Schoodic Peninsula. In the fall, what you’ll find here is not the towering maples and other deciduous trees with their brilliant foliage, but rather the beauty of small rock-hugging plants and the deep reds and russets that beacon forth from their tiny leaves. One of the most spectacular plants for fall color is the wild, Maine blueberry bushes—blushing with the brilliance of their unforgettable, red color.

Located along this Karen Brown Itinerary:

Byways of Coastal Maine

Traveler Reviews:
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Nearby Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts:
Listed Alphabetically, Not By Distance.

• Blue Hill Inn
• Le Domaine
• The Inn at Bay Ledge
• Inns at Ullikana
• Manor House Inn
• Pilgrim’s Inn