Acadia National park is a treasure on the coast of maine & The bayside town of Bar Harbor is full of restaurants and shops for after your time in the park!
Acadia/Bar Harbor Tips:
If you are visiting during the summer, anticipate a lot of tourists. Acadia & Bar Harbor are very popular spots. Bar Harbor is set up to be a tourist magnet with restaurants, bars, shops, and attractions.
If you’re looking for a quieter stay I’d recommend staying in Southwest Harbor, which is located on the other side of Mount Desert Island but is still convenient to everything!
You’ll need a parking pass to visit Acadia from May to October. You can buy it online ahead of time and print it out to place on your dashboard.
They are quite strict on parking, so be sure to always have your pass and follow the parking regulations! We saw lots of tickets for folks parked on the curb, not far enough off the road, without passes, etc.
Expect paid (and crowded) parking throughout Bar Harbor as well.
The Island Explorer is another way to get around if you want to ditch your car!
Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations:
Explore the Ocean Path and Gorham Mountain: You can drive the Ocean Path to the main tourist spots (excluding Gorham Mountain), but I’d always recommend the hike over the drive!
This trail on AllTrails went along the Ocean Path and up Gorham Mountain. It was about 4.3 miles, 40 flights up, and took about 2 hours. The trail starts at Sand Beach, a popular and beautiful beach for sunbathing and swimming. From the beach the trail heads along the road to Thunder Hole, a popular tourist spot where the combination of the waves hitting the rocks and the release of air from a cavern cause a thunderous boom and large splash to happen. From Thunder Hole the trail heads to Gorham Mountain, where you climb up a rocky trail to the summit with fantastic views. The last section of the trail is working your way down the mountain, and The Beehive Trail is right at the end where you can turn off to add another 1.5 miles on. This is a popular loop with some challenging rung and ladder sections.
Thruston’s Lobster Pound: A great spot in Southwest Harbor for fresh lobster! They have a full menu with counter service and the restaurant is located right on the water.
Tap & Barrel Tavern: A small sports bar with a killer beer selection! Highly recommend.
Bar Harbor Beer Works: A bar/restaurant in the heart of Bar Harbor with a plethora of Maine beers and delicious food.
Blaze Brewing: A restaurant-style brewery with several locations in Maine that has solid beers and great guest taps.
Leary’s Landing: An Irish pub with a solid beer list and food located right in the heart of Bar Harbor.
Milagro Coffee: A nice coffee shop in Southwest Harbor with breakfast options as well.
Atlantic Brewing: A brewery with two locations on the island. Their newer spot in central Bar Harbor has a rooftop and a kitchen, but a very limited beer selection.
Ocean Path
touristy arcadia national park things worth doing:
Cadillac Mountain: The highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place to view sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6. You can drive up (with a specific parking pass) or you can hike up!
This trail on AllTrails was around 7 miles, 95 flights up, and took a little over 3 hours. It was a moderately difficult hike and very rocky, but the views at the top are fantastic! This is one of the most popular spots on the island, so expect there to be a ton of people at the top of the mountain who drive up, but on the trail itself it was pretty quiet. Also to note, there is limited parking at the trailhead but you can also park on the road just below the trailhead and cut through via a footpath.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse: A nice lighthouse in Southwest Harbor. Go at sunset for fantastic views and be sure to go down the trail on the left where you can hang out on the rocks for better views!
Echo Lake Beach: A popular beach with nice views.
Agamont Park: A public park overlooking the harbor in Bar Harbor. The perfect spot for a picnic or to enjoy an ice cream!
Leary’s Irish Pub
Spots to avoid:
Fogtown Brewing Company: A small brewery in Bar Harbor with quite honestly terrible beer. I could not finish a single beer on the flight.
Jordan Pond House: A restaurant on a pond that is swarming with tourists and nearly impossible to park at. I’d recommend taking the shuttle if you’re interested in visiting as the parking lot is not sufficient for the number of people trying to visit.
Silent City Coffee/Saint Dreux’s: Absolutely would NOT recommend. I went for breakfast and coffee to-go and spent almost $50 for two people + it took over 30 minutes to get the to-go food + the customer service was terrible.
