Acadia National Park {Maine}

For years we've looked forward to experiencing Acadia National Park. It's larger than I expected, and quite spread out. You definitely need to plan out your activities as it can take an hour or longer to drive between different sections of the park. This map shows the park boundaries in green.

Early one morning I set out to join a birdwalk in a different section of the park. The fog was just beginning to lift and some of the scenery was breathtaking. I had to stop multiple times for photos.

Climbing Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the Eastern Coast was the highlight of our time in the park. We hiked the North trail, a 4.5 mile fairly steep climb over rocks, boulders and granite slabs. The views begin rewarding us just 10 minutes into the hike.

Cairns aren't allowed in the park. They are considered graffiti. This sign is warning visitors.

 I could tell some of the people coming off the mountain were concerned about our kids traveling this tough hike, but they don't know what our kids are capable of. Journey decided to lead the hike. It was difficult to keep up with her as she forged ahead.

The trail gets hard to follow on the rocks, so she had to look for small blue indicators to remain on the trail. I was so impressed with her hiking, I told her she was my little mountain goat. Daddy has likened my abilities to a mountain goat before. She was delighted when I said I'm going to call you "Little G" and I'm "Big G" (for goat). She got a real kick out of our nicknames. After a while the guys decided they needed nicknames as well and chose, "Big R" and "Little R". It became a little confusing at this point (and later at bedtime- "Goodnight Big G, Goodnight little R, Goodnight Big R").

Finally at the top, and the cloud cover was completely obscuring the view. Oh well. It was still an amazing hike.

The next morning brought all day heavy fog with misting. After spending time in the Sieur de Monte nature center, we walked the nearby trails before heading into Bar Harbor for lunch.

Bar Harbor is a fun area with shops and restaurants lining the streets. The street ends right before the water, which gives an odd view when a ship comes into the harbor.

Lunch at The Travelin' Lobster. The kids sat at the bar and watched them boil our food right in front of us. It was delicious!

I must say this park is a difficult one to navigate. First of all, the major road thru the park, Park Loop Rd is mostly one way, cell signals were not available thru much of the park. Signage and the map from the visitor center are poor for navigation. I would definitely recommend downloading maps before arriving.

In the campground I spotted a couple Golden-winged warblers, rare for the area, and such a gorgeous, amazing sight. A short trail from our campsite took us took this fantastic overlook spot.

One day we drove out to the MDI section of the park to hike the Wonderland Trail to the shore to explore the tide pools. We found live fiddler crabs, whelks and a mussel, and quite a few very large dead crabs and mussels along with some lobster claws. It was interesting, but we were also hoping for a sea star.

A visit to Sand Beach.