A Day in Acadia National Park

Sun shines on the craggy coast of Acadia National Park

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Breathe in a cocktail of crisp morning air and cool sea breeze. Watch the fog curl up inch by inch as sunlight begins to appear at the horizon. Admire the wild landscape where the deep blue Atlantic meets the rugged corner of America. Rejoice in the wilderness of Mount Desert and Isle au Haut and enjoy a moment of solace while overlooking numerous small islands of the area. Experience it all at Acadia National Park!

Acadia - where mist plays peek-a-boo with the land

Situated in the mid-east of Maine, Acadia National Park is the most easterly national park of contiguous United States. From all the national parks I have visited so far, Acadia is the smallest, but it sure was the most lively of the lot. But if you think the crowd takes away the fun from the place, think again, because in just a few minutes I will show you how close to nature you can actually feel at Acadia National Park.

Sunrise at Hulls Cove

Given the fact that Maine coast is the first to greet the sun in US and the sunrise is really special in Acadia National Park, be it any season.  We started our day at 4 am from Bangor (which is about an hour and half away from Cadillac Mountain) for a 5:56 am sunrise. Unfortunately, what we didn’t account for was the mist that wraps Mt Desert Island like a present till the sunrise, and of course traffic. By the time the fog lifted, we could see a faint light appearing at the horizon and we had just reached Hulls Cove Visitor Centre. Thus, we decided to not chase the sun till the top of Cadillac Mountain, instead we stayed back at Hulls cove for the sunrise. I know from a lot of people that the sunrise at Cadillac is supposed to be memorable, but we were in for a treat at Hulls cove! The orange hue merged seamlessly with the purple tint of the night, slowly taking over the sky. In minutes the sun was there, reflecting sunbeams off the Atlantic and there was a sudden shift in air, we were there for maybe 15-20 minutes, and totally forgot about Cadillac Mountain in those moments.

The Porcupine Islands from Cadillac Mountain Peak

Anyhow, this was just the beginning of the day and the park. We finally did crawl our way to the top of Cadillac Mountain. Every passing car made us happy. We had missed the crowd and sort of had the mountain top to ourselves! (Hardly 30 people were at the top of the mountain!) Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain of the North American Atlantic coast and undoubtedly the best place in the park to get a panaromic view of the area. Back during the Gilded Age, one could take a horse carriage or the Green Mountain Cog Rail upto the top of this pink granite mountain, unfortunately that is the story of the bygone era. But the view still is the same and totally untouched! You can see the Mainland Maine -  the Schoodic Peninsula and Porcupine Islands from the top of the mountain (one of those islands is still privately owned) and the view is totally breath-taking, be it during sunrise, sunset or otherwise.

The calm at Sand Beach

Having walked around Cadillac, we decided to chill a bit and headed over to Sand Beach – yes that is what is it called! A tiny cove beach just 15 mins from Cadillac Mountain, the sand beach is the only white sand beach of the park and it transports you to a tropical paradise with its very first visage. Bright turquoise water, washing away inch of pristine white sand every second, leaving a shell trail in the cove. While the beach seems like a piece of some secluded topical island, the rugged edges of the cove bring you back to the wild beauty of Acadia.

You walk along this rugged path for 2-4 miles during Ocean Park Trail

From Sand beach, one can walk the Ocean Park Trail, which is a 2-mile end to end trail or reach one of the points of the trail and walk in either direction of the trail. Since by the time we decided to leave from Sand Beach it was really hot and humid, we didn’t want to tire ourselves by walking 4 miles at the very start of the day. So, we headed over to Thunder Hole Parking Lot and walked to Otter Cliff Point from there and back. 

The true size of Sand Beach.

Frankly, having seen Sprouting Horn and Devil’s Chasm in Oregon, I personally did not find Thunder Hole very impressive, plus the crowd at the spot made it really hard to enjoy anything. However, the area around it was very very pretty and we noticed a lot of tide pools there, which during low tide would be a delight to observe.

If crowd at Thunder Hole bothers you, turn around and spot the tide pools.

Despite the scorching heat, the walk till Otter Cliff was surprisingly delightful. At Boulder Beach, we got the sense of how tiny Sand Beach was and how much ground we had covered since we left Sand Beach. 

Oh that lonely lighthouse.

Lost in the symphony of breaking waves, I noticed a lonely lighthouse on a narrow rocky island at some distance. Never could find out the name of that island or the lighthouse, but it sure was one of those sights that has stuck with me since that day!

Exploring lands and beyond...

Leaving behind a lot of people rappelling and rock climbing at Otter Cliff, we made our way towards the lakes of Acadia. Though, Eagle Lake is the largest one in the area, Jordan Pond is everyone’s favourite! One can stop at multiple vista points around Eagle Lake while driving towards Jordan Pond, spotting numerous stone bridges around the area, that were built in the early twentieth century. After a long winding narrow road through lush green forest, we reached a huge parking lot. Still no sight of Jordan Pond. The crazy number of cars in the overflowing parking lot, making us doubt if this place was actually going to live up to the hype or be another miss like Thunder Hole. A canopied trail from the parking lot opened to the lake and it washed away all the doubts we had.

Lack of excessive nutrients make Jordan Pond so so clear!!! 

The crystal clear aquamarine waters of Jordan Pond stole ours hearts. At one end of the pond, the Jordan Pond Bridge separates the marsh area from the oligotrophic lake, while on the other end the Bubble Mountain stands admiring its own reflection in this beautiful lake. We went around the lake on a well-marked 1.5 mile trail and noticed a number of kayaks and canoes languidly exploring the area. The hour spent during the trail was my favorite hour spent in the park.

The bubbles! 

To come to Acadia and not indulge in sinful numbers of popovers at Jordan Pond house is a crime! I don’t generally like bread but that day, I feasted on Popovers! 

You have to have to have to have the Popovers at Jordan Pond House!

Popovers, native to Maine, are egg batter breads with a thin papery outer shell and dense buttery core. And here in the blueberry state (Maine is called that because of its heavy production of Blueberries) Popovers are served with butter and blueberry jelly. I seriously cannot describe how amazing it was but hopefully letting you know that I had two of those alone and did not even touch my main course that I had ordered, might give you some idea.

Bass Harbor Head Light

By the time we were done with lunch, we were pretty beat and decided to head to Ocean Path to give Thunder hole another turn, since it was high time again. And yet again, disappointed with the view and crowd, we headed over to Bass Harbor Lighthouse. Bass Harbor Head Light built in 1856 was first lit in 1858 and is still functional. Even though the light house itself is a private residence, there is a public parking area and you can visit the light and the bell free of charge. For the first time, I came to know that in olden days people used Whale oil to run lighthouses and that every lighthouse in the world has a distinct colour and pattern to help voyagers! Bass harbor light, has a deep red signal that is sent out every 4 seconds and this is a unique beeping pattern still. Fascinating right?

You can take so many trails in the park. I personally loved the Jordan Pond Trail.

Wish we could have stayed longer at Bass Harbor but given that Acadia in not just a park but the area also has multiple pretty hamlets like Bar Harbor and Somersville, and we really wanted to try the cafes at Bar Harbor and come back to Cadillac Mountain for stargazing at night. Unfortunately, weather made sure the night was cloudy and starless and thus Bass Harbor marked the end of our day at Acadia.

The only park of sunrise we could catch at Cadillac Mountain

Some extra stuff that might be helpful –

1.   Leave early for the National park if you are visiting during summer or Autumn. It tends to get really busy after 11 am. If you are going to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, keep at least 30 mins buffer -  the parking area gets crazy.

2.  There are multiple parking lots along the Ocean Path Trail so you don’t really have to walk the whole path.

Spot a lot of playful animals and birds during the trails.

3.  If you are planning to take a horse carriage ride at Jordan Pond, get there early. We were unable to do it because of the long wait. The cost of carriage ride is not covered in the park entry ticket.

4.  Entry to the park currently is 30 dollars for a private vehicle and the entry ticket is valid for an entire week in the park, so keep your ticket safe and handy if you are planning to stay in the park or visit again in the week.

5.  After the sunrise, head back to Bar Harbour for breakfast. My personal suggestions for cafes to visit in Bar Harbor would be Café This Way and Two Cats. Both are a little bit pricey but totally worth the price.

We stayed at Vacationland Inn (Maine Woods Inn) and were pleasantly surprised by how good the place turned out to be.

6.  There are plenty of B&Bs available in BarHarbor but they run out of vacancy during peak season. If you are looking for budget options, check out places in Brewer and Bangor. We stayed at Vacationland Inn (Maine Woods Inn) in Brewer and their complimentary breakfast – waffles with homemade blueberry and strawberry jelly were the highlight of our stay!

7.  During winters, most of the park closes during heavy snowfall, and Ocean Drive remains closed during peak winter. Also, summer gets really hot and unpredictable, so carry a lot of water and sunscreen with you even if the morning chill indicates otherwise!

And that was it! With this post, I am ending my National Park series for this year. Hopefully you found all the posts helpful. As mentioned several times, I only scratched the surface while visiting these parks but it sure will help you plan an elaborate ‘first time’ trip to all of them!

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