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Acadia National Park

2,436 Views | 26 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by WildcatAg
WildcatAg
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Has anyone visited Acadia National Park? Or live(d) in the area?

The wife and I are considering a long weekend trip to the area for a break from serving at the tip of the spear in the battle against a 2 year old and a 5 year old. We've never been to that part of the world so that is why we are looking at Acadia. In looking online it seems like an interesting place with some hiking and outdoor opportunities.

We would be going at the end of October. Any recommendations on:

Places to stay (general area or specific recommendations)?

Places to eat?

Things to see?

It looks like we would be flying into Bangor, ME. Ideally we would like some outdoor activities during the day with nice restaurants and hotel(s) in the evening. This is a trip for the wife and I so I am looking for a little more upscale experience than Sean98's super-budget hunting hotel extravaganza.
Tx95Ag
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Wife and I just went to Bar Harbor for four nights a couple weeks ago. I would stay in Bar Harbor. We were at Hearthside B&B and enjoyed it. I'm sure there are lots of other good places. In bar Harbor there is a shuttle bus stop for the park. You can take a bus to the park welcome center and transfer to other buses there. There are some good threads in the travel board.

We ate at Geddy's, Galyn's, Street Side Caf and The Travelin Lobster. They were all great. Lobster rolls are good! Also, be sure to eat at Jordan Pond House. There is an online reservation request somewhere. Google will find it.

I would plan some day trips into the park... like one hike per day. We did sand beach to Otter Point one day, but wished we'd had more days to spend in the park. Also, throw in a whale watching tour. And, be sure to go down to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.
Sean98
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Just remember that after you rendezvous with me along the Canadian border, almost anything will look fancy.

Also, Acadia is beautiful. Prettiest place in the Northeast that I've been to.
kdm_01
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That part of Maine is great - I've only been in October and i would certainly go again. But we were further south along the coast in/around Ogunquitt.
Maximus_Meridius
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Got back around 3 weeks ago from 4 days/5 nights. God that was awesome. Stayed at the Holiday Inn, it was ok, probably will do a B&B in Bar Harbor next time. Sunset at Bass Harbor lighthouse was ok...just really crowded because everyone else has the same ****ing idea. And don't forget the "Off" like I did. Went sea kayaking and had a blast. Whale watching was fun, we did see one, but it was a down year for them this year. Biked on the carriage roads a little bit. Ate at Jordon Pond (recommend), Paddy's (the only place I don't recommend), Stewman's Lobster Pound, Testa's (pretty good), Thurston's Lobster Pound (gets recommended a lot, but for good reason), and Trenton Bridge Lobster pound (probably the best lobster roll/sandwich I had the whole trip).

Truth be told, I put it as a maybe a tick below Yellowstone in terms of beauty, but it's close.

Just saw that you're going at the end of October...might not be a good idea. I know a lot of places close after the first weekend in October, so you might not have as many options available to you. Do some research.
kdm_01
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Columbus Day Weekend (we were told) is the 'official end of tourist season'. Some places do close then but the level of traffic drops significantly too. I can imagine how swamped te small roads up there could get in the summer - but in mid-October we had a great visit.
Charlie Murphy
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Spent many summers there, worked in the park for one. Its a great place, Bar Harbor has a ton of restaurants so yelp will be your friend there. Have to go to Jordan Pond house and find a good lobster pound. A lot of people dont visit the "backside", southwest harbor and seawall but its a nice drive with some easy hikes down to the water.
malenurse
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I know it's about a 4.5 hour drive, but you can save a lot by flying into Boston. My wife and I are driving Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in October for the leaves and we are paying $317 for two round trip tickets on SWA from Houston to Boston.
WildcatAg
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Thanks, these are very helpful suggestions.
HalifaxAg
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If you really want to see beauty, then go to the Highlands National Park in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It's just a few more hours NE of where you are looking and it'll blow you away, especially this time of year.

I lived in Halifax for 4 years and there is nothing like it anywhere. You could fly into Halifax, drive to Cape Breton, take a ferry over to Newfoundland, drive to St Johns and fly back from there.
lb3
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Waltonloads08
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malenurse said:

I know it's about a 4.5 hour drive, but you can save a lot by flying into Boston. My wife and I are driving Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in October for the leaves and we are paying $317 for two round trip tickets on SWA from Houston to Boston.


We just did this 3 weeks ago with a 2 year old.rented an old farm house near Acadia. Had a great time, would go again.
Hodor
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Wife and I went for a week in July. Loved it!

Havana was our favorite restaurant. Great date night. Pricey, but worth it. Great wine list and bar, too. They have a bar/grill next door in the same building with a slightly different, less expensive menu.
Sweet Pea's Cafe had a great brunch.

Lots of really good hikes. Several were surprisingly challenging. I wasn't expecting that, because the elevations are low, but a lot of the changes are steep, with some requiring (short) ladders that have been build into the rock faces, lots of steps carved out by the CCC, etc. My favorite was a loop that we did including the Beech Mountain Trail, Perpendicular Trail, and Valley Trail. Felt longer than the 5.5 miles that Alltrails tells me it was, but lots of variation in scenery, elevation changes, views.

Renting bikes and riding on the carriage roads was awesome, too.

You'll be after peak fall foliage, so crowds should be sparse I'd think.

We stayed in a cabin from VRBO. Plenty of places to stay in town as well.
Mule_lx
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How's the fly fishing in the area?
ellebee
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There are cool trails and sights all throughout the park. Cadillac mountain, thunder hole, whale watching (and other cruises) and tons of shops and restaurants on mount desert island. There's a fun little mini golf course right on the mainland in Ellsworth.

You can also go to boothbay for a day. Same type of stuff there. You can rent a car and drive to rangeley national park, Moosehead Lake or jackman just for a scenic drive and picnic or rent a cabin.

Look for Stephen kings house in Bangor. It's pretty interesting.
ellebee
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Also, southwest flies into Portland now. I got a pretty cheap flight out of there.
Log
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You should go sea duck hunting while you're there. It'll put the suck that Sean98 puts you through on his upland hunts in perspective.

Alders/willows whacking you in the face vs. the North Atlantic trying to kill you.

Walking miles through badlands and volcanic rocks for a few bird that dive off cliffs after shot vs. the North Atlantic trying to kill you.

I sense a pattern....
thirty-two
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Precipice Trail!
Ol_Ag_02
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Acadia National Park is great. Some good / popular hikes are the Bubble Rocks, Cadillac Mountain, and Jordan Pond. I would definately stay in Bar Harbor.

We enjoyed dinner at Lompoc Cafe and breakfast at Jeannies Great Maine Breakfast was solid.

Have a blast we went for the fourth. One of my favorite trips I've taken.
Ol_Ag_02
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thirty-two said:

Precipice Trail!


Wish we could've done that. Kids ruin everything.
thirty-two
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Ol_Ag_02 said:

thirty-two said:

Precipice Trail!


Wish we could've done that. Kids ruin everything.
Yeah, definitely not a trail for kids.
Sean98
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Poplars/Aspen, NOT willows.
WildcatAg
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Thanks for all the additional info, booking the flights tomorrow.

Log, while the North Atlantic can do a lot.......it doesn't beat you in the face and crotch with fingerling sized saplings. And I'll be back in Minnesota in less than a month.
Hodor
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Ol_Ag_02 said:

thirty-two said:

Precipice Trail!


Wish we could've done that. Kids ruin everything.
Was closed for falcon nesting when I was there. I tend to stay away from trails described as heavily trafficked, but did want to do that one. In October, it shouldn't be too bad.

If you haven't already, check out alltrails. We used the app for our Acadia trip as well as our Yellowstone/Teton trip we did in June. I highly recommend it. Here's their description to the Precipice Trail that I found when I looked to remind myself of what it was and why I didn't remember doing it:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/maine/precipice-trail
__________________________________________________
De Omnibus Dubitandum
Pro Sandy
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From a 2011 trip: https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/1843495
WildcatAg
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I wanted to bump this thread up as the wife and I just returned from our trip to Acadia National Park. If you are an outdoors person I would highly recommend the trip. Outstanding hiking, good food, and beautiful country.

I'm glad we went during the beginning of the "off-season." Given some of the crowds I saw I cannot imagine how crowded the place gets in the summer. Some businesses were closed but there were still plenty of places for us to eat. We stayed at the Acadia Hotel in Bar Harbor.

We did the Beehive. While I'm glad we did it, I would not do it again. Nor would I have done it if I had full knowledge of the hike going into it.
Apache
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I always hear about the scenery in Acadia, but never anything about the wildlife other than whales.
What sort of critters are you likely to see? Moose? Bear?
WildcatAg
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Apache said:

I always hear about the scenery in Acadia, but never anything about the wildlife other than whales.
What sort of critters are you likely to see? Moose? Bear?
I'm not sure about "likely" critters to see but what we saw was:

-White tailed deer
-Grey squirrel
-Red squirrel
-Snake of some sort
-Porcupine
-Ruffed grouse*
-Dogs on leases
-Bostonians*

I didn't run across many large swampy areas so I'm (uneducatedly) guessing no moose in that area. With ursusguy's continued efforts to increase the number of nature's terrorist in our country I'm a bit surprised we were not mauled by bears.



*Unfortunately I was sans ye olde scattergun
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