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Acadia National Park
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Orientation
Sea and mountain meet at Acadia, where, as one presumably ambidextrous visitor wrote, "you can fish with one hand and sample blueberries from a wind-stunted bush with the other."
Most of Acadia is on Mt. Desert Island, a patchwork of parkland, private property, and seaside villages that seasonally fill with what residents call "the summer people." Other bits of the park are scattered on smaller islands and a peninsula.
Mt. Desert Island once was continental mainland, a mountainous granite ridge on the edge of the ocean. Some 20,000 years ago, towering glacial ice sheets—sometimes a mile [1.6 kilometers] thick—flowed over the mountains, rounding their tops, cutting passes, gouging out lake beds, and widening valleys. As the glaciers melted, the sea rose, flooding valleys and drowning the coast. The pre-glacier ridge was transformed into today’s lake-studded, mountainous island, which thrusts from the Atlantic like a lobster’s claw.
Samuel de Champlain, who explored the coast in 1604, named the island L’Isle des Monts Déserts, sometimes translated as "the island of barren mountains." From his ship he probably could not see the mountains’ forested slopes. The summer people rediscovered Mt. Desert in the mid-19th century, built mansions they called "cottages," anchored their yachts in rock-girt harbors, and cherished the wild. To preserve it, they donated the nucleus land for the park, the first east of the Mississippi. The original name, Lafayette National Park, was changed in 1929.
Dependent on donated land since its inception, the park took what it could get, skirting around private property and growing piece by piece. Acadia’s real estate was so patchy that not until 1986 did Congress set its official boundaries.
The fifth smallest national park, Acadia is one of the ten most visited—by almost three million people a year. Heavy traffic can produce a phenomenon unknown to Mt. Desert’s first summer people: gridlock.
When to Go
All-year park, but main visitor center is open from about May 1 to November 1. Expect heavy traffic in July and August. Spectacular foliage also attracts crowds around the end of September. Snow and ice close most park roads from December through April, but parts of the park are open for cross-country skiing.
Statistics
- Area: 35,000 acres [14,164 hectacres]
- Date Established: February 26, 1919
- State: Maine
Getting There
By Plane
- Bar Harbor Airport 10 miles [16 kilometers] from the park
- Bangor International Airport (BGR) 50 miles [80 kilometers] from the park
By Car
- From Ellsworth, about 18 miles north [29 kilometers], take Maine 3 to Mt. Desert Island, where most of the park is located; the visitor center is about 3 miles [5 kilometers] north of Bar Harbor. Another section lies southeast of Ellsworth, on the Schoodic Peninsula, a 1-hour drive from Bar Harbor.
How to Visit
Allow at least a day for Mt. Desert Island, with a drive on the 20-mile [32.2-kilometer] Park Loop Road and the road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. If fog comes, enjoy its gift: a softening of sights and sounds. On a second day, enjoy an uncrowded view of the rocky coast of Maine by visiting the Schoodic Peninsula. If you have more time, take your pick of one of the trails or smaller islands.
Activities
Free ranger-led activities: nature walks, photography workshops, star- gazing, films, slide shows. Also available, bus tours (phone: +1 207 288 3327), bay and island cruises, carriage rides, auto tape tour, hiking, bicycling, swimming, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice-skating and ice fishing, snowmobiling.
Park Information
Headquarters
P.O. Box 177, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609. Phone +1 207 288 3338. Fax +1 207 288 5507.
Seasons & Accessibility Park open all year, but in winter the visitor facilities close and much of the Park Loop Road remains unplowed. For recorded weather information call +1 207 667 8910. For boats to Isle au Haut call +1 207 367 5193; for Baker Island call +1 207 276 3717.
Visitor & Information Centers Visitor center on Maine Hwy. 3 just south of Hulls Cove, open daily May through Oct. Also, Thompson Island Information Center on Maine 3, just before crossing onto Mt. Desert Island. Off season, information available at headquarters 2.5 miles [4 kilometers] west of Bar Harbor on Maine 233.
Entrance Fee May through Oct. only: $10 per vehicle (7-day pass).
Pets Permitted on leashes except on swimming beaches, in public buildings, on a few hiking trails, and at Isle au Haut campsite.
Facilities for Disabled Visitor center, some rest rooms, and carriage paths are wheelchair accessible. Free brochure available.
Special Advisories
- Be careful on ledges and rocks along shore; algae are slippery.
- In spring and fall, watch out for strong storm waves.
Overnight Backpacking Not allowed.
Lodging
Campgrounds Two campgrounds, both with 14-day limit. Blackwoods open all year reservations recommended June 15-Sept. 15; other times first come, first served. Seawall open late May to Sept. 30. First come, first served. Fees $12-$18 per night. Private showers outside park. Tent and RV sites; no hookups. Each campground has five group sites; reservations needed; contact headquarters. Food services in park.
Hotels, Motels, & Inns (unless otherwise noted, rates are for 2 persons in a double room, high season) In Bar Harbor, Maine 04609:
Bar Harbor Inn (on Newport Dr.) P.O. Box 7. +1 207 288 3351 or 800 248 3351. 153 units. $139-$265. Pool, rest. Bar Harbor Regency Holiday Inn 123 Eden St. +1 207 288 9723 or 800 234 6835. 221 units. $109-$169. AC, pool, rest. Open mid-May to mid-Oct. The Bayview 111 Eden St. +1 207 288 5861 or 800 356 3585. 38 units. $105-$240. Pool, rest. Open late May to late Oct. Best Western Inn (on Maine 3) Route 1, Box 1127. 800 528 1234 or +1 207 288 5823. 62 units. $70-$105. AC, pool, rest. Open May to late Oct. Cleftstone Manor 92 Eden St. +1 207 288 4951. 16 units. $100-$198. Open mid-April to Nov. Cromwell Harbor Motel 359 Main St. +1 207 288 3201. 24 units. $85-$96. Wonder View Motor Lodge (Eden Street) P.O. Box 25. 888 439 8439 or +1 207 288 3358. 79 units. $65-$130. Pool, rest. Open May to Nov.
In Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662:
Asticou Inn (on Maine 3). 800 258 3373 or +1 207 276 3344. 45 units. $195-$260, includes 2 meals. Pool, restaurant. Open mid-May to mid-Oct. Kimball Terrace Inn Huntington Road. 800 454 6225 or +1 207 276 3383. 70 units. $62-$130. Pool, rest.
In Southwest Harbor, Maine 04679:
Moorings Inn (on Shore Road, Manset) P.O. Box 744. 800 596 5523 or 207 244 5523. 19 units, some kitchens; 2 cottages. $70-$100. Rest. Open May to Nov.
For add itional accommodations, call the Chambers of Commerce of Bar Harbor +1 207 288 5103, Northeast Harbor +1 207 276 5040, and Southwest Harbor +1 207 244 9264.
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