Acadia NP : What do I need to know.

[timmus]

I recently decided that our next family summer vacation is going to happen in Acadia National Park.

So tell me ...

-Is it really-REALLY busy all summer ?
-What about campground reservations ?
-Any recommended trails for the 4 & 6 years old ?
-Who knows a small/tent only campground with a nice/not crowded beach near (anywhere in ME) ?
-What else to hike on my way there ?
-Is there restaurants I shouldn't go ?

-Anyone with young kids is interested to join, so I can ditch the family and hike the more serious stuff in the Park ?

 

[Quietman]

It's not tent only, but no travel trailers or RVs are allowed.

My father, brother, and kids have had great times here.(I couldn't go either time )

Hermit Island camping area

Click on the geography page to get and idea of the location.

 

[Peaks]

I recently decided that our next family summer vacation is going to happen in Acadia National Park.

So tell me ...

-Is it really-REALLY busy all summer ?
-What about campground reservations ?
-Any recommended trails for the 4 & 6 years old ?
-Who knows a small/tent only campground with a nice/not crowded beach near (anywhere in ME) ?
-What else to hike on my way there ?
-Is there restaurants I shouldn't go ?

-Anyone with young kids is interested to join, so I can ditch the family and hike the more serious stuff in the Park ?

Is it busy? Yes, in July and August. If you can get there, June is a great time to visit Acadia.

Campground reservations? NPS Blackwoods CG in on the reservation website. NPS Seawall is not.

Trails for youngsters? Get the suggested hike list at the visitor center. Plenty of good choices.

What else to hike on the way there? I generally drive straight through. Although there are some nature areas just of the Maine Turnpike.

 

[spongebob]

Timmus,

I have a hiking book(#48 at the bottom) and map you can use if you want. I usually go to Acadia in September and October, so you can hold on to them until then. And I have a secret HarryK weapon if you decide on keeping them in Canada after September....hehehe.....

If you are going to the Vermont thingy coming up I can give them to you then.

Don't forget to bike on some of the carriage roads, as that would be a fun family thing.

And I was going to say a good hike along the way that is kind of short is Mount Megunticook in Camden, Maine....But I think that would be a bit out of the way.

And if you go in the Coburn Gore way into Maine then next to Sugarloaf Mountain is Burnt Hill (about 3600 feet.), which I think is a great mountain.

Just send me a pm if you would want to borrow the map and book.

Adrian

 

[prino]

Timmus,

Great choice of vacation spot for you and your family. I took my 9 month old son back in '89 but stayed at some cabins which were conveniently located near the park. We also stayed at Bar Harbor Campground for 2 or 3 different summers, which although not quite as "wildernessy" as Blackwoods, has lots of things nearby for the kids and better half to do, while you do some serious hiking

You will love Acadia! It's one of my all time favourite vacation places.

PS Spongebobs suggestion of going thru Coburn Gore is a good one. Some neat hikes and scenery in the area. I'll show you the route I take next time I bump into you.

 

[king tut]

You might want to stay on the quiet side of the island(western side). There is a pretty nice campground just south of echo lake called smugglers den. I think it is mostly tenting only, from what i recall. Echo Lake has a decent beach w/ some nice cliff hiking right from the beach. Great family spot. Also some really nice hikes for the younger kids at Mt St Sauveur, Acadia Mt, and Flying mt right near there. Sand Beach near Bar Harbor is the best beach on the island, but echo lake comes in 2nd place.

If you are coming from Montreal, you will be coming thru rte 212 and crossing at Coburn Gore and going down rte 27 right past Sugarloaf, the Bigelows, the Crockers, etc.....lotsa good hiking there.

 

[DougPaul]

There is useful info at the NPS Acadia website: http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

Doug

 

[Artex]

My take

I've been there at least a half a dozen times in the past two years. I'll be up there next weekend as well.

-Is it really-REALLY busy all summer? Yes, especially in July and August. However, even then, you can easily find solitude in the park on the trails less traveled. Outside of those months, I stayed at Blackwoods last year in early May, didn't need a reservation and probably about at half capacity (if that) there despite it being a weekend of perfect weather.

-What about campground reservations ?
See Doug's link

-Any recommended trails for the 4 & 6 years old?
The carriage trails are wide and generally not super steep. You can bike on them as well. Also, drive them to the top of Cadillac Mountain and let them tool around up there. They'll love it.

-Who knows a small/tent only campground with a nice/not crowded beach near (anywhere in ME)?
Apparentely there are several, but I haven't stayed at any right on the beach.

-What else to hike on my way there?
The hills in Camden have fantastic views of the ocean and the islands, if that's on your way. The town itself is very quaint and therefore a popular tourist spot. Good restaraunts there. I've eaten at a few but can't remember the names.

-Is there restaurants I shouldn't go?
I've yet to encounter a bad one. But if in Bar Harbor, Geddy's is a fun bar/pub with good food.

Acadia is simply the best. You'll love it, I'm sure. Hope you and your family have fun.

 

[MichaelJ]

The AMC "Discover Acadia" Guide is also chock full of good information.

 

[WBB]

I found this http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=17-1878239228-0 to be and excellent resource for planning hikes in Acadia, it includes a very good topo of the island. We stayed at Blackwoods and were able to access the trail to Cadillac Mt. right from there. If you are able to do at least one day hike without the kids I would recommend the Precipice trail to the summit of Champlain, from there you can follow the ridgeline down to Sand Beach.

There are flush toilets at Backwoods but no showers. But it is an easy walk to the ocean where the kids can climb on the rocks and explore the tidal pools.

As for restaurant drive over to Bass Harbor and try Thurston’s Lobster pound http://www.acadiainfo.com/thurstons.htm The drive itself is worth the effort, there is a great book store on the way in Somesville that has many book about the island.
If you have a stretch of bad weather the Lobster museum http://www.theoceanarium.com/ is a fun way to spend the day.

Lastly here is a site with quite a bit of information http://www.acadiamagic.com/other.html

 

[trailbiscuit]

Great Head would be a nice hike with kids. It's a nice hike without kids, too. You could end at Sand Beach. You'll be coming at the beach from a different angle. Make it a super secret mission for the kids.

Lompoc Cafe is good for kids & adults. They have bocce. Everyone likes bocce.

 

[DougPaul]

Great Head would be a nice hike with kids. It's a nice hike without kids, too. You could end at Sand Beach. You'll be coming at the beach from a different angle. Make it a super secret mission for the kids.

The trail is easy but it does go along the top of some drop-offs, so it might depend on how controlled the kids are...

Doug

 

[BorealChickadee]

Julie, your girls are great and they'll have a ball at Acadia. Many of the trails do have drop offs but I know they'll listen to Mama

Here's a start:

Acadia Mountain
Flying Mountain- a full 7 minutes to the summit with great views of Somes Sound
Great Head with the beach surprise as trailbisquit suggested-just don't let them run ahead on this one
Wonderland-tidepooling here at low tide- awesome and some of the best on the island
Bubble Rock
And if you've got a good pair of binoculars I'll tell you where to go for harbor seals at low tide
Bass Harbor light house-great for rock scrambling
Beech Mountain fire tower

George Dorr's house foundation- Tell them you're going to find teh magical stairs that lead to the wood castle and have them bring their dolls. (the granite stairs lead only to the old patio of his house after the house burned down many years ago) And you can sneak in a peak at a great little cove.

The carriage roads tended to bore my kids until the year I started to bring the bikes. After all, from their level, it's just one long gravel road with nothing interesting up close and they're not interested in the scenery! LIttle kids could care less of a beautiful panorama, they just want to do hands on stuff which is why the Wonderland trail and Ships Harbor trails are so great for kids. At low tide there's the tide pools and the gravel bar out to the ledges where you'll always find great stuff uncovered by low tide. Even walking the coves between Seawall and Wonderland ( and this can be done at high tides also) you'll always find lobster traps washed up, ropes, buoys...all sorts of stuff! I look for it every year and I'm a big kid!

Blueberries! Blueberries along the roadsides and trails! Those tiny Maine blueberries are to die for. Blue gold.

And in Bar Harbor the shorepath is surprisingly a wonderful refreshing walk on a warm night while you're walking off your Rosalie's pizza (oh yum!)

Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor-Tell Steve I sent you in to see the bird carvings-he'll let you and the girls try carving-the girls get to color or do a bit of carving- usually a puffin cut out. Rainy days can be busy there. It's easy to get "lost" in the carving so beware of losing time at this one

Southwest Harbor is also the location where one of Steven Kings novels was filmed-the one about some weird guy who came and chose a child to take during the winter on a Maine island-sorry, I'm not a King fan but it was neat to peruse the photos that Sawyer's Market had of the filming

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Early October is a great time to visit Acadia as well - everything is still open, days are warm, foliage is at its peak, no bugs and best of all - very few tourists. Sometimes you can get reduced lodging rates after Columbus Day (a U.S. holiday, usually around October 10th).

Imagine Sand Beach - (all to yourself ....)

 

[Lawn Sale]

Don't forget to take the kids to Pirate's Cove , they'll love it.

In Ellsworth there is a restaurant on route 1 called Helen's, great homemade food at a very reasonable price. I've been going there for 10 years and have never been disappointed.

I used to live in Winter Harbor and recommend a visit if Acadia 'proper' is too crowded (it's on the next peninsula up the coast). It's a quieter section of the park with great views of the coast. No beaches though, only the rocky coastline of Maine, but a great coastal town atmosphere.

By the way, among Maine lobsters, the Corea lobster is supposed to be the sweetest and best attainable. There are no 'scientific' tests to determine the grade of lobster other than hearsay, but it's common knowledge. I used to get mine from the dock in Winter Harbor, which is very inexpensive when you get them straight off the boat, and many of the guys there fish the same waters.

If you're going to be around, the lobster boat races during the lobster festival is a pretty good time. They rolled one a few years back which made for an interesting sight.