Acadia National Park

Atlantic Ocean!!!!

We have arrived on the East Coast! That's right, we have now finally made it all the way from West to East. We have traveled about 6000 miles so far, which is about 1/3 our estimated total distance to travel. So far so good!

Acadia National Park is located on an island on the coast of Maine. The island is fairly small and also has several tourist towns and communities, making it a bustling and busy place to visit. The park features a shoreline that is rugged and beautiful with harbors that are full of sailboats and even occasionally historic wooden sailing ships! There are island and lighthouses and views around every inlet, along with inland trails and lakes.

  

   

Our visit to Acadia centered around the Precipice Trail. This is no ordinary hiking trail. The trail takes hikers/climbers up almost 1,000 feet in 1 mile (the total loop is 2.6 miles) to the top of Champlain Mountain. The trail starts (and ends) just across the road from the ocean. During the ascent you are literally on the face of the mountain overlooking the ocean and islands that surround Acadia. The views are spectacular... and a little bit terrifying if you are afraid of heights (one of our fellow climbers was, but he persevered and made it to the top!). I just can't say enough about how beautiful this trail was. Once we reached the top (and took plenty of pictures) we headed back down by way of the loop (climbing down the Precipice is not recommended for good reason!) It was just starting to get dark as we made it back to the car.

We spent the night at a nearby Walmart, then headed back in the morning. We went for a quick swim in Echo Lake (one of the few fresh water lakes that allows swimming in Acadia) and swung by the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. Then, our adventuring complete, we headed south.

Personnel:
We stopped at one visitor's information center, but all the personnel were busy and there was a long line, so we left. We didn't actually get to talk to any of them during our trip.

Climate/weather:
The weather was beautiful during our visit! Sunny skies, not too hot, and a sea breeze made it a pleasant, with jackets coming in handy morning and evening.

Facilities/signage:
We stopped at a couple bathrooms during our visit. The first one (at Bear Brook Picnic area) didn't have any light fixtures, which was odd and made it hard to see inside, but was clean and had a sink with soap. The pit toilets at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse had hand sanitizer and were clean as well.
There was an appalling lack of good national park signage at this NP. We did finally find one, but most locations didn't have one at all. Other signage around the park wasn't great, since there are a lot of other things happening on the island the signage wasn't focused on the park. We actually managed to get semi-lost at one point and had to GPS our way to the destination.

Hiking Trail Experience:
So cool! If you are physically up for the Precipice Trail, you should do it. It was, if not the best trail we have been on, at least the most unique and exciting. And looking down the cliff face at the ocean is just fantastic! The best part of the trail is that we kept thinking that we were on the best part of the trail, and then it kept getting better! We started out with some boulder scrambles, awesome! Then we were on some rock ledges with metal rails that were right on the cliff face, awesome! Then we were literally climbing metal ladders STRAIGHT UP the cliff, AWESOME! And we only saw 2 other groups of people on the trail, so most of the hike we had to ourselves, AWESOME!!!

Driving Experience:
The driving experience was, sadly, not as scenic as we had hoped. And it was a little bit frustrating due to lack of signage, high traffic, and one way main scenic road. The scenic portion of the main road was fine, but we were expecting to have more sweeping ocean vistas and instead saw the inland forested areas and tourist towns. Definitely a place to do some exploration on food or by boat.

Camping Options:
There are four NP campgrounds in the park, as well as several private campgrounds in the area. Also, there is a Walmart about 1/2 hour away for car camping.

Hammockability:
This park had plenty of trees and good weather for hammocking. We didn't go into any of the camp grounds, but there are probably plenty of sites with suitable trees for overnight hammocking as well.


Scenery:
The coastal scenery here is amazing. The view of the waves coming in to shore, the islands that are out in the water, the boats sailing merrily along, they make this island park what it is. Definitely a park for lovers of the ocean coastline.

Nearby food:
There are several towns on the island including Bar Harbor that have plenty of food options for visitors.


If you love the ocean, and don't mind sharing it with a few other tourists, this NP should be on your list. It definitely has enough scenic views, hiking trails, and interesting spots to anchor a visit to the North East. And definitely take the time to do the Precipice Trail!

Next stop, our friends Jeff and Sarah for some backpacking, pickup upgrades, and real beds!