Rocky Coast at the Wild Sea
Venture to the rugged coast of Maine replete with volcanic rocks and crashing waves, creating the impression of stepping back in time to the creation of Earth.
Planning a Visit?
For information about the park, visit the National Park Service website for Acadia National Park: NPS.GOV/ACAD
Acadia National Park offers hiking, biking, camping, breathtaking views of jagged coastlines, and pristine lakes.
Comprised of a cluster of islands along the jagged Maine coast and a section of mainland on the Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park has a variety of landscapes including granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes, ponds, and ocean shoreline. More than two dozen mountains rise above the rocky shore, including Cadillac Mountain, which at 1,530 feet is the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic coast.
Hiking and biking are popular Acadia National Park activities. There are more than 130 miles of hiking trails to explore by foot and 45 miles of carriage roads to travel by bike. These byways were established and maintained in the 19th and early 20th centuries by local improvement societies.
In 1919, Acadia became the first national park established east of the Mississippi River. Following the footsteps of the earliest advocates of the parks, a generous conservationist protected and donated 6,000 acres of land for the creation of Acadia National Park.
The National Park Foundation has long been an advocate for Acadia, including a recent completed program to improve views of the spectacular night sky, as Acadia is one of the best places on the east coast to view the Milky Way.
Everything to know about Acadia National Park
One of the nation’s most beloved parks, Acadia protects a patch of coastal Maine where the north woods tumble down to meet the wild Atlantic. The first national park east of the Mississippi River sprawls across half of Mount Desert Island, with small portions on smaller islands and the mainland. For generations, it’s been the place where New Englanders escape into nature and learn to cherish the wild side of Down East.
Named after the French settlers who were expelled from Atlantic Canada by the British, Acadia is the nation’s easternmost national park and one of the first places in the United States to see the sunrise each day.
Can’t-miss experiences
After starting life as a colonial fishing village, Bar Harbor gradually evolved into a Victorian-era getaway for the affluent, artists, and “rusticators” trying to get back to nature. Today the island town is the park’s main tourist hub, a port of call for whale-watching and sailing tours, lobster shacks, and lodging.
At low tide it’s possible to walk the Bar Island Land Bridge to a tiny portion of the national park on Bar Island. During the summer, a passenger ferry runs between Bar Harbor and Winter Harbor and the park’s Schoodic Peninsula. Located near the Village Green in Bar Harbor, the Smithsonian-affiliated Abbe Museum is dedicated to the Wabanaki Alliance of Native American tribes that once lived along the Maine coast. Bar Harbor’s other great collection is the Dorr Museum of Natural History at the College of the Atlantic with its displays of Maine wildlife and touch pools of live sea creatures.
Many of the park’s major features are within easy reach of Bar Harbor, including Hulls Cove Visitor Center, the start of Acadia’s scenic Park Loop Road, a sinuous 27-mile route that includes a steep drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain. One can also hike from town (via several trails) to the 1,530-foot summit for a view that takes in much of the park and nearby islands. Located just south of town, the park’s Sieur de Monts area features the Wild Gardens of Acadia, the park’s Nature Center, and an older branch of the Abbe Museum.
After looping around Cadillac Mountain, the one-way Loop Road reaches the coast at Sand Beach. Protected by the Great Head peninsula, this is probably the best place in the park to take a dip in the ocean. The 4.7-mile stretch between Sand Beach and Hunters Head is Acadia at its best: a rugged, rock-strewn shore carved by wind and water over millions of years. The rush of water through Thunder Hole—and the roar it makes—epitomizes the forces that shaped the Acadia coast.
Loop Road curls inland to Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake, navigable by kayak, canoe, and low-horsepower motorboat. The lake area is laced with hiking trails and crushed-stone carriage roads, which were funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., between 1914 and 1940. Most of the park’s carriage roads are open to foot, bike, and horse traffic.
Much less visited than the heart of the park, the area west of Somes Sound features trails along the shore of Long Pond (1 mile) and up Bernard Mountain (3.2 miles). Down along the coast are Ship Harbor Nature Trail (1.3-mile return) and the clifftop Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.
Reaching the park’s Isle au Haut unit requires passage on two ferries, from mainland Stonington to Town Landing (year-round) and then onward to Duck Harbor (summer only), where trails lead to secluded coves and dramatic sea cliffs. During summer, ranger-led boat tours journey to far-off Baker Island with its pioneer homes and graveyard, 1855 lighthouse, and cluster of huge natural granite slabs dubbed the “dance floor.”
