Where We Stayed, What We Did, Where We Ate
We just returned from spending last week in Bar Harbor, Maine! We timed it so that we were there during peak fall foliage, which was so beautiful! Our intention for this trip was to spend lots of time outdoors exploring Acadia National Park.
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We flew into Bangor, which is about an hour and a half drive from Bar Harbor. On our way into town we stopped by The Happy Clam Shack. Obviously they have seafood, but we had heard they have excellent blueberry pie! Maine is known for their wild blueberries, which are a bit smaller than your average blueberry. So we obviously had to try a slice of this pie. While it was delicious, and definitely homemade, it was served cold and would have been better warm. But still worth trying! Maybe just ask if they could warm it up for you.
In Bar Harbor we stayed at the Bar Harbor Motel. It was very nice and they offered free breakfast every morning which was a nice perk. Most of the accommodations in Bar Harbor are either small inns and bed and breakfasts or motels. Since we were traveling with 3 people, our options were a little limited, but this ended up being a great choice for us.
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Our first full day in Bar Harbor we started the day in Acadia National Park. We parked at Sand Beach and then hiked the Great Head Trail which was a 1.8 mile loop. This trail offers great views of the ocean and the beach below, but as we would soon learn, like most hiking trails in Acadia, is very rocky and not necessarily an easy trail.
We spent the afternoon back in Bar Harbor walking around and popping into all of the really cute shops. we kept remarking that we loved that each shop had different stuff. So much of the time all of the “tourist shops” just have the same items that you see over and over again. We had so much fun exploring the town!
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The next day we started off at Thunder Hole, which when the conditions are right the waves crashing against the cliffs sound like thunder. Then we hiked the Gorham Mountain Trail which is another 1.8 mile roundtrip hike that on a clear day would offer beautiful views of the beach below, but as we reached the peek fog rolled in and we couldn’t see a thing!
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After we hiked back down we took the Ocean Path from Thunder Hole to Otter Point and back, which was about a 2 mile walk round trip. This is a flat path that would be easily walkable for anyone. Then drove over to Little Hunters Beach which is a hidden cobblestone beach where we had a picnic lunch. We had the beach almost all to ourselves!
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We headed back to Bar Harbor in the afternoon and walked the shore path that starts downtown and winds into neighborhoods where you get to peek at some local homes. While this was fun to do, you definitely get better views at points within Acadia National Park, so this can be skipped if you are short on time.
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The next day we got a very early start and drove up to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. This is the highest point in the Northeast, and the first place the sun hits in the United States. It was cool to say we were the first to see the sunrise! It was very cold and windy at the top of the mountain, so we were eager to get back in the car as soon as the sun rose.
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We hiked the Acadia Mountain Trail, which is a 1.6 mile roundtrip hike. I found this to be the most challenging hike because it’s pretty much a vertical climb up rocky “stairs”. My Apple watch this day calculated that I climbed the equivalent of 47 flights of stairs! But this was also the prettiest view at the top, making it all worth it in the end.
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That afternoon we did the Wonderland Trail and the Ship Harbor Trail. Both are fairly flat and easy walks for anyone to do. These two trails are very nearby one another, but if you only have time for one the Ship Harbor Trail was much more scenic. From there we drove to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, but I would honestly skip this. It was not worth it.
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On our last full day we visited Jordan Pond. You can walk a path around the entire pond, and the whole loop is 3.3 miles. We walked counter-clockwise along the Jordan Pond path for 1.1 miles until we reached the Jordan Pond Carry trail which we took until it met up with the Bubble Rock Trail and up to the summit of South Bubble. After hiking back down we continued the loop around Jordan Pond ended back at the Jordan Pond House where we had a lunch reservation. This whole thing took us about 3 hours in total.
Lunch at Jordan Pond House was highly recommended, specifically their popovers. We had a yummy meal with a beautiful view of Jordan Pond. Definitely a nice reward after our final hike.
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That afternoon we decided to explore the Carriage Roads. From the back of the property of our hotel there was a trail that met up with a section of the Carriage Roads. So we spent our final afternoon completing this leisurely walk, taking in the scenery one last time before departing.
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We had some excellent meals during our time in Bar Harbor. Our overall favorite meal happened to be our last night when we had dinner at Side Street Cafe. We also frequented Thrive Juice Bar almost daily and the adjacent Coffee Matter for coffee in the afternoons. We also ate at Geddy’s, Jalapenos, Atlantic Brewing Company, and Thirsty Whale Tavern for dinners.
General Thoughts and Tips:
Parking is an issue everywhere. It was a struggle to find a parking spot downtown, and you also have to pay for parking. In the park, we had better luck, but only because we made sure to arrive early. In general plan to arrive before 9am to secure parking at whatever your destination is inside the park. Things really started to get crowded after 10am. There is a free shuttle, but we opted not to use it and take our car instead.
All of the hiking trails were quite rocky, and not all of them would be appropriate for small children. Make sure you have proper hiking shoes with good traction.
We saw loads of people hiking with their dogs, and the whole town seemed to be very pet friendly.
October is the very end of the season. On average, a lot of shops/restaurants only seemed to be open May – October.
-Ash
P.S. To see move of our travels throughout the United States click here.
