A Complete Guide to Acadia National Park, Maine

Acadia National Park is located in the 23rd state of Maine, in the Northeast corner of the United States. Created entirely by private land donations, Acadia means "heaven on earth" and was established in 1919. Acadia National Park is the only national park located in New England and is bordered by the town of Bar Harbor, and we highly recommend visiting in the late Fall, when most tourists have left. Although one of the smaller parks in the U.S., Acadia National Park receives over 3.5 million visitors a year! In order to enter the park, you'll have to either purchase an Acadia National Parks Pass in person or online, which are $30 per private vehicle or $15 per person. Annual National Parks passes are also accepted!

​Purchase a pass online here!

Our Essential Travel Resources :
​There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are our favorite websites and resources to help you plan an incredible trip.

For flights, we recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to your destination.

Car rentals comparisons are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to bring your international driver's permit with you if you're heading somewhere international!

We always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform where you can compare the best rates.

To keep cell phone service if you're traveling internationally, we always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required).

For fun things to do, we always recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick, especially for tours in Asia.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my packing list for your international or domestic travels.

How to Get There

Arriving to Acadia National Park is pretty easy, and there are a few different ways to get there. The most common, of course, is driving yourself, with the park entrance located about 3 hours north of the larger city of Portland, Maine. The drive is beautiful, and it provided us with many opportunities to see the coastline, lighthouses, and lobster shacks! If you don't feel like a road trip, you can also try flying in to the Hancock County Bar Harbor Airport (10 minutes from the park) or the Bangor International Airport (1 hour from the park). The last option would be to take a cruise! We were told the amount of cruises stopping in Bar Harbor have almost doubled in the last handful of years, so I'm sure you'll be able to find an itinerary that suites your needs!

Navigating the Park & Where to Stay

With 3 different entrance points, we recommend doing the park loop first, as this can be the busiest area of the park. The park loop is 27 miles and goes one way, meaning if you miss something that you want to stop at it'll be a little tricky to go back without going all the way around the loop. Once you complete the loop, we highly recommend checking out the other, quieter areas of the park like Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and Schoodic Point.

Staying in the Down East & Acadia region can be a little tricky, especially depending on the time of year you plan to visit! We visited in early November, and many lodging stays and hotels were already shut down in for the Winter season, however, we've listed below the stays that looked the best as we explored town - just make sure to call ahead to see if they're still open when you're planning to go!

​Our personal recommendation, though a bit far from the park and located near Hancock, is the Sweet Fern Cabin. We loved our stay here, and the host Suzanne has multiple cabins onsite that you can book!

In the Park :
It's important to know that campgrounds in Acadia National Park close during the winter season, and there is no backcountry parking or overnight parking in the park boundaries. You will also need to make a reservation for the campsite you'd like to stay at ahead of time, with reservations opening two months ahead of time.

Campgounds in the park :

• Blackwoods Campground - east side, near park loop
• Seawall Campground - west side, near coast
• Schoodic Woods Campground - on Schoodic peninsula
• Duck Harbor Campground - on Isle au Haut, accessible by mailboat
• Wildwood Stables Campground - only available to guests with stock animals

Reserve a campsite here!

In Bar Harbor :
Bar Harbor is the closest town to the main park loop in Acadia. We've gathered a short list here of places that would be at the top of our list when visiting Bar Harbor again. Please remember to consider the time of year you're visiting, and to call ahead to ensure they are still open.

Lodging near the park : 

• Atlantic Eyrie Lodge
• Best Western Acadia Park Inn
• Little Fig Inn
• Days Inn by Wyndam
• Holiday Inn Bar Harbor

Where to Eat

This is a hard one, there are PLENTY of places to chow down in Bar Habor, not so many in Acadia National Park. Actually, there is only restaurant in Acadia National Park - Jordan Pond House Restaurant, and it is only open mid-May through late-October. There are however plenty of picnic spots in the park, so feel free to bring your own food and relax at one of these! (Just make sure to pack out everything you bring in!)

Want to grab a bite in Bar Harbor? A few of our favorites were Fogtown Brewing, Thirsty Whale Tavern, and Choco-Latte Cafe!

​For a full list of places to eat in Bar Harbor read our full post here!

Acadia National Park has instantly become one of our favorite places to hike - not only are the views incredible, but a handful of the hikes have iron rungs that require some climbing to get to the top! Below we've listed some of our favorite hikes in the park, as well as a list of hikes we're saving for the next time we make it out east!

Hiking in the Park

Our Favorite Hikes in Acadia :

• Beehive Loop Trail - 1.5 mile loop, 508 ft elevation gain (with iron rungs), rated hard
• Precipice Loop - 2.1 mile loop, 1053 ft elevation gain (with iron rungs), rated hard
• Gorham Mountain Loop - 3 mile loop, 583 ft elevation gain, rated moderate
• The Bubbles Trail - 1.6 mile out & back, 515 ft elevation gain, rated moderate
• Jordan Pond Path - 3.1 mile loop, 42 ft elevation gain, rated moderate
• Thunder Hole to Sand Beach - 1.7 mile out & back, 196 ft elevation gain, rated easy
• Otter Point - 1.1. mile out & back, 95 ft elevation, rated easy

Hikes we're Saving for Next Time :

• Beech Cliff - 1.4 mile out & back, 547 ft elevation, rated moderate
• Dorr Mountain - 2.7 mile loop, 1131 ft elevation, rated hard
• Flying Mountain - 1.5 mile loop, 321 ft elevation, rated moderate
• Ship Harbor Trail - 1.4 mile loop, 64 ft elevation, rated easy

Cadillac Mountain :
Another stop we highly recommend is Cadillac Mountain, but it depends on the season you're visiting. If visiting during the peak season of mid-May to mid-October you'll need a reservation to drive up Cadillac Summit Road. These are $6 each and can be purchased here, and are required in addition to the parks pass. These are timed entries, and you need to print your pass and bring it with you, but you can spend as much time on the summit as you'd like. Make sure to get these in advance, 30% of the reservations go on sale 90 days before, and the remaining 70% of the reservations go on sale 2 days before.

*Fun Fact : Cadillac Mountain is said to be the first place in the U.S. where you can see the sunrise! We also recommend heading out to Schoodic point to watch the sunset!

If you aren't able to get a reservation to Cadillac Mountain, then don't worry, you have a few other options! You can either bike up, walk/hike up, or take a taxi up (all of which DO NOT require a reservation! If you do decide to hike up, there are two paths you can take.

• Cadillac North Ridge Trail - 4.2 mile out & back, 1128 ft elevation, rated moderate
• Cadillac South Ridge Trail - 6.7 mile out & back, 1548 ft elevation, rated moderate

Other Things to do in Acadia National Park

If hiking just isn't your thing, or you just need to rest your legs, there are plenty of other things to do in or near Acadia National Park! Read on for our list of adventures!

• Acadia GEM Tour - We had a blast driving this bad boy around the park loop! With a max of 25 mph, and the option to take the doors off with nice weather, we loved this adventure!
• Thunder Hole - We weren't able to align our visits with the high tide, but it's supposed to be pretty epic!
• Bass Harbor Head Light Station - A short walk to a beautiful lighthouse!
• Explore Downtown - Downtown Bar Harbor has plenty of options for exploring, trying some local cuisine, brewery hopping, and many local shops to shop at too!
• Bar Harbor Bed Races & Early Bird Pajama Sales - This is a MUST. Held in November, participants create groups of 5, with 4 pushing and 1 riding their "homemade bed on wheels" down Cottage Street. Seriously the most fun we've had in a while! Plus, dress up in pajamas and join the festivities to get a percentage off when shopping local!

Many activities in this area (like the Bar Harbor Ghost Tours, Lobster Boat Rides, Air Tours, Sailing Adventures, and Oli's Trolley) are seasonal, so be sure to call ahead as you plan your visit! Or, head on over to Visit Bar Harbor to see what else is going on in this area!

Watch our National Park Adventures here!

Other National Park blogs!

• ​Acadia NP
• Congaree NP
• Denali NP
• Banff NP

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