Acadia, Day 2

After a full day exploring Acadia (see yesterday), we were excited for more. We wanted to hike Jordan Pond first—a lovely 3-mile hike around said body of water that comes highly recommended (we would soon see why). We had been warned to get there early, as the parking lot fills up fast. So we arrived shortly after they opened (8:30am, I think) and had no problems parking. It was on to the pond!

Jordan Pond is the tail of two trails. You start on the south side and can go either direction: the west bank features a long stretch of wooden planks followed by and rocky terrain; the east bank is mostly smooth gravel. We opted to go clockwise and hit the planks/rocks first. 

On the north side, we crossed a small bridge, noted the shockingly clear water, and continued on the east bank.

After, we did lunch in town (where I had an *amazing* slice of blueberry pie, a Maine specialty) and then headed to the western half of the island to see the lighthouse. A few observations:

- the western half of the island is mostly *not* Acadia National Park and felt "real." We were not in the tourist area. We enjoyed seeing the local houses and communities. I've never seen such small libraries or so many churches in such a small area.

- it's not far, but takes a bit of time to drive given the country roads

- the lighthouse is a private residence and cannot be entered. You can see it up close from one side, and can then hike around a short path on the other side to get a view from the rocks. Which is exactly what we did:

It was pretty, but a minor disappointment (since we couldn't tour inside). We drove back to town up the western road to see more of the local area. Then it was back to Bar Harbor for dinner. It is small but pretty.

That wrapped up our days in Acadia.

On the whole, Acadia National Park was excellent. We could have easily spent a few more days hiking new trails and enjoying the natural beauty. We somehow missed the bugs (I guess they die in June?) and the weather was perfect. Bar Harbor was wonderful, too. I was surprised how crowded everything (park and town) was . . . that made for occasional stress or annoyance. But that is minor; this is worth a trip.

We left Acadia the next morning and spent the day traveling, heading west to the White Mountains. That was day five of the trip (driving: 5 hours, ~250 miles, much of it on back roads). We would end up in Lincoln, New Hampshire, reunited with good friends from college we hadn't seen in eight years. We spent that evening catching up and readied ourselves for what was to come. Tune in next time . . . more adventure awaits!

Acadia, Day 1

Yesterday's post looked at the two days we spent driving up to Acadia. At last we could enjoy a day using our feet to explore Acadia National Park.

Our hotel had a nice view (above); what a way to start. After breakfast, our day began at the Hull Cove Visitor Center (top middle of the above map). We got there just as they opened at 8:30am, and it was already filling up. We bought a pass ($30, good for one week) to use the park loop road: a key loop on the right half of the island that enables access to great views and hikes. We started our drive soon thereafter; the road forces you to go clockwise.

The park loop road has several pull-offs at sites of interest, trailheads, or scenic views. Sometimes it is just that: a pull-off with only a few openings for vehicles. Other times they have small parking lots. Either way, be aware: this park fills up fast. I was shocked at how busy it got. The two-lane road is often one lane to enable parking in the other. But even then, it's not always enough.

Anyway, we did the first few pull-offs and got nice views (one coastal, one inland):

But the real payoff was to come. I highly recommend parking between Sand Beach and Thunder Hole (see second point on the map), then walking between each (along the path near the road or by scrambling over the rocks). We walked northeast to the beach first, then retraced our steps southwest to Thunder Hole (named for the sound the water makes when it crashes into the rock). Such views!

After this, it was on to Gorham Mountain trail, a pretty easy (if rocky) hike to a mild summit. That enabled us to see the coast from some height. The trail continued on and included the Beehive trail, which (we were told) has some ladders on it . . . not for us. We hiked back down the way we came.

We left the park loop road (which is sort of public, in places, enabling one to pick it up at various points) to catch a late lunch in Bar Harbor. After, it was on to Cadillac Mountain, which requires reservations (due to limited parking). We were able to snag a time slot, drive up, and enjoy the commanding views from this, the highest summit on-island.

At this point, it was around 4pm and we were gassed. We drove a bit more of the park loop road, seeing Seal Cove (but no seals) and doing short hikes.

Finally, it was back to Bar Harbor for dinner and ice cream.

A satisfying, if long, day.