Hey Everyone, it's Madalyn, and this video is all about what to expect when visiting
Acadia National Park in Maine.
Acadia National Park is located along the Atlantic coast of northeast Maine and is one
of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States.
This is a beautiful park full of sandy beaches, a rocky coastline, and stunning mountain views.
Acadia is an incredible park and there are just a few things to keep in mind when planning
your trip.
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If you stick around until the end of the video, we will discuss our own trip to Acadia National
Park
Let's get started
Know before you go Acadia national park encompasses several islands
off the coast of Maine.
Mount Desert Island is the largest island off the coast of Maine and the central part of
the park, but the park also includes the Schoodic Peninsula and the Isle au Haut, and many smaller
outer islands.
From May through October, all visitors must have a park entrance pass that can be purchased
for $30 per vehicle.
All vehicles must display a park entrance pass visible through the windshield.
Park rangers do check periodically to make sure cars have their passes displayed.
There are many entrance points to the park, so you will want to make sure you stop off
and purchase an entrance pass before you start exploring.
Acadia National park is a Dog-Friendly National Park.
All dogs must be leashed at all times and are not allowed on cliff trails and ladder
trails.
Also, dogs are not permitted on public beaches from May to September.
As I mentioned at the top of this video, Acadia National Park is one of the top 10 most visited
national parks in the United States.
While there are parts of the park that open year-round, a vast majority of the park visitors
come between the months of May through September, with the three summer months of June, July
and August being absolutely jammed packed.
Acadia National Park is the only National Park in the state of Maine.
Things to do Hiking
Hiking is one of the best ways to experience Acadia National Park.
There are over 150 miles of hiking trails in Acadia national park, and they have everything
from summit hikes to coastal hikes to lake and forest hikes.
There is a hike for every skill level and desired terrain.
The beehive and precipice trail are more strenuous and are for experienced hikers.
We enjoyed the great head trail which we started at sand beach.
It's a rocky hike but affords beautiful views of the Maine coast.
Park Loop Road Park Loop Road is a 27-mile one-way loop that
winds you through the park.
If you are making a quick trip to the park, you can see many beautiful sights right from
the car.
You can stop off and visit popular spots like Sand Beach and Thunder Hole and then hop back
in the car and drive to your next stop.
Sand Beach Sand Beach is one of the most popular beaches
in the entire park.
This sandy beach has incredible views of cliffs lined with evergreens, and It is easily accessed
from Park Loop Road.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the beach, even in October!
On the eastern side of the beach, we headed up Great Head Trail for a little hiking and
an incredible view of the beach below.
Jordan Pond You can stroll through the evergreens and
hike right along Jordan Pond on the Jordan Pond Nature Trail.
Or you can stop in at the Jordan Pond House for some of their signature Popovers.
We recommend getting there early in the morning because the wait time for the restaurant can
be a few hours long.
We had to skip the popovers on our trip because the park was busy when we visited, and we
didn't want to waste any time in the rest of the park.
Schoodic Point Schoodic Point is located on the Schoodic
Peninsula area of the park.
And it's actually the only part of Acadia National Park that is connected to the mainland.
Schoodic point offers up beautiful views of the Atlantic ocean, and we feel it's a must-visit
while in Acadia.
Keep in mind that it does take about an hour to drive from the Schoodic peninsula over
to the rest of the park on mount desert island.
Cadillac Mountain for Sunset Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain
on the east coast, and From October to march, Cadillac Mountain is the first place you can
see the sunrise in the United States.
We went for sunset and could not believe how beautiful the views were.
You can see the entire park all around you and the sunset glow makes it even more spectacular.
although sunrise or sunset are the most popular times to visit, any time of day will be beautiful
on top of Cadillac Mountain
Where to stay
Inside Acadia national park, there are two campgrounds on Mount Desert Island, one campground
on the Schoodic Peninsula, and five lean-to shelters on Isle au Haut.
The Schoodic Woods Campground, Blackwoods Campground, and the Seawall Campground all
allow for tent camping and RV camping.
These campgrounds fill up fast, so be sure to book in advance.
There are several camping options outside of Acadia all over the Mount Desert Island
area.
We camped at the Mount Desert Campground and had a fantastic experience.
Bar harbor is the closest town to Acadia national park and offers numerous hotel and rental
options.
This area is incredibly popular, and hotels can fill up fast and tend to be more expensive.
The Bar harbor inn and spa and The Harborside Hotel Marina & Spa are among the high-end
hotels in the area.
There are also motels, bed and breakfasts, and a few chain options.
Tremont and Trenton are also options for smaller inns, bed and breakfasts, and rental properties.
Ellsworth is about a half-hour away from the park and has several chain hotels and campgrounds.
As I mentioned at the start of the video we are now going to discuss our own trip to Acadia
National Park
So, what makes Acadia National Park Different from other parks?
What makes Acadia unique to me
is the fact that in comparison to other national parks
The Boundaries are a little different
You go to other national parks and you say okay,
The boundary is here. youre here youre in the park. youre out of the park.
In Acadia you could be driving around
You'll see houses and little towns
You'll see a golf course here or there
It's really about kind of the coast of Maine
How they appreciate the nature in that area obviously mount desert island is very unique
With the height that you have from cadillac mountain, you have the Schoodic Peninsula
Which is a beautiful part of the park.
You know there's a research center there and another part of the park is out on an island. so
its not necessarily a park where the boarders are very well defined.
And... I think that makes it different.
I think for me... This was the first time that we went to a dog friendly National Park.
And we could actually bring our dog with us on the trip.
And, in some ways it made the trip that much more fun.
Because we could bring him along hiking with us and
we were there in October so we got to bring him down onto Sand Beach.
I think in some ways bringing your dog can also be a challenge
because you cant do some of the tougher hikes.
or if you want to go find a place to eat. having a dog kind of makes that a challenge.
But, I absolutely loved being able to explore a national park with our best friend Howie.
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