Acadia & Bar Harbor Itinerary
Our trip to Bar Harbor & Acadia was nothing short of magical. We went in October, and happened to hit it right at peak fall foliage. Nights were cold and days were cool, but it was the perfect weather for hiking all day long. When I travel, I love to take extensive notes to help me remember all of the details of the trip so I can relive it, and also so I can make good recommendations to others. This trip was so magical, I created an entire collection of paintings based off of it, the Coastal Mist Collection. The following is a summary of the notes that I took on our trip.
DAY ONE:
We landed in Bangor, Maine, rented a car, & drove to Bar Harbor. We made a couple of stops along the way - one to see a lumberjack carving teddy bears out of pine tree stumps, and another to eat lobster soup at Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. The lumberjack was tanned and muscly, and the whole situation was right out of a Hallmark movie. All that was missing was some big wig business woman who’s car broke down right next to him. When we got to Bar Harbor, checked into the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel. We got a room with a balcony overlooking the water. I ended up waking up early and watching the sun rise out there with a cup of hot tea most mornings. Once we were settled in, we walked into downtown & walked to Bar Island. You can only walk there when the tide is low, because the beach leading to it disappears at high tide. It felt a bit like a secret pathway, except it’s big and in plain sight. There are a lot of really pretty pebbles along the pathway that caught my eye. We didn’t spend a ton of time on the island, because we hadn’t checked the tide schedule and didn’t want to get stuck on the island. Once back in the downtown area, we ate dinner at Stewman’s Lobster Pound. It’s pretty touristy, but it’s right in the main Bar Harbor area and has a pretty view of the water. The lobster was great, so no complaints from us. Niko ordered a whole lobster that first night, and pictures of his meal inspired the painting, “A Maine Feast,” from the collection.
DAY TWO:
Our whale watching boat ride was canceled due to rough waters, and I was completely devastated. Maybe that’s being dramatic, but I’ve had a lifelong dream to see a whale in person. (Don’t worry though, I ended up seeing FOUR within the next year at a whale watching boat ride in Santa Barbara!) So instead of whale watching, we drove over to Acadia National Park & hiked Great Head trail to Sand Beach (the only sand filled beach in Acadia, named appropriately). I took some pictures on our way and at at Sand Beach that would come to inspire the paintings, “Through the Brush” and “Vapor”. After Sand Beach, we hiked along the Ocean Path to Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is a cave that makes a loud roaring sound when the waves come crashing in, but we didn’t time it right and got there at low tide. So very minimal roaring was happening. We drove to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse & explored around it. There’s a lot of pathways, and rocks you can climb around on to get some really cool views of it. I ended up sitting on a rock down by the water watching the waves crash near the lighthouse for awhile. It was really peaceful. It was raining and we hadn’t thought ahead to make reservations. Luckily, Mama Dimatteo’s had an opening and we had one of the best meals of our lives.
DAY THREE:
Our third day in Acadia was full of hiking. We parked off of Park Loop Road & bushwhacked down to Eagle Lake Carriage Road. The whole time my husband kept saying, “the trail is just right through here”. It was not. We finally found it, but I don’t recommend bushwhacking to find the trail. We meandered clockwise towards Eagle Lake trail & up to Bubbles Trail in route to Jordan Pond Path. This was one of my favorite trails. It felt like a fairy garden forest - lush with unique plants, smelled of Christmas trees, and totally secluded. We didn’t run into anyone else until we got to Bubble Rock. The views overlooking Eagle Lake from the top of Bubbles Trail were serene. The best part of this hike was that we came across Jordan Pond House and were able to get warm popovers and tea mid-hike. We continued hiking south to north up the Pemetic South Ridge Trail which offered sprawling views of the ocean, met with the crashing peaks of the Acadia mountains. It was magical. We hiked down the Pemetic North Ridge Trail, traversing loam covered trails and jagged rocky trails before backtracking on Eagle Lake Carriage Road and then back up to the car. This was one of my favorite days of hiking ever. After showering, we headed back into Bar harbor and got a warm dinner at Testa’s Bar and Grill. I don’t remember what it was, but I’m sure it included some kind of lobster dish.
DAY FOUR:
This was the day we hiked, actually probably more of a climb than a hike, the The Precipice Trail. It is a steep cliffside trail overlooking deadly drops, with incredible views of the water. At times, you would need to cling to iron rungs to maintain balance in order to avoid slipping off the cliff. Niko was terrified, but I loved it. I don’t have a fear of heights, and growing up cheerleading taught me to trust my body and balance. Standing on a guy’s hand 8 feet up in the air felt oddly similar to hiking the Precipice Trail. It was definitely an unforgettable experience. On the drive back to Bar Harbor we stopped at Compass Harbor Trail for a mellow walk to the rocky beach. We walked around downtown Bar Harbor enjoying ice cream from Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, because dessert should always come before dinner after a long hike. For dinner we had a nice meal at Galyn’s, which was a bit fancier than the other nights.
DAY FIVE:
We were lucky enough to snag an entrance time for the road leading up to Cadillac Mountain at sunrise, so we woke up before dawn to drive up there. It is the first spot you can see the sunrise on the east coast. As the sun came up, we realized that clouds were very low and covering the beginning of the sunrise. Some people left, but we decided to hold out, and we were so glad we did. Tops of mountains were sticking out over the clouds, and colors of all kinds were created as the sun came above the clouds. It felt like we were in some imaginary world, floating above the clouds. After heading back down the mountain and a quick breakfast, we hiked up Beehive Trail– a slightly tamer sketchy trail similar to Precipice. There were incredible views the entire way up this trail, and since we were there at peak fall foliage, everything was extremely colorful. After summiting Beehive, we hiked north to south on the Gorham Mountain Trail back down to Thunder Hole, up the Park Road Loop Trail & back to the car. Since it was our last night there, we decided to wander around downtown Bar Harbor. We came across a small inn with a large garden out front. It was quaint and magical. We got drinks at the bar & sat in the garden of the Ivy Manor Inn, already reminiscing about how incredible our trip had been. This garden inspired the painting, “Drinks at Ivy Manor”. We decided to head over to Side Street cafe for one more round of lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese to celebrate our last night in Bar Harbor.