Mount Desert Island is my absolute favorite of all places I have visited in the United States. I know, I know…I say that about a lot of places! BUT…this place truly gets the number one spot in my heart! Keep reading and you’ll find out why.
If you read my post about visiting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, you saw mention of my cousin, Denise, and I returning to Bar Harbor, Maine when we left Canada. Well, when we planned that trip, the intent was to spend a couple of days in Bar Harbor, then five days in Canada, and then part of one more day in Maine before heading home. Little did we know during the planning phase of this trip how fantastic Bar Harbor is, or how much either of us would enjoy it.
First of all, it’s Maine, so, I mean…come on! How could it not be fabulous? But the fact that it is the knock your socks off variety of fabulous came as a stupendous surprise! We had booked a hotel that overlooked the harbor. As an aside, there are plenty of hotels overlooking the harbor to choose from, and I’d guess it’s hard to go wrong. We did not have a water view from our room at the beginning of the trip, but we did have a balcony, which was nice. And we certainly didn’t have to go far for the money shot views! They were all over the hotel, including the restaurant there, which we ate at a couple of times. Between the pool, the hot tub, the dock and tiki bar, a really good restaurant, beautifully manicured lawns and gardens all over the property, and the water views, I think I would have been perfectly happy had we never even left the premises-but only because I wouldn’t have known what I would have been missing just down the road.
I had read that Acadia National Park was accessible from Bar Harbor prior to our trip in September 2022, but I didn’t read up on anything about the park itself and I didn’t know anything about it at all. I’m happy to say, I certainly know some things about it now. Driving through this national park is truly breathtaking! And not just because you are on the edge of rocky cliffs that drop off into the ocean at some points on the road.
Driving the parameter of the park is a treat in and of itself. If that is all you have time to do, you won’t be disappointed. But you will be planning a second trip (or more) back so that you can stop at all of the look-out points that suck you in when you see them. There are countless spots along the route to just stop and soak up the view. Denise and I did just that.
One of my favorite areas was Sand Beach. Hands down the most beautiful beach I’ve ever set foot on, and I’ve been to a lot of ‘em!! Sand Beach consists of a cove off the ocean that is surrounded by mountains, rocky cliffs, and a sandy beach. The water is a beautiful clear blue, and the entire place is nothing but peaceful and serene. We saw it during the daylight, and we went back one night to attend a free stargazing talk presented by Park Rangers of Acadia National Park. Unfortunately, it was an overcast sky when we went, so the stars were not visible. But Google “stargazing on Sand Beach” and when you see the pictures that show up, you’ll be wanting to see it! The picture below is one of them with the Milky Way showing itself so beautifully.
There were a lot of other gorgeous pit stops we made during the drive through the park, and I simply recommend them all! Even the ones we did not stop at! All of them! Just do it! When I go back to Bar Harbor, I 100% plan to spend a lot more time at Acadia National Park! We were told you can sometimes see the Northern Lights from there as well.
There is so much more I could say about Acadia, but no words will have a greater impact than the pictures. So, for the sake of the brevity that should be a blog post, I will just include a lot of them.
Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are both part of a bigger landscape called Mount Desert Island. I have already bragged on the beauty of the park and Bar Harbor a lot, but this entire island is absolutely gorgeous. We drove all over its one hundred eight square miles and did not see one area that wasn’t picture perfect. And just like Acadia, there are so many places on the island to just pull over, get out of the car and simply look.
We did just that at a place called Seawall, which is a long stretch of rocky coast with the kind of views I could stare at all day. There are mountain views off to the left, ocean in front, and a cove off to the right. Denise and I spent a good while at the cove area because we were mesmerized by all of the seals swimming in it! That just isn’t something I see in the coastal region of South Georgia! It was such a treat! We also saw several deer in the area munching on apples that had fallen from the trees. We stopped off at another area called Seal Cove, though we did not see any seals there. But the views, needless to say, did not disappoint.
Bar Harbor itself is such a fantastic place! If I ever move away from Georgia again, Bar Harbor (or somewhere close by that is on Mount Desert Island) will be where I relocate to. I know I talk the same talk about Cape Cod, but Cape Cod will just have to be my vacation home, because Bar Harbor is where I would rather be the majority of the time.
The downtown area is packed full of wonderful restaurants (along with all the fresh lobster one’s heart desires!) and shops, as well as park areas with benches to just sit and enjoy the harbor views, picnic, practice yoga…whatever you like. The attraction this place draws is purely magnetic! The locals are kind and helpful, the food is fantastic, there is no lack of activities to keep you entertained-it’s an all-around great place. There are a lot of places to hike (especially in Acadia), boating activities, night life, fine dining, casual dining, shopping, and more.
Denise and I took advantage of a sunset sail from the harbor one evening. We also joined a boat tour for seal watching and lobster fishing. We tried to catch one of the whale watching tours as well, but we didn’t book ahead, and they were sold out. So, keep that in mind if that’s something you’d want to do.
Needless to say, Denise and I were both really happy to have several unplanned days in Bar Harbor when our trip to Nova Scotia was cut short. We stayed at the same hotel when we returned, only this time, we got a room with a water view! I often say that when I travel, I plan to go places I’ve never been simply because there is so much of the world that I want to see and you never know when life can change and travel has to be put on the back burner again. But there are a few places I’ve been to that I will gladly spend the money to return to as often as I can! Mount Desert Island, and especially Bar Harbor are included, and I absolutely cannot wait to go back again!
One more neat thing about this trip, we flew into Bangor, ME, which is where Stephen King lives (or lived-not sure if he’s still in that area). But, when we left the airport, we stopped by his former home and took a lot of pictures. Since he and his wife moved out of the house, it has been turned into a writer’s retreat. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and see it! It’s only a few miles from the airport.