The shore trail at Acadia National Park
offers spectacular views. (Photo: MOLLY WALSH/FREE PRESS )Buy Photo
It's easy to be so dazzled by the
grandeur of the National Parks in the West that we forget New England has a
park of its own that more than measures up.
That place is Acadia National Park in
Maine.
View from Schooner Head, Acadia
National Park. (Photo: Photo by Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld, courtesy of the Maine
Office of Tourism. )
It's where visitors can hike 120 miles
of mountain and seashore paths with spectacular views of the Atlantic, bike 50
miles of carriage trails and camp in the cool, deep woods just a few miles
outside the busy shops and restaurants of Bar Harbor.
Fall is an ideal time to visit. The
hordes have gone home. There are more vacancies (and deals) at the many hotels
and inns outside the park, and it's much easier to score a site at the national
park's most popular campground. The infamous summer traffic jams on the only
road leading in and out of the island have receded, and most everything remains
open through the end of October.
True, the water is colder in the autumn
than peak season in August but as everyone knows, the ocean is never warm in
Maine anyway. Meanwhile, the lobster remains plentiful whether it's served
steamed, on a toasted roll or made into ice cream (which looked novel but
unappetizing in a Bar Harbor freezer case on a recent visit.)
The drive from Burlington is seven
hours so this is best as a three-day weekend trip or longer. Drive over through
the White Mountains for bonus leaf peeping and views of the Presidential Range.
View overlooking the Atlantic on the
hike to Champlain Mountain in Acadia National Park. (Photo: MOLLY WALSH/FREE
PRESS )
A few days in paradise, with your
hiking boots
Acadia is mostly located on Mount
Desert, the largest island off the coast of Maine. Samuel de Champlain, the
same French explorer who was the first European to map Vermont's largest lake
and who subsequently named it after himself, found his way to what is now
Acadia National Park in 1604.
He named the area the island of
"monts deserts" because many of the granite peaks looked, then and
now, bald and desert-like as they rounded up above the tree line.
Check out the lodging options online
before you leave. Keep in mind prices vary from $20 a night at the Blackwoods
Campground a few miles from Bar Harbor, to the $200s at the lovely Asticou Inn
in quiet and comely Northeast Harbor to even bigger price tags at the swankiest
destinations.
As you drive onto the island, stop at
the information center on the right side of Highway 3. It's a good place for
maps, lodging, restaurant ideas and up-to-date info about happenings, from star
gazing conventions to concerts at the gazebo in Bar Harbor.
View of Jordan Pond from the carriage
trails in Acadia National Park.(Photo: MOLLY WALSH/FREE PRESS)
Continue on Highway 3 a few miles into
Bar Harbor. A stay in or near town allows for a pleasant dose of shopping,
eating and people-watching. The popular Blackwoods Campground requires
reservations months in advance for prime summer nights but is wide open on
weeknights in the fall. On a recent visit, travelers who pulled in to the gate
at 5 p.m. found plenty of space.
Blackwoods is quiet, clean and aromatic
with the fresh smell of evergreens. The group bathrooms have plug-ins for
electronics, lights and hot water sinks but no showers. A pay-shower
establishment sits just outside the park gates and there are many vendors
selling camp wood nearby for the fire pits at the campsites.
Set up your tent if you are camping or
take a hot bath if you are hotel-ing, then hit the scene in Bar Harbor. The
vibe ranges from old money posh at historic summer estates tucked here and
there to ticky-tack T-shirt shops to hipster restaurants and tasteful retailers
selling handsome home wares. The price for an ice cream cone goes up the closer
the shop is located to the waterfront and the many cruise ships that unload
there.
Fuel up and sleep. Rise early for a day
of hiking. Take the free Island Explorer shuttle or drive to the Fabbri Picnic
Area and parking lot near Otter Cove. Lace up your shoes or boots, cross the street
and turn left, walking on the road until the Shore Trail starts at Otter Point.
From there continue for several miles in the direction of Sand Beach, which
should take roughly 90 to 120 minutes.
This walk, only moderately difficult,
is spectacular, with views of ocean cliffs, the gleaming sea and trees changing
color along the shore and in the mountains. Pass by the popular Thunder Hole
and listen to the sound of the waves crashing into the cavern carved into the
sea cliff. While this is one of the most popular and crowded stretches on the
Island, it's truly beautiful and worth any tourist-related hassles. At Sand
Beach fill the water bottles in the drinking fountains and take a rest as you
listen to the waves roll in.
End the journey here and take a shuttle
or double back on foot to the car if you are tired. Or extend the hike up to a
mountain called Champlain (elevation 1,058). The hike up to and over this peak
will take about three hours, so be sure and get underway at a reasonable hour.
Cross the street from Sand Beach
parking lot and look for the trail head. Try the steep cliff face and ladders
on the Bee Hive trail (you get bragging rights for doing it) or take the more
gentle alternate route to the Bowl, a pretty pond with an active beaver colony.
From there, follow the markings for the
Champlain Ridge Trail. Enjoy the panoramic views and long ocean vistas from the
east side of the island. At the top of Champlain, views to the north open up as
well. Head down on the winding stair case trail into the interior of the island
for yet another type of scenery.
Sunset at Acadia. (Photo: Photo by
Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld, courtesy of the Maine Office of Tourism. )
Cross Highway 3 and walk to the
trailside Abbe Museum to pick up the free shuttle back to the Fabbri parking
lot, or take the bus into town or to Blackwoods.
Make Day two a cycling day. If you need
to rent a bike, there are several shops in Bar Harbor within easy riding
distance of the Duck Brook Bridge entrance to the carriage path network. (The
shops have free, easy-to-read maps). From there, the Jordan Pond House
restaurant is a beautiful ride of approximately ten miles through woods and
past lakes. At the Pond House, the crazy mobs of summer are smaller,
slightly-less crazy mobs but you still might have to wait for a table and the
chance to eat the famous popovers.
They are worth the wait, especially
when eaten with loads of butter and blueberry jam. Stoke up, buy some post
cards and head back via the Bubbles route for a total of about 18 miles round
trip. Return the bikes and savor the happy ache of your muscles over a cold
lemonade or beer in Bar Harbor. You've earned it!
Molly Walsh, Free Press Staff Writer 12:08 a.m. EDT October 5, 2014
Contact Molly Walsh at 660-1874 or
mwalsh@burlingtonfreepress.com Follow Molly on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mokawa
