Acadia National Park Things To Do

Introduction.

Acadia National Park is the only National Park located in the northeastern section of the continental United States, has the tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic coast, and has the special privilege of being the 1st place in the United States where you see the sunrise. Acadia also provides some magnificent views of the Maine coastline with dramatic scenery and some incredible private homes (cottages) along the way.

The park was first established as Lafayette National Park in 1919 and was officially changed to Acadia National Park in 1929. The park is home to a wide variety of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, 338 species of birds, and 31 fish species.

Acadia National Park encompasses over 35,000 acres of beautiful seacoast, rocks, islands, forest, lakes and mountains, and is among the top 20 most visited U.S. National Parks. Over 2,000,000 people visit Acadia National Park each year. Your visiting options include touring along the Loop Road, backpacking, biking, camping, rock climbing, horseback riding, and hiking. Of course, you must spend some amount of time on the Carriage Roads, and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of these pathways. You can spend a short time by exploring the scenic Loop Road with its many easily accessible viewpoints, or you can spend days hiking to wonderful, nature wrapped locations.

General logistics information.

Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island, a very short distance from the town of Bar Harbor, Maine, which is one of the locations where you will find lodging and restaurant options. The park is officially open from April through October, but these dates are not fixed as weather is a key determining factor.

Unfortunately, due to our travel schedule, we only had 1 day to spend visiting Acadia, at least on this trip. This post will review the highlights of our visit and our suggestions for some enjoyable Acadia National Park Things To Do. Of course, if you have more time there is much more to explore in the park. However, if you only have a limited time as we did, the guidance below will give you a taste of the park and a close up view of the remarkable coastline of Maine, at least in this area of the state.

Acadia National Park Things To Do.

• As always, we believe it is a must to stop at the Visitor’s Center, in this case the Hulls Cove Visitor Center. Check out the gift shop, get questions answered from one of the rangers, learn about park activities, and firm up your plans for your visit.

• Regarding Acadia National Park Things To Do, our plan was to drive the Park Loop road, enjoy many of the viewpoints along the drive, and do some hiking at a few selected locations.

• Before starting our drive on the one-way Loop Road, we decided to make the detour to the top of Cadillac Mountain.
• We recommend this for a few reasons. It is typically less busy earlier in the day, so you will get a nice view from the top and of the surrounding area of Frenchman Bay.
• If you want to officially make it to the top of Cadillac Mountain, you can take a short hike on True Summit trail to the actual summit of Cadillac Mountain. This is located behind the Gift Shop, and although you really don't get great views from this location, you will have the bragging rights of having made it to the summit. 
• Also, since the Loop Road comes back around past Cadillac Mountain Road, it gives you a chance to drive up again and see the sights at a different time of day.
• If it turns out to be too crowded in the latter part of the day, at least you will have had a chance to experience Cadillac Mountain with your stop in the morning.

• Back to our Acadia National Park Things To Do list, we headed down Cadillac Mountain and began the drive on Park Loop Road.

• A short distance after passing Bear Brook and Beaver Dam Pond, you will get to an overlook just past Schooner Head.
• This is a nice stop where you will get great views of the coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and specifically a wonderful view of Egg Rock lighthouse.

• The next item on your Acadia National Park Things To Do list should be making a stop at Sand Beach.
• Head down to the beach, take in the views, and test your toes in the cold Maine water, if you dare.

• Then it is a short drive to Thunder Hole, a naturally formed inlet that is a crowd favorite.
• When the timing is right, the full force of the waves creates a sound like distant thunder and can cause a splash of water as high as 40 feet.
• You will also get some striking coastline views from this location.