Towards the end of our summer adventure up and down the U.S. east coast we had the opportunity to spend a week with part of my extended family in Acadia. We all shared a house together on Mount Desert Island in Maine. Situated alongside Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor Maine, this visit allowed easy access to great hiking, extremely fresh seafood, and amazing wildlife. It also provided a great opportunity for us to visit with my father and his wife along with my half siblings and their significant others before leaving the country.
While in Maine we enjoyed plenty of lobster, oysters, hikes in the park and quality time with family. Here is a look at a few of the things we enjoyed.
A Hike To Indian Point
The planned Puffin Tour on our first day in Maine was canceled due to thick fog, so after a family breakfast in Bar Harbor, DJ, Hillary and I headed out for an easy walk to Indian Point. Starting from Nature Conservancy property, this short hike on the western edge of the island delivers you to a rocky coastline from which you supposedly can see seals on occasion.
Happily, we did see a couple seals, though they were far off. We only saw their heads bobbing in the waves a bit. The other high point of this hike were ideally placed Adirondack Chairs situated to look out over the ocean. This was perfect as we were able to sit and enjoy the ocean as DJ crawled over the rocks looking for sea life and skipping stones into the ocean.
Cranberry Islands
Outside of time spent with the extended family, Hillary and I had one of our best days with a trip out to the Cranberry Islands. While actually made up of several islands, the two most notable, and easiest to get to are Great Cranberry Island and Little Cranberry (aka Islesford).
Running out of Northeast Harbor, the Beal and Bunker Mail Boat provides regular ferry service to and from the Great Cranberry and Little Cranberry. While it is little more than a larger Maine lobster boat, they carry passengers, bags, supplies, and bikes back and forth to the islands. They will also stop, if requested, at the smaller islands on an ad-hoc basis. We joined them early one morning for an initial stop at Great Cranberry for half the day, followed by Little Cranberry for the second half.
Great Cranberry Island
After getting off the ferry on Great Cranberry (GCI) we proceeded to walk end to end, about 7 miles total, taking time to explore as much of the island as we could. This included two different trails off the main road. Both trails led to very rocky shorelines, but there were great views of other islands, the mainland and lobster boats working their traps.
We enjoyed a mid-day snack sitting on an exposed rock overlooking “The Pond”, a bay that once hosted dozens of ship-building operations, and now is down mainly to a local oyster business.
Our walk back to the dock was highlighted by a couple young boys who had setup a small lemonade stand on the side of the road for which they charged extra for ice (which we gladly paid). We stopped by the island museum, featuring details on the families, how they lived, and boat building of years gone by. And finally, we sat on the dock awaiting our ferry, watching a construction barge deliver fully loaded dump trucks and await their empty return.
Islesford (Little Cranberry Island)
Like GCI, Little Cranberry Island is very small allowing us to walk one end to the other in a relatively short amount of time. As expected, there were plenty of views of surrounding islands, the ocean and sea life.
As we walked the roads on the island it was apparent that there were a number of new houses being built. This surprised us a bit as we wonder about the resale of such homes. What type of buyer would be willing to come back to the same quiet spot year after year and invest small fortunes for the upkeep needed in a pretty harsh environment, where everything must come in by ferry or barge?
All in all we walked about 5 miles on Little Cranberry, exploring trails, old cemeteries, and the coastline all around the island. At one point, not far from the center of town, someone had even built small miniature buildings, and even a “door” into a tree – seemingly for the entertainment of the chipmunks nearby.
The highlight on Little Cranberry, and the reason we were willing to spend an entire day walking both islands, was dinner at Islesford Dock Restaurant. We had dinner right when they opened at 3 (giving us plenty of time to catch the return ferry). Being so early we had a table right at the back corner overlooking the harbor. As we ate we watched the flow of boats in and out, people arriving by water taxi and private boat for dinner, and mused how much variety there is in what a “normal” lifestyle can be for so many.
The meal itself was great but the best part was the fresh oysters, and I do mean fresh. These oysters may have only been out of the water and hour or two, having been harvested on Great Cranberry Island, almost in sight of the restaurant, before being served on ice at our table. They were amazingly fresh and tasty!
Puffin Tour with Bar Harbor Whale Watch
Carol had wanted to celebrate her birthday with a trip to see puffins off the coast of Bar Harbor. While it was unfortunately canceled on her birthday due to fog, the reschedule date was beautiful. A cool morning but full sun made for an excellent trip from port all the way out to Petit Manan Island about 45 minutes out (at about 35’ish miles per hour).
This desolate 10 acre rock island features a lighthouse that is still maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, plus bird researchers to actively monitor and study the birds that stop over here.
The tour provided us the opportunity to see quite a lot of wildlife. Yes, we did see some puffins, though they are much smaller than I anticipated. Binoculars are absolutely a must! We also saw loads of other birds, most of which Carol and my half-brother Adam could name in an instant, but for me were nothing but a graceful bird on the wind. We also did see seals in abundance and a few poroises, or where they dolphins? Regardless, it was a fun trip and a good opportunity to sit with my dad and talk for a couple hours.
One With the Loons on Echo Lake
I would have to say a close second, in our favorite outings in Maine was our kayaking trip on Echo Lake. Dad had brough two traditional kayaks as well as three folding kayaks with him, making it easy to kayak without having to find and deal with rental companies.
While getting the folding kayaks setup was a bit of an adventure, we did find them amazingly stable, and in some ways more comfortable than a traditional kayak. In large part this was because I could adjust how I sat, with my legs at times crossed and uncrossed, allowing me to happily stay out a bit longer.
We spent a few hours out on Echo Lake, not far from Southwest Harbor. The lake has no motorized boats, features a (crowded) beach at the south end and just a few small cabins/homes dotted around it. The highlight, apart from having the time to slowly paddle along and talk, were the loons. We think we saw five loons altogether. They would pop up nearby, sit for a bit before diving after fish, over and over. And as we were wrapping up we saw what could only be described as a parent with two young loons seeming to teach them the technique of diving for food.
Hiking Beech Mountain
No trip to Acadia can be complete with my dad and his family without a hike up Beech Mountain. The hike itself is easy. It’s only a little over a mile, not particularly rocky, and features none of the hard scrambles or metal rung climbs while clinging to the side of a mountain that typify some other well-known hikes in Acadia.
It’s perfect for virtually all ages and abilities, has amazing views, and even a fire tower you can climb (partially) at the top. This is probably why every time they visit Acadia they do this hike and take family photos, providing a timeline to the dynamic changes to the family.
Whirlwind of Stops on the Last Day in Acadia
No trip to Acadia ever really seems long enough. There is always a ton to do, from myriad hikes up mountains, to endless carriage trails for walking and biking, to kayaking lakes and ocean, to wildlife tours, and restaurants galore. I’ll admit, I love Acadia but would really love to visit in shoulder season when Bar Harbor especially isn’t totally mobbed with people and parking is itself an adventure.
Regardless, with one final day at our disposal we set out early on a mad dash, both to hit a few sites from Nomad Mania and to participate in an obligatory family drive up Cadillac Mountain where dad and Carol were married years ago.
Bass Harbor Head Light Station
Our first stop, about 6 AM was to Bass Harbor Head Light Station at the far southern tip of Mount Desert Island. This ticked a box for me with Nomad Mania (Lighthouses).
We had tried to visit days earlier, yet found the line to try to get to the parking lot dozens of cars long, so we just gave up, pushing the visit to the end of our visit and early morning.
The Tarn & Wild Gardens of Acadia
Next, and still early in the morning we stopped off at The Tarn, a long shallow pond nestled between two mountains. This stop killed two birds with one stone, giving us a chance to fit in some much needed training with our packs (as the Camino was fast approaching) and hit the Wild Gardens of Acadia, another Nomad Mania highlight (Botanical Gardens).
This area has really beautiful gravel trails, access to mountain hikes, large meadows of ferns and aspen trees, and in the middle, the Wild Gardens of Acadia. These gardens highlight the diverse habitats seen across the island in a compact, easy to view plot of land.
Cadillac Mountain
And last but not least was Cadillac Mountain. At some point in the not too distant past the National Park Service got smart and started requiring reservations during specific time slots to drive up. I’d love to say this reduces the volume of people and the stress of finding parking. Alas, there is no time limit for how long you can stay so it is still mobbed with people and a struggle to find parking, even with the reservation.
Regardless, this was a nice way to cap off the visit to Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor, and Acadia National Park. We had beautiful views, fun walking in all directions on the treeless summit, and I found plenty of wild blueberries to munch on along the way.
Summary and Notable Mentions
My father has been doing this trip with his family for decades now. It’s kind of a ritual for them each summer. We’ve often been too busy with work to go, though several times we’ve coordinated so DJ could take the trip with them over the years. The last time Hillary and I made it up with them was probably 10 years ago, and before that I had only been up for my fathers wedding when I was about 14.
We are very happy we had the time to make the trek up with them this year, especially as it may be the last time for many years before Hillary and I return to the US, and at least two years before DJ returns from Asia. It was great to spend time with Adam and Claire along with their young daughter. Likewise with Rachel and boyfriend Greg. They are all now early in their careers, having been young children at our wedding nearly 30 years ago. So much has changed and will continue to do so.
Last but not least we want to make mention of a few things we also loved in the area, though not on Mount Desert Island. Ellsworth is the last stop on the mainland before crossing to the island and features two of them.
First Momo’s Cheescakes, just outside of town is open 24x7x365 featuring a ton of delicious cheesecakes by the slice. Warning, it is quite busy and parking is a bit of a challenge. However, it is well worth both the cheesecake and seeing the sea of post-it notes covering every inch of wall space noting the origin of visitors to the store.
The second in Ellsworth is Fogtown Brewing Company. It should be noted that we visited mid-afternoon on a Friday and it was quite quiet, ideal in our minds. They have great beer brewed on site as well as plenty of food options. A wide variety of seating options inside and out with music themed decoration and stages provides plenty to look at while relaxing and talking.
And finally, a bit outside Ellsworth, roughly 45 minutes or so away, is Bartlett Maine Estate Winery. Their tasting room is down a narrow nature trail, itself adding to the ambiance, and features fruit wines and distilled liquors — all of them delicious. We found them on our last visit about a decade ago and were thrilled to see them still in business.
