Acadia National Park

It’s about time to visit acadia!

After 38 years of living in Maine, I finally made it to Acadia National Park. It is about a 3 and half hour drive from where I live but is a beautiful ride. We decided to avoid the interstate and take the long way. It was well worth the extra time.

We stayed in Ellsworth Maine about a half hour drive from the park. It made it really easy and enjoyable and wasn’t too expensive. It also helped we were near shopping areas because we forgot a few things as is the usual order of things haha. The first day we had grand plans to make it to the park but decided to take it easy at the hotel and just stock up on food and things we needed for the rest of the weekend.

Arrive early

On Saturday we ventured into the park and got there before the visitor center even opened. We somehow missed the entrance and made it half way around the park loop road before getting a bit lost. We ended up outside the park and had to take a scenic tour back. We made it back and ended up at the park entrance this time. Definitely arrive early.  It got very busy not too long after 8 am when the visitor center opened.  Up until then, we had the place to ourselves which was awesome.  The visitor center was packed with people so we just got my pass mirror hanger and left pretty quickly.

Park loop road-cadillac mountain

The park loop road is the road that is going to let you hit all the main highlights of the park.  We went up the auto road to the top of Cadillac Mountain first and it was the perfect time of day.  There was almost no one up there so we had perfect views of the surrounding area. There are stairs up to the lookout point but they have made paved ramps around them.  Of course, there are other points to get to that have stairs in the middle of the pathways.  Being that I have an affliction called Go-Where-I-Can’t-itis, I decided that this was not acceptable and crawled over the stairs just to get to a point that really was not a much better view than I already had haha.  The challenge of getting there was fun though.  This is definitely a must do for everyone.

Jordan pond

Next, we went to Jordan Pond.  The accessibility here is pretty good once you get down a very long steep hill to the trail that borders the pond.  The pond is extremely beautiful with mountains all around.  We spotted a family of Merganser Ducks that a woman was photographing.  She said the mother duck started with 8 babies and was able to raise 2 last year.  If you have never seen one they are a very unique looking beautiful duck.    So back to the trail.  We made it pretty close to halfway before coming to a makeshift bridge of sawn in half logs.  I could have scooted across on my butt but decided to turn around and head back.  If I went back I would love to finish the loop around for sure.  Up until that point though the trail was extremely smooth and easy to push even though it was just a hard dirt surface.

Thunder hole

After Jordan Pond we had our getting lost moment but once back on track we went to Thunder Hole.  Thunder Hole is basically a cave in the rock that when the water slams into it makes a thundering noise.  There is a ramp down to a look out above the hole.  There are also 3 flights of stairs if you want to get down closer and get wet.  I was a bit disappointed by the stairs but I get why it would be difficult to get access to it.  This was also when things started to get a bit crowded.

Avoiding sand beach

The kids wanted to go to sand beach but there are 31 steps getting down to it so we convinced them to go to Echo Lake the next day to swim.  At Echo Lake, there is an accessible path right down to the beach.  We ended up not going as we got sidetracked with other adventures.  We were glad we decided to skip sand beach when we actually got there as there was a massive amount of people.  Cars were lined up on the side of the road for over a mile and the parking was completely full.

Rest up for sunset

We decided to cut out of the park a bit early and hit the store for more supplies and then rest up at the hotel for a couple hours.  We had a plan to go to a hidden gem called Schoodic Point to catch the sunset. This was one of the things Sandy really wanted to do so she could get some pictures of the sunset over the ocean.  It definitely did not disappoint.  We had the whole place to ourselves and hung out for a good 2 hours or so just enjoying the cool breezes and beautiful scenery.  I had another flare up and decided to crawl down a small bank to get out on the rocks and just had Sandy bring my wheelchair down. I was able to get out really far all way to the water all on my own.  I love how rocks make natural ramps haha. 

Fun on the rocks-Schoodic Point

The final day of our weekend we went back to Schoodic Point.  It is the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park.  There is a loop road in this section also with many places to stop and just enjoy the views of the rock and ocean. I had to do some creative wheeling to get down to the rocks but with a tiny bit of help from Sandy, I made it.  I guess I had yet another flare up of my affliction.  This was one of the best moments of the trip.  We all hung out on the rocks, me trying to get places I shouldn’t go, kids actually climbing the faces of the rocks, Sandy joining the kids climbing and just enjoying the views of the ocean.  I did a bit of coaching with the kids telling them where to put feet and hands while climbing some short routes maybe 15 feet or so and they both made it.  It was so cool watching them and seeing the joy on their face when they pulled it off.  So not to be outdone their mom decided to try it and she made it too.  Another very awesome moment.  The youngest of the 2 boys is quite the mountain goat and loves scrambling over rocks so we had to keep a close eye to make sure he wasn’t pushing the limits too far.

A majestic moment

After we finished playing on the rocks we stopped at this little cove area where the fish were jumping.  As we were watching the fish and enjoying the scenery, I just happened to turn around as a majestic bald eagle flew over us from behind, banked a turn and disappeared into the woods he came from.  We looked and looked but never saw him again.  It would have been an amazing picture but either way an awesome moment.

Exploring the point

We finished up there and moved on to the actual point of Schoodic Peninsula.  There were stairs getting down to the rocks this time so while the rest of the family went down there I chose to explore the trail leading to the bathrooms haha.  I actually found another natural ramp of rock on my way along the trail. I made my way back to the stairs and told the family about my discovery.  We decided to do lunch in the area I found.  It didn’t take long for a couple seagulls to encroach upon our space and watch us very intently.  At some points, they were even doing reconnaissance flights over our heads to see what we had.

Exploring the rest of the island

We finished up lunch and headed off to explore the rest of the island away from the normal areas of interest.  We went to northeast and southwest harbors to check out the towns and see what we could see. Sandy wanted to do some marina photography and Northeast Harbor did not disappoint.  We even found another eagle perched high up atop a tree.  It sat there the entire time we were there and we got lots of pictures. If you have never been to Northeast Harbor Marina you should definitely check it out.  There is ample parking and it s a great place to enjoy the boats and scenery.

Bass harbor head lighthouse

Our main objective for exploring the rest of the island was to end up at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. When we first arrived we chose to go down what we thought was the path to the lighthouse. It turned out to be a pretty accessible path down to a really long set of stairs with a platform at the top.  After seeing that I told them to go ahead down and see what they could see and I made my way back to the parking lot to look for a more accessible route.  I did find a way down to the lighthouse but it was less than accessible.  It was a really steep but paved hill down to a nice area right next to the lighthouse.  It was so steep in fact that I did a wheelie to get down it and I could hear my backpack grinding against the pavement.  I was really leaning back.  I made it to the bottom though and then realized if they don’t figure out I am down here there is no way I am getting back up without crawling.  It took awhile because they were shooting pictures of the lighthouse but they eventually worked their way down to where I was.  It turned out to be an amazing experience and a beautiful spot. Like I always say there is usually a way to do everything if you just look for it.

I do wish we had more time to explore and we will definitely be going back again.  This is definitely one of my favorite spots and can’t wait to see more of it.

Links of interest: