The Maine Life

Every year or so we go back to Maine and this year was no different. After two years of the pandemic, the pent-up demand for travel could be felt even in those places where we would normally go in search of peace and solitude. Keeping that in mind, we drove all the way to Acadia National Park. If crowds are a given, we might as well go to the busiest spot in the state. The main street in Bar Harbor was throbbing with life and even someone like me who hates crowded places didn’t mind at all. This time it hit different. I was glad that people were able to go places, eat out and shop local. Business seemed good. Footfall seemed plenty. You had to wait to be seated at dinner. Parking was scarce.

We would start the day with kid-friendly hikes, try out new restaurants and shacks for lunch and dinner, and finish up at the pool in Bar Harbor Inn. The view from our room, the fire pit by the infinity pool and the in-house restaurants were pretty good too. The Wi-Fi was spotty but apart from my ten year old, nobody really cared.

Best Hike: South Bubble and Bubble Rock

The toughest part about the hike was finding a parking spot at the Bubble Parking Lot. Located along the Park Loop Road roughly 2.3 miles south of the turnoff for the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road, it gets filled up by 9:30 am on a summer weekday! So plan ahead and get there early. To read more about this fun and rewarding hike, hop over to my earlier post on hiking Bubble Rock.

Bubble Rock is a large boulder that was carried by glaciers and deposited at the precarious edge of a cliff.

Second Best Hike: Gorham Mountain

This Gorham summit features views of Sand Beach to the east, Otter Point to the south and The Beehive to the north. Total distance out and back is 3 miles, very doable with little kids.

As you climb north up the trail you go through a forest and open ledges before coming across the bronze Waldron Bates memorial plaque on a large granite slab. If you are wondering who Waldron Bates is, well, he helped create many of Acadia’s trails and he created the unique style of cairn used to blaze the trails. From nps.gov, “Twenty-five miles of trails were added under Bates’ leadership, among them the Giant Slide, Canon Brook, Gorham Mountain, and Cadillac Cliffs Trails. The hiking map you use today is a direct descendant of the very first comprehensive island path map published in 1896; the lead author of that map was Waldron Bates.”

This is where one can take the 0.5 mile steeper spur trail to the once submerged Cadillac Cliffs and an ancient sea cave. As it takes you along the ocean side of the cliffs, be prepared for some scrambling here and there. The spur rejoins the main trail at the Waldron Bates memorial plaque.

Best View: Sunset at Cadillac Mountain

Best Beer: Bar Harbor Beer Works

This one’s easy. We keep going back to Bar Harbor Beer Works. It’s right on the main street and has a good selection of seafood as well. We took the craft beer sampler of course because choosing a beer is serious business and me being a nerd means I will now rattle off the entire list. We started with Masons Cream Ale (light and refreshing) and then we sipped our way through Masons Hipster Apocalypse (the one with the hazy straw colored pour), Lone Pine Time and Temp (Classic American Lager), ABC Coal Porter (hearty, dark with hints of chocolate and black malts), MBC Peeper (dry, clean, hoppy American ale) and finally, Cushnoc Kresge. The Kolsch style ale from Cushnoc Brewing Co. stole the show. It was clean, crisp and brewed with noble German hops which made for a nice floral aroma.

Best Ice cream: Jordan Pond Ice Cream & Fudge
This sign was in front of their shop. I took a photo while waiting for my ice cream but didn’t get an actual photo of the scoops because they were too delicious and already melting in the summer heat.

Best Lobster Roll: There’s no such thing as the best lobster roll. All of them are divine and it would be wrong to rate them. But we did love the food at Terrace Grille and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. The view helped of course, as did Chef Zach Dallesandro and his team.

Best Lighthouse: Portland Head Light.
We stopped here on our way to Bar Harbor.

Best Beach: Sand Beach
Cold, rocky and stunning.

Best Pool: Bar Harbor Inn & Spa
It was the bluest of blue with a lovely view and a poolside bar.

Best Car Jockey: Our ten year old
After days of scrolling and agonizing over how to keep the kids entertained on the 7 hour drive to Acadia, we hit the jackpot by letting them create a road trip playlist and play their favorite songs.

Best Moment: Our 4 year old showing off his hiking chops 🙂