Acadia National Park Things I Like

While I am planning on visiting more of our National Parks - being recently retired - I do have lots of experience with Acadia National Park. That is why my son Mark and I started our web site (Acadia Vacations) over 13 years ago. We found, when talking with visitors to the park that most thought the park consisted of the Park Loop Road and as a result they often planned only one day of their vacation to visit the park.

We felt very strongly that someone should spread the word, in an unbiased way, that there was much more to enjoy at Acadia than just Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Otter Cliffs.

So here are some of the reasons I like Acadia National Park - this does not mean that other National Parks don’t offer similar features that I like but I do believe ANPs geographic location does make it special in many ways.

Bass Harbor Head Light

I like:

* the way the park is intertwined with the various and unique villages that co-exist with the park on Mount Desert Island - Bass Harbor, Somesville, Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor, Town Hill and many more
* the variety of mountain trails that offer novice as well as experienced mountain climbers fun and exciting experiences
* the large number of ponds, lakes and saltwater inlets that offer great canoing and kayaking
* the variety of scenic beauty provided by the combination of rivers, ponds, lakes, ocean, mountains, brooks and hiking trails
* the ability of the park to absorb literally thousands of people on a daily basis and still offering seclusion and solitude to everyone who visits
* the variety of great places to stay for a day, a week, a month or the entire season - be it a B&B, Motel, Cottage, Condo, Home or Campground
* the variety of great restaurants that are for all practical purposes located within the park - Seafood, Mexican, Italian, Oriental, Sandwich, and many specialty eating establishment
* the fact that there are no fast food restaurants on Mount Desert Island - there is a SubWay sandwich shop in Bar Harbor
* the fact that most of the convenience stores can keep you happy for days at a time - good pizza, great coffee and very good muffins
* the large number of Antique and Curio shops - hours of exploring
* the large number of art galleries displaying work of local artists
* the never ending number of “Kodak Moments”
* the number of places to sit for hours and soak up the beauty of nature all around you
* the number of fun and invigorating activities that are either free or require a minimum investment for the payback in pure pleasure
* the fact it is in Maine - nuf said

I think you get the picture - bottom line it is a beautiful natural resource that is easy to get to, allows you to feel alone while visiting with thousands of others and is a place you will want to come back to again and again.

Come enjoy! An easy one or two day drive from most anywhere in the Northeast and no place on the island is more than 30 minutes from where you are at any point in time. Gas is not a big issue………….