Acadia with Family - Trip Report

This will be lengthy so here are the highlights:

- Go to ImprovAcadia, esp if you have school-age kids – very funny! Call in advance to get a table in the front. They don’t force participation, but you can’t help it.

- Hike the Beehive if you can handle some heights

- Get over to the Schoodic Peninsula, esp the point as the tide is coming in

- Acadia Revealed by Kaiser was very helpful both as we planned and in the car.

- Probably better to stay on MDI, as the drive from Hancock each day was 45min. If not, and you have kids, get a good audiobook to entertain them in the car (esp if you try to save money and get a smaller car where they have to “touch”)

Now here goes the in-depth version:

We are a family of 5 (12,11,9 year old kids) and rented a house in Hancock (Blueberry Ledge) through VRBO.com for a week in July 2008. The house was great, 3 bedrooms, full kitchen, etc. Nice deck, waterfront (at least when the tide was high), with blueberry bushes all around. We picked blueberries everyday for pancakes, muffins, cobbler. Only problem was lack of air conditioning, but high number of bugs limiting our ability to open the windows, despite the screens. Can’t figure that out really.

We flew from Orlando to Manchester, NH, then drove up to Maine, stopping at Brown’s Ice cream in York. Only recommendation there is to take the straighter route and don’t go along the shore. It’s all beaches and 2 lanes with people walking across the road and cars parallel parking. It took almost 45 extra minutes, instead of the 10 I’d promised my husband…oops. Ice cream was good though!

We arrived late Saturday pm, so couldn’t do much then. Surprised the sunset wasn’t delayed any over FL, guess it’s b/c we were farther east, but not a whole time zone.

Sunday we hit Acadia, ~40min drive from Hancock. Kept the kids calm by reading them “Out of the Deep: A Mystery in Acadia National Park” from the mysteries in our national parks series. Neat b/c it described many of the places we went later…and unfortunately also described the effects of salt water on a cell phone..prophetic!

We went by the visitor center and got the lay of the land, then headed to the Beehive. I was a bit apprehensive re the exposed ladders/rungs but the kids LOVED it and wanted to go again later that week! Definitely vertigo-inducing if you look down, but a great hike. Really we should have done it later as the other hikes paled in comparison. We did the Ladder Hike later on, but it had maybe one ladder and was renamed the “Stair Trail” by my kids as it is TONS of stairs.

Hung out near otter cliffs on the rocks, went by the otter point tidepools, though there were no creatures in them, just fun to climb over the rocks. Called ahead to Jordan Pond for lunch, but probably didn’t need to. Lunch was fine btw, over-priced, but so would have been gas to go all the way back to Bar Harbor and back around. Got some hiking supplies (read bribery candy) at the gift shop and headed up north and south bubble hikes. Those were FUN! It was incredibly windy at the top, which was fun for the kids. Didn’t do the really steep part of South Bubble.

Monday we went sailing with Downeast Friendship Sloop. It was foggy, and not windy so not the best adventure. The couple who took us was nice, and informative, but we saw only a couple of seals from far off and frankly the kids got bored. They let them steer a bit, but I was under the impression they’d let them handle the sail some. Ate lunch on board (which we brought). Still worth getting out on the water, just hopefully on a better day.

Went to Thunder Hole, got there between low and high tide as instructed. Pretty cool and the kids got soaked a couple of times as they intended (btw, bring an extra set of clothes in the car, just in case). Had a good dinner at Miguel’s Mexican downtown (good-sized parking lot nearby). Then went up to Cadillac Mtn for the sunset. Had a tip to stop at Blue Hill Overlook just before the peak, as it faces west and is less crowded. Gorgeous!!

Tuesday we had reservations for Diver Ed in the AM. Cute show, brief cruise (saw porpoises) then live video feed as he scuba dives with a little lego character (think Mr. Bill from SNL), then he brings up the creatures for us to touch. Watch out sitting in the front on the port side as that is where Ed slings water as he pulls out the creatures he has collected from the deep.

We ate a picnic lunch in the town park, then had reservations at Atlantic Climbing School. They geared us up, then took us up South Bubble. Fun, but with 5 people and one guide it was a time between each climb. Ended up my husband and I just let the kids go toward the end so they got 3-4 climbs each, while we did 2. They enjoyed it well enough.

Wednesday we did some geocaching on the way to the Schoodic Peninsula, found some nice ones that offered different views. Schoodic was WAY COOL! We were fortunate to get there as the tide was coming in and the pounding of the waves was amazing. We have about 100 photographs (no exaggeration) from the 30-min or so we spent there. Wish we’d had a picnic lunch, though there is no shade there. That’s where I misjudged a wave and splashed my Blackberry…amazing how little saltwater can kill a phone!

Not much in the way of restaurants in the area, so plan ahead for food. That afternoon we did the (painful) ladder trail as described, though came down Dorr Trail which was fun. Kids picked and ate blueberries the whole way down. Supposedly ran by a creek at the bottom, but it was dry. Ate at Route 66, which was good. Then next door to Improv Acadia for which I had made reservations that AM. Truly a highlight of the trip! We sat in the front (b/c of the reservation) and even my timid kids really got into it. Highly recommend!

Thursday we rented bikes and took the free shuttle in to do the carriage trails. The shuttle came way more frequently than every ½ h so don’t let that scare you. Took their advice and went CCW around Eagle Lake, then down to Jordan Pond where we walked around the pond a little and had a picnic lunch on the rocks, very enjoyable!, then finished going around the pond on the carriage trail and up the other side of Eagle Lake. Really there are some uphills but my kids made it with little problem. Water packs are really helpful for that ride! Even had to refill them at the Jordan Pond House.

Then we went to the Echo Lake Ledges for some swimming, and jumping off the ledge. Capped it all off with mini-golf at Pirate’s Cove.

Friday am we left for Boston to do some historical stuff. Listened to the Audiobook of Johnny Tremain through most of our (lengthy) time in the car so the kids were a bit better oriented for Lexington/Concord and Boston in general.

Next time I want to do some kayaking, probably at Long Pond rather than the ocean. More hiking, maybe a whale watch.

Acadia with Family - Trip Report

Great report. I feel like I was there with you. We%26#39;ve been visiting since 1999 and were up in June this year. We%26#39;re already booked for two weeks next June. Its a beautiful place.

You%26#39;re lucky only your Blackberry got wet. I seem to recall a woman and her dog getting swept to sea of the rocks at Schoodic a year or two ago. I can be dangerous.

Acadia with Family - Trip Report

thanks so much for your post.. We arrive in New Hampshire on wednesday and head up to acadia.. Thanks for all the pointers, especially the hikes you did. You convinced me about the Beehive trail!

Thanks for the great report. You said:

';Surprised the sunset wasn’t delayed any over FL, guess it’s b/c we were farther east, but not a whole time zone.';

Actually downeast Maine IS a whole time zone further east than Florida. We should be with Nova Scotia. But it seems better to keep the whole U.S. in just the four time zones.

Thanks for this great post. My husband and I have our first trip to Maine planned Sept/Early Oct. We%26#39;re coming from Northern California so this will be a big leap and we%26#39;re very excited and anxious. We%26#39;re taking 10 days and spending 4 just in Bar Harbor. I%26#39;ve been looking at Tripadvisor for assurance we would have plenty to do and also be able to relax. You%26#39;re post makes us more confident we%26#39;ve chosen a great place to %26#39;experience%26#39; and will have plenty to do. I%26#39;m printing it out to show my hubby. I%26#39;ve made it a mission to see every lighthouse I can and experience all the ';must do%26#39;s'; while we are there. It sounds wonderful.

Thanks Again!

-ShoreLites

tygator.... question about your biking day. We too are doing the same biking trail.. How long did it take you. How did you get to Echo lake with your bikes? We were hoping to have a whole day here, combining it with dinner in Southwest harbor and a visit to the Bass Lighthouse. Is this all possible if we have our bikes or should we just take our car? Alternatively, we can only rent the bikes for half a day and take the shuttle back to bar harbour and then come back with our car for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

Thanks for your help!

Finally had time to add a link to some pictures...

…google.com/teuliano/MaineSummer2008…

Sorry it%26#39;s such an ugly link...

To willbebroke,

We got the bikes at around 10:40, and needed 5 so they wouldn%26#39;t fit on a bike rack. We road over to the park to pick up the shuttle that supposedly only ran on the :45 and :15, had just missed it, but another showed up in about 5 minutes. He loaded the bikes (max 11 per shuttle) and took us to Eagle Lake (only place it goes). From there we rode 6-8-10-14-16-17-7-6 (sign posts on carriage roads). Stopping for picnic near the pondhouse. Then back on the shuttle to Bar Harbor, returned the bikes by 2:30 (so got back a little money on the half day rental). So it was probably 3h bike-time.

Then we drove back to Echo Lake. I don%26#39;t know how much of riders you are, but there are some mighty steep hills, plus I don%26#39;t think there are carriage roads where you are going, and even some of those are not open to bikes. It would be a haul to get up over Somes Sound and back down to Bass Harbor, then back again, and I%26#39;m not sure there are roads that are all that great for biking that either. But if you%26#39;re huge bikers it%26#39;s probably no problem. I%26#39;d refer you to a resident expert for that. For my family it would definitely be a car thing!

Have a GREAT Trip!

Thanks for your quick reply.. we did just call the bike shop and they did say it was not possbile to bike down to the lighthouse, so we will return the bikes and get our car. But they did tell us we could easily bike to Echo Lake... Do you think that%26#39;s feasible? my daugher is 16 and very athletic. I%26#39;ll be the one holding up the pack..lol

one last question .. how long did you spend at schoonic penninsula? I know we are going to have long days, but are hoping to do it all!!

Definitely possible to bike to Echo Lake but almost entirely uphill from Bar Harbor (at least they promised it was entirely downhill on the way back). Tough way to start your ride, but doable. If it were me and I wanted more riding I would still take the shuttle in to the lake, then just choose different carriage roads. The people at the bike shops are really knowledgeable. If it%26#39;s just the 3 of you, you could rent a bike rack for $10 and drive in to wherever you%26#39;d like to start maybe.

Regarding Schoodic, it%26#39;s a bit of a drive there, maybe 45min from Bar Harbor, then we spent about 15min on the side toward the lighthouse, just playing on the rocks, then went up to the point and stayed there probably 30-min. Then drove out. There are a few hikes in there, but the kids were hungry so we skipped them. I%26#39;d say maybe a 2-3h min excursion from Bar Harbor? If you pack a picnic and plan to eat it at the point it would be a nice time. Just try to plan for when the tide is coming in, at least that%26#39;s what we heard and it worked out for us.