Acadia

If you want to experience thrilling cliffside hikes against the background of a small New England town, Acadia National Park in Maine is the place to go.

We really didn’t research much before traveling here. We just had a campsite booked and a hankering for hiking and lobster rolls. On the way in, we stopped at The Travelin’ Lobster to grab a lobster roll to commemorate the first night. The place was so packed, we shared our table with another couple on their way out of town. Eating here satisfied their goal to try all the lobster rolls and blueberry pies on the whole island (an expensive goal). We chatted briefly about the (few) hikes they did and they mentioned, “if you’re really hardcore, you can take some headlamps early in the morning and see the first light in the U.S…” They were quick to add, “but we didn’t do that at all”. I didn’t think we were hardcore but coincidentally, that was our exact plan for the next morning.

The nap after that hike was amazing.

Acadia is known for iron-rung hikes. The famous one is called the Beehive, but in order to avoid the crowds we elected to do the Precipice Trail instead. They were super creative when they named it, the entire hike is on a precipice. The “trail” is more of a gigantic 40° angle rock scramble. There’s not much flat soil surface, and if it is flat, it’s a rock shelf that maybe has an iron railing bolted in. If there’s no railing, maybe there’s an iron foot hold. And if there’s no foothold there’s a precipice you maybe fall over. It felt safe except for the lovely group of teenagers behind us discussing their hypothesized fall-to-your-death stats.

Tides are the ruling force of nature in this park. The hike to Bar Harbor Island involves a land bridge that disappears during high tide. If you don’t make it back within the prescribed time, you’re in for a long night. We stayed to watch people get stranded, but sadly only a couple people had to take their shoes off to wade a short distance of ankle deep water.

Low tide also creates tide pools in other parts of the park. The longer you stare at a pool, the more coastal critters you notice. They’re pretty cool to get lost in.

After not getting stranded on the island, we got blueberry soft serve ice cream in Bar Harbor which is even better than it sounds. Bar Harbor is touristy, but it does have an appealing vibe of L.L. Bean chic with overtones of Lobster. We escaped most of the tourist traps and made it to our campsite.

We closed our trip with a lobster roll feast from Beal’s (we liked better than Travelin’). I spent my entire trip to Acadia National Park thinking about the movie CODA. Because of the lobster industry, rocky shore, and small New England town vibes, I felt like I was in the movie. Bar Harbor inspired me to re-watch it and I quickly found out it actually takes place in Massachusetts… Maybe that’s the next New England destination?

Acadia National Park is on Wabanaki land.