I tell my own family members, when they visit, they should experience what I can show them in a day of driving and walking together, but then they ought to rent an electric bike or take a tour on those quieter traffic free carriage roads. And for the best experience, they should have a chance to see the coastline from a boat as well. Acadia demands a good drive, a chance to use your own two feet, and if possible, see the coast from the waves themselves.
Private Tours are an excellent introduction to the area, and a great way to connect with this place on a deeper level.
A private tour is so much more than a checklist of places or facts. A great tour helps you connect with a place in meaningful ways, deeper than you would merely exploring on your own.
A great tour guide knows the history and stories, but they also have a passion for sharing those details that will be uniquely special for your group.
Of course, leaving the driving to a local frees you to give your full attention to all the sights and experiences.
Acadia is one of America’s smaller national parks, but also one of the most popular. On a private tour, you’ll have someone who knows how to navigate any busy areas, showing off the best views while reducing how much you notice other visitors, or showing you those hidden gems where it feels like you’re all alone with the crashing waves, instead of elbow to elbow with a coach bus tour taking selfies.
The Carriage Roads…
The paved roads of Acadia, designed to showcase some of the best this island has to offer, were not the only purpose-built paths the gilded age benefactors of “Eden” made. The carriage road system, over 45 miles of crushed stone pathways reserved for horses and foot traffic, now so popular for bikes, were designed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. with assistance from Beatrix Farrand, a woman who had designed some of the White House gardens, to show off the land to best effect. The way we manage our national park lands has changed over the years, leaving a few of their sweeping vistas overgrown, instead of so park-like as first envisioned 100 years ago when they were private property. Still, it is evident, the intention with which these two carefully melded peaceful pathways, lovely architecture and bridges, with landscape art and a gardener’s eye for placing local plants so everything looks as if it had always been there.
Read more about the carriage roads and bridges, or search for interesting events and tours the Park may be planning during your visit, at the Acadia National Park website: Carriage Roads – Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
If you want to feel like a Rockefeller for a day, it’s still possible to catch a horse drawn carriage tour from their old family stables. The guides on those tours do an excellent job of sharing more about the history and architecture of the park. Their horses are beautiful.
Bike Acadia’s Carriage Roads
If you’re up for a bit of activity though, I love experiencing the carriage road system on an e-bike! I never would have guessed I could love electric bicycles so much. It felt a little like a crime against my road cycling days to join friends on battery assisted bikes. I quickly got over myself about all that when all of us, despite varying levels of fitness (including a few who hadn’t ridden in years), were able to keep a fun pace over far more ground than we otherwise could and then finish up feeling like we had only gone a fraction of the distance.
There are so many amazing places along the carriage roads. Quintessential examples of Acadia at its best, that almost nobody will see unless they live here and make it a goal to walk or run every mile of those roads. Sometimes it is a little sad knowing these private retreats will be less private during the hours when bike rentals are available. Then, remembering how refreshing it felt to discover them for the first time that autumn years ago, when they reminded me after a wearying tourist season at my old job, just how special this island is… If I have to remind some local friends not to hate me for telling you, that’s a risk I’m willing to take, to share an experience this special with you.
Fat Tire E- Bike Rental | Maine State Sea Kayak There are many wonderful options for bike rentals near the park. I like how stable these bikes feel, turning on gravel pathways. This company offers exceptional service.
See the coastline from the waves
One of the most memorable moments you are likely to have when you visit Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park, will be standing on the rocky Maine coastline, enjoying the sea birds, the color and sound of cold Atlantic waves breaking on granite, here at the edge where a new day first touches U.S. shores. That alone is reason enough to plan a bucket list trip here…
Don’t miss your chance to look back from the waves themselves at this lovely island!
Enjoy an Aqua Safari on the quiet side
If you’re feeling slightly adventurous, I highly recommend taking a sea kayak tour on ‘the quiet side’ of MDI with my friends at Maine State Sea Kayak. Their registered Maine Guides will safely lead you on one of my favorite experiences ever in this part of the world. I’ve never spent a day on the water with them, where we haven’t seen multiple bald eagles, osprey, and various types of seals or porpoise along the routes they select based on tides and weather. Their guides are expert naturalists, tons of fun, and they know how to make even a novice kayaker who isn’t so sure about being quite that close with the ocean.. comfortable and confident as you enjoy a paddle along some of the most beautiful coastline around.
Maine State Sea Kayak | Guided Sea Kayaking in Maine – Acadia
Perhaps your marriage, or your recently replaced hip, simply can’t endure a few hours seated in a tandem kayak… Maybe you’re planning a visit in one of the colder months. There are also many excellent local boat tours available. I especially like the smaller tour operators scattered around the island, but even the larger companies setting out from Bar Harbor, are so popular for a reason!
You might also consider taking the ferry across Frenchmen Bay to Winter Harbor. Operated by a sweet older couple who’s down east accent and charm match the rugged dream of this place you’re probably hoping to find. The ferry is an affordable adventure in itself, and Winter Harbor can be a wonderful break from the bustle of Bar Harbor during the busy season, as well as a gateway to explore the Schoodic Peninsula.
https://www.facebook.com/BarHarborFerry/ Information about the ferry, many excellent pictures and videos of the area by the folks who pilot the Miss Lizzie.
Get out on a trail, find a narrower path
The trail system in Acadia is one of the most beautifully designed you will find anywhere in the world. Take even just a few steps from the paved roads or parking areas, and it’s evident the path makers truly loved this place. Acadia is small compared to other famous hiking destinations, but even on the busiest days of the year, it IS absolutely possible to find amazing trails all to yourself. Last July 4’th, I hiked Dorr Mountain. Other than three locals who I passed on my way to the summit, I didn’t meet another soul until I came back down and headed into town for the end of the fireworks show.
Whatever you choose to do here, there will be more you might have done. I hope you visit and fully enjoy the days you have: none of this sad vacation rush so many do -missing the music of wind and light for a mad rush to take selfies at all the “can’t miss” spots the crowds find. I’ll share some of those places with you too, if we meet. But I’ll also share, as best I can, the places a few hundred feet away: same great beauty, plus a little elbow room and quiet!
