ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Acadia National Park In Bar Harbor, Maine

Updated on November 8, 2016
Acadia National Park in Maine
Acadia National Park in Maine

At the end of last summer I was feeling a bit restless, so I decided to take a few days road trip up to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Me. While I've lived in Massachusetts for many years and have traveled quite a bit in New Hampshire, I've spent little time in Maine. So it was a nice little trip to some place close by that I've never actually been before.

I got very lucky with the weather and managed a couple of beautiful days to drive the Park Loop Road at Acadia National Park and I also spent some time wandering around Bar Harbor, Maine, checking out the shops and stopping to get something to eat. It's a cute little town, a bit touristy, but well worth a visit for a few days, especially if you enjoy visiting National Parks. Acadia is really a must visit destination..

Naturally I took lots of photos. So now that we are at the start of a new summer I thought I would share some of them here and give a little information about planning your own trip in case you would like to plan a fun Maine Coast road trip of your own.


Enjoy the Popovers!

If you do decide to visit Acadia National Park, be sure to stop at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant for some of their delicious popovers!

Click thumbnail to view full-size
Sunset in Bar Harbor, MESand Beach, Acadia National ParkPark Loop Road, Acadia National Park
Sunset in Bar Harbor, ME
Sunset in Bar Harbor, ME
Sand Beach, Acadia National Park
Sand Beach, Acadia National Park
Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park
Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park
A
Acadia National Park:
Acadia National Park, Mt Desert, ME 04660, USA

get directions

Getting to Bar Harbor, ME

First off, if you are driving to Bar Harbor from other parts of New England located south of Bar Harbor there are two routes you can choose from. The fast route is to just take the Maine Turnpike, aka I-95. That will get you most of the way there, but the drive itself will be pretty boring and you will pay tolls. It is fast however, so if you don't have much time and you want to maximize your time in Bar Harbor and at Acadia NP, then that is probably the way to go.

Alternatively, for a more interesting drive that passes through all sorts of small Maine towns you could take Route 1 North instead, which also is a lot closer to the shore so there are some lovely beach towns to pass through, such as Ogunquit (on the other hand, if you are driving on a summer weekend, you may want to avoid Rte 1 because of traffic.).

So how you go really depends on the type of trip you want -- do you want to enjoy a road trip or do you just want more time in the national park?

For flyers -- Bar Harbor has its own airport, but it will probably be cheaper to fly into Bangor, ME instead which is about 50 miles away. Alternatively, consider flying into Boston and spending a day or two in this great city (my hometown) and then drive to Bar Harbor from Boston or take the shuttle flight from Logan to the Bar Harbor airport.

If you want to fly into Bangor, ME, you can take a shuttle bus to Bar Harbor. I personally think you will enjoy Bar Harbor more by renting a car, but other visitors to the area say it is better to use the available bus services in town and at Acadia. There's a coach that does the Park Loop Drive, but I elected to drive on my own and did not find the traffic tough at all. Although I suppose it depends on what time during the summer you go. July 4th weekend? Probably very busy!

Getting there

Airport
Distance to Acadia National Park
 
Hancock County Maine
10 miles
Direct Flights from Logan Intl. in Boston
Bangor, Maine Airport
46 miles
 
 
 
 

Where I Stayed

I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money this trip and Bar Harbor can be expensive, particularly in the summer. There aren't many chain hotels or motels here, but there are tons of cute cottages. I stayed at a cottage one night and then moved to an inexpensive motel for the next two nights.

If you are looking for a cheap and clean place to stay, Robbins Motel is a great option and they have free wi-fi too.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)