My mother loves Maine. So for an extended long weekend in August, my sister, mother and I drove up to Acadia National Park to celebrate her birthday. This park is small, it takes about 40 minutes to drive the one-way road that circles through the east side of the park. How much adventure you decide to pack into a day will determine what length of stay makes the most sense for you. Our itinerary gave us three full days to enjoy the park and Bar Harbor with a day of travel on the front and back end.

We stayed in an Airbnb about a 20min drive away from the park in Hancock, ME. With a full kitchen, we mostly ate in versus going out to accommodate our budget. Gas stations and grocery shopping were easily accessible. Acadia Coffee Roasters was our favorite caffeine stop heading into the park, and they offered grab and go boxed lunches.

Oh! One other thing to note, during our trip to Acadia, the weather was less than ideal. Mother nature is unpredictable as always, although I maintain my argument that my sister is a bad luck charm for weather on vacations (we will argue about this if she reads this later, I’m sure). None the less! We made the best of it, had a lot of laughs, and can confirm that you will not melt if hiking in the rain – the weather had minimal impact on our itinerary, so don’t let that deter you from exploring if you happen to have similar luck to ours!

NOTE: Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island. If you know anything about the stereotypes of “island weather”, you’ll see they certainly hold true in this park. Weather experienced on the mainland may differ from that on the island. Prior to the park, the weather was cloudy, but mostly clear, however within the park, we had minimal visibility due to dense fog. Due to this, we opted out of hiking/driving up Cadillac Mountain on this trip. If you do choose to incorporate Cadillac Mountain into your trip, bare in mind you need to book/reserve a time if driving up to see the sunrise.

Due to falcons nesting, we were also unable to complete the Precipice Trail hike. There’s a ton of wildlife in Acadia, so don’t forget to check the park website to confirm any trailhead closures or reopening’s for that day!

“Our forests offer much more than wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Each one has a different story to tell.”

~Raveena Tandon

Day 1: Travel

The driving time from Rhode Island to Maine with traffic through Boston was about a six hour drive. We settled into our airbnb in Hanock, did necessary food shopping and enjoyed a night in.

Day 2: Sand Beach, Beehive Hike and Thunder Hole

When entering Acadia’s one-way road, it’s about 10 minutes before you arrive at Sand Beach. There is street parking, a parking lot, restrooms and changing rooms. The beach is short, walkable and gorgeous. You could spend half a day here alone to enjoy the sand and swim on a hot day!

Across the road from Sand Beach is the Beehive Trailhead, so you can access both points of interest without needing to move your car.

Hiking the Beehive is a must, not overly technical, but will challenge you if you have a fear of heights like myself! It is a 1.4 mile loop with the first half mile being straight up a sheer rock face. You MUST have the physical ability to climb a rung ladder to complete this hike successfully. The width of the path along the rock face is about 3 feet then a sheer drop, so I would not coin this hike as “family friendly”. We didn’t have much of a view while completing the hike, but the unique scaling obstacles of the trail still made it interesting and worth doing!

After the hike, we returned to the car and continued another 5 minutes down the road to Thunder Hole. There is a parking lot and restrooms here as well. Just about everywhere I looked online said the time to come was when the tide was low and incoming, but we weren’t really worried about that timing today. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway – due to the weather or what storm was going on in the ocean, the waves were HUGE. The waves breaking on the rocks created a spray that was at least 8 feet tall and gave you a healthy respect for the seas of mother nature if you hadn’t developed one already. We spent a considerable amount of time here watching the waves.

We stopped at the for lunch at the Jordan Pond House. Jordan Pond is famous for it’s popovers, and we could see why! These are fluffy biscuits and they served them with butter, jam, and even ice cream if you wanted them for dessert. If you have a large party, reservations if you can get them are a good idea, but if you’re a smaller group, you won’t have to wait very long before securing a spot either out on the lawn or in the lodge. Our party of three waited about 15 minutes tops.

After Jordan’s Pond, we opted for a change of scenery. We left the park and spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening walking in and out of the gift shops in Bar Harbor. There are so many adorable gift shops, blueberry treats, and places to eat and venture by the water. If you catch the low tide right, you can even walk out to Bar Island along the exposed sand bar. We found ourselves at the Garden Bar located at the Ivy Manor Inn. It was a quaint out door area with bistro tables, fire pits and drinks. So long as we purchased a beverage from the bar, we were welcome to sit and enjoy the space as long as we liked.

TIP: Jordan’s Pond is the only place within Acadia National Park to purchase food. If taking your time to enjoy the beach and hiking within the park, don’t forget to pack snacks and a lunch to sustain you for the day.

Day 3: Jordan Pond

Jordan Pond has a good deal to offer besides popovers! There is a shuttle stop, access to the Carriage Roads, and trail access to some additional hikes that are more family friendly, the North and South Bubbles.

On our way to Jordan Pond, we paid another visit to Thunder Hole at the time of rising high tide (around 11 am). You can check the this website for the timing of the tides! The second visit was worthwhile. The waves were more calm and allowed us to experience how Thunder Hole received it’s name. If you close your eyes, the waves crashing against a small cave in the cliffs and rolling the large stones as they resend sounds like clapping thunder and crackling lightening.

We spent the majority of our afternoon enjoying the grounds of Jordan Pond. The hike around the perimeter is about 3.3 miles. Although the walk is flat, there are parts that require the ability to step along stones and balance on a narrow, wood plank walk way. It takes about an hour to complete, depending on your pacing and how often you stop to take pictures. This trail can be accessed either by the Jordan Pond House grounds starting at the boat launch and carriage road 15 or via the Bubble’s Parking Lot. For a full list of hikes that can be accessed via Jordan’s Pond, click here.

We had lunch here again post hike, and, yes, we found our way back to the beers and fire pits in Bar Harbor before returning to our airbnb.

Day 4: Carriage Roads

The Carriage Roads are one of the most prominent historical features of Acadia. They are a 45 mile network or motor-free roads, donated and constructed by John D Rockefeller with the intention of being able to enjoy the forests, lakes and cliffsides of Acadia via horseback. You can explore these roads that wind through the middle of Acadia National Park yourself by horseback or drawn carriage through Wildwood Stables. Unfortunately in our case, the horses were booked, so we opted to meander the roads by peddle bike.

We rented through Acadia Bike Rental located at 48 Cottage St. It was $35 per bike for the day with flexible pickup time and drop off by 5pm/close. Reservations are able to be made in advance through their website. They even offer tours if you’re afraid of getting lost! But I must say the maps and routs provided were quite comprehensive.

Well, for as long as they stayed dry. We no sooner got on our bikes before the sky opened up. We, and the maps, were drenched within seconds. This did not deter us from our adventure, but I did learn a valuable lesson in remembering to take a picture of the map on my phone before heading out next time…

Note: Bike rentals occur outside the parameters of the park. From Acadia Bike Rentals, it was about a 1 mile ride to the entrance of the park/Duck Bridge. Don’t forget to bring your National Park Entry Pass with you on your ride!

After our bike riding escapade, we, and by we I mean I, needed a beer. Acadia Brewing Co. was located right next to the bike rental shop and had some delicious food and a blueberry brew. Their gift shop was a great place to snag some malty beverages to bring back home.

Day 5: Travel Home

We started our trip over the weekend, so a five day total itinerary put us returning mid- week with work the next day. With an ambitious drive ahead, we dedicated an entire day to traveling home.