The oldest national park on the East Coast, Acadia National Park is home to wild coastlines, mountains, lakes, wildlife, and many miles of hiking trails and historic carriage roads.
Acadia National Park is the only national park in New England. Located on a number of islands—Mount Desert Island is the main one—on the stunning coast of Maine, this is a super-popular destination in this part of the country. And there are many reasons for that.
Combining rugged coastlines and mountain ranges, and freshwater lakes and beaches, Acadia National Park offers a wide variety of activities.
The park is the result of the combined efforts of early-19th-century philanthropists such as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Charles W. Eliot.
In addition to its natural features, the park is also home to a couple of interesting man-made structures, including many miles of carriage roads and a gorgeous lighthouse.
This is a place where you can go cycling on historic carriage roads in the morning, have a lobster lunch at noon, spend the afternoon on a beach and finish the day by enjoying a spectacular mountain-top sunset.
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Highlights of Acadia National Park
Taking in most of the attractions in Acadia National Park, the Park Loop Road is a scenic drive around a part of Mount Desert Island.
This fabulous loop road can be entered at various points across the park, but the best place to start is the visitor’s center at Hull’s Cove in the north.
From there on the road takes drivers, hikers and cyclists past all of the following attractions, with the exception of Bass Head Lighthouse. (The not-to-miss attractions are in bold.)
- Cadillac Mountain
- Jordan Pond
- Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
- Champlain Mountain
- Sand Beach
- Thunder Hole
- Carriage roads
Accommodation Near Acadia National Park
In addition to a handful of campground within the park boundaries, you’ll also find numerous accommodation options in nearby Bar Harbor. This fun tourist town is the gateway to Acadia, home to hotels, B&Bs, shops and seafood restaurants.
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Useful Info
Location: Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States
Nearest Town: Bar Harbor
Area: 76.7 square miles (49,075 acres)
Annual Visitors (2022): 3,970,260
Features: Rocky coastline, tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, ponds and lakes, seafood, wildlife
Top Attractions: Park Loop Road, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Cadillac Mountain, Jordan Pond, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, carriage roads, fall foliage
Popular Activities: Hiking, cycling, camping, kayaking, canoeing, swimming
Campground(s):
- Blackwoods Campground (281 sites)
- Seawall Campground (202 sites)
- Schoodic Woods Campground (89 sites)
- Duck Harbor Campground (5 sites)
Suggested Stay: 3 days
More Information: National Park Service
Other Coastal National Parks:
- Biscayne National Park, Florida
- Channel Islands National Park, California
- Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
- Olympic National Park, Washington
- Redwood National Park, California
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