Acadia National Park - Bar Harbor, Maine

Address:Eagle Lake Road
Bar Harbor, Maine
Tel: (207) 288-3338

The first National Park established east of the Mississippi, Acadia is a delightfully rustic coastal area encompassing Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, Isle au Haut, and several smaller islands. The popular Cadillac Mountain as well as 25 other mountains and about two dozen lakes are major features of the park. A 27-mile scenic drive along the Park Loop Road provides access to Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs (superb climbing opportunities), Sand Beach (great for ocean swimming if you don't mind 55-degree water), Jordan Cliff, and, of course, Cadillac Mountain. You'll find warmer water and a lifeguard at Echo Lake.
Acadia has 120 miles of hiking trails for visitors of all different abilities and 45 miles of carriage roads for bikers, cross-country skiers, and horseback riders (but not cars). Be on the lookout for moose, deer, or even a black bear along the way. Just about all types of boating activities are popular on the park's numerous lakes in the summers, and snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and skiing dominate the scene in the winters.

Located on the rugged coast of Maine, Acadia National Park encompasses over 47,000 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and ocean shoreline. Such diverse habitats create striking scenery and make the park a haven for wildlife and plants. Entwined with the natural diversity of Acadia is the story of people. Evidence suggests native people first lived here at least 5,000 years ago. Subsequent centuries brought explorers from far lands, settlers of European descent, and, arising directly from the beauty of the landscape, tourism and preservation. Attracted by the paintings and written works of the "rusticators," artists who portrayed the beauty of Mount Desert Island in their works, the affluent of the turn of the century flocked to the area. Though they came in search of social and recreational activities, these early conservationists had much to do with preserving the landscape we know today. George B. Dorr, the park's first superintendent, came from this social strata. He devoted 43 years of his life, energy, and family fortune to preserving the Acadia landscape. Thanks to the foresight of Dorr and others like him, Acadia became the first national park established east of the Mississippi. Today the park offers scientific, educational, and recreational activities unparalleled along the east coast.