We visited Maine during the month of July a few years ago. While I wasn’t blogging about our adventures back then, the trip was so memorable that we often talk about it and pictures have been in frames and attached to the fridge for years. While our trip was primarily to visit Acadia National Park, we also stopped at Baxter State Park. It’s about a 2 1/2 hour drive between the two parks, but well worth the trip.
We will definitely visit Baxter State Park again because we enjoyed it so much. Interestingly, there was talk during our visit about turning the area into a National Park. It’s definitely stunning and worthy of National Park status. Possibly as a start, President Obama designated the area a National Monument last year, the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. One of my favorite hikes is in Baxter State Park, the Sandy Stream Pond Trail.
Thinking of taking a trip to Maine with your family? Below is a list of our favorite parts of our vacation. Note, that two activities aren’t actually in Maine but they were included since they were done during that vacation, just on the drive home.
Cadillac Mountain – Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. Here’s a cool fact. It’s also the first place to view the sunrise in the U.S. during the colder months. We enjoyed walking the summit path, ~.3 miles in length. We went back to Cadillac Mountain a few times during our trip. Once was for pictures during a full moon. In my opinion it’s a great place to start and end any trip to Acadia National Park.
Tidepooling – This was easily one of our favorite parts of the trip. Tidepooling in Acadia National Park is best off the Wonderland Trail or on Bar Island. A trip to Acadia isn’t complete unless you’ve gone tidepooling. It’s basically free and a fun activity for the whole family! You can read about our tidepooling experience in a previous blog post here.
Park Loop Road – a 27-mile scenic loop road that offers some of the best coastal views in Acadia National Park. Most of the Park Loop Road closes for winter (December to Mid April) so be sure to time your trip accordingly. I personally think the summer months are best for visiting. The weather was perfect!
Baxter State Park – Baxter State Park is home to Mt. Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.) For one night (in the middle of our trip) we stayed at the New England Outdoor Center in the snowy owl cabin. We had a wonderful time there and enjoyed canoeing, going on a moose tour, and sitting on lounge chairs just staring at Mt. Katahdin. Our dinner at River Driver’s Restaurant & Pub was excellent.
The next morning we drove the short distance to Baxter State Park for some hiking. One of my favorite trails, the Sandy Stream Pond Trail, is in this park. We were lucky enough to get a moose pass for a few hours to hike the trail. We sat near the pond for almost an hour and never saw a moose!! I wouldn’t normally be that bummed, but it’s apparently one of the best places to view moose. Maybe they were just being shy.
Ocean Path Trail – Ocean Path Trail is a 4.4 mile, out and back, trail that runs between Sand Beach and Otter Point in Acadia National Park. It’s easy, mostly level, and kid-friendly. There are plenty of places to go off the trail a little and explore.
Lunch at Jordan Pond House – I definitely recommend making reservations if wanting to dine here on your trip. We had lunch here and were able to sit outside and enjoyed the view of Jordan Pond. The popovers were delicious! It was a little expensive but I highly recommend visiting on your trip to Acadia. Jordan Pond and popovers go together like PB&J.
Thinking of this place always makes me laugh. Popovers are priced one for $5 or two for $8. I can’t remember how many we ordered initially. I’m guessing five, one for each of us. We loved them, no doubt. But I think Kris and I were content with ordering five and didn’t think we needed anymore. They were expensive. The kids did a great job of convincing us we needed more because they loved them so much. Five more popovers arrive, each kid takes a bite of one, and they all decide they’ve had enough. AAAAAHHHHH! Let’s just say I left probably ten pounds heavier, full of popovers. Haha!
Islander Half-Day Fishing Trip – While not associated with the park, this was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We took an Islander Half-Day Fishing trip that departed early in the morning. Conditions were foggy morning, but the captain and crew were wonderful and very patient with the kids. We were able to see seals near Egg Rock Lighthouse and a bald eagle snatch a fish right out of the ocean. We caught about ten fish, mostly pollock and mackerel. The captain cleaned the fish so we could take them back to our campsite for dinner. He also offered tips on the best way to cook them.
Stars Over Sand Beach – This is a free ranger program dedicated to observing the night sky. Dress warmly and bring bug repellent. The park offers Stars over Sand Beach nightly during the summer months. This is a great program for kids and helps fulfill a requirement for the Junior Ranger badge.
Thunder Hole – Thunder Hole is just south of Sand Beach off the Park Loop Road. When a large wave crashes into the inlet it creates a huge splash and thunderous sound. Note to my mother-in law, that’s not us in the picture. We were standing in a safe spot.
Camping at Mount Desert Island Campground – While the Mount Desert Island Campground is not one of the two campgrounds that are part of Acadia National Park, it is on Mount Desert Island and close to park attractions. You need quarters for the metered showers, but the bathrooms were extremely clean and well-maintained. We were at site E17 which is a nice, wooded site with a raised platform in the quiet section near the back of the campground. It’s also adjacent to the Llewelyn Trail which we often used to walk to the Gathering Place for pastries and ice cream. We would definitely stay here again! I got the best sleep in years while camping here. I’m not joking! I would recommend this campground to anyone!!
Mt. Washington Auto Road – Have I mentioned I’m afraid of heights? Have I mentioned our car lost power steering on this trip? I didn’t. Silly me! Even still, this was my favorite part of our trip back home, a chance to drive on the Mt. Washington Auto Road. We lucked out and timed our trip perfectly. It’s important to check their website for daily operating hours. This 7.6 mile toll road takes you to the summit of Mt. Washington and to Mount Washington State Park. You’re literally driving on the edge of the mountain.
This was an experience I’ll never forget. The weather at the start of the auto road was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature at the summit was hovering around 40 degrees. It was windy! So windy that I held Hannah because I thought she’d blow straight off the mountain. In fact, Mt. Washington held the world record for years on the highest recorded wind speed in the world, 231 mph!!! We had a quick meal in the cafeteria, picked up souvenirs at the gift shop and visited the Observatory museum. One of the coolest things to see were the thru-hikers stopping for food on their way to Mt. Katahdin.
Lake Champlain Ferry – We took the Lake Champlain Ferry from Burlington, Vermont to Port Kent, New York. Check their website for schedule and pricing. The trip took about an hour so we were able to get out of the car and sit on a bench taking in the views. This is also where we took one of our best family selfies 🙂
While it didn’t make the official list, check out Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast in Bar Harbor. We had breakfast there twice on our trip, and it was delicious! Madeline and Paige loved their strawberry rhubarb fruit spread so much that I purchased jars of it to take home.
Maine was definitely one of my favorite vacations and had great activities for the whole family to enjoy. I wish we had more time to explore in Baxter State Park, but I know we’ll be back. We have yet to see a moose in the wild, and I was sure we would see one during our trip. We also had a whale watching trip scheduled, but it was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It was probably a good thing. It was one of those things we planned last minute, I think feeling pressured by all the marketing materials in Bar Harbor. While we were only in Maine for a week there is so much we would have done with a longer trip. I’m looking forward to going again sometime since the girls will be older and can handle some harder hikes and can bike the carriage roads in Acadia.
Have you been to Maine? What would you recommend for our next trip?
Looks like you had an awesome trip! If you find yourselves back near the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, come see us at Acadia East Campground https://acadiaeastcampground.com Cheers! Tom