Acadia

If the map of the United States were a person, Maine would be the raised hand saying “pick me, pick me”… so we did, as our next stop in our leaf peeping tour of New England. In particular, we visited Acadia National Park and the surrounding areas. But let’s be honest, this was our “lobster roll or bust” trip!

We set up camp on Mount Desert Island which is home to Bar Harbor and the majority of Acadia. It was a great location on the north side of the island making it easy to get around and visit all the sites. We’d heard a lot about Bar Harbor so we started there.

Bar Harbor is a busy place with everything imaginable including shops, restaurants and sightseeing boat tours. Its also the (tendering) cruise port for the area. Based on a recommendation we stopped at Ben and Bills for some lobster ice cream. It was… interesting. We enjoyed having a drink out on the dock and watching the boats come and go, but honestly, Bar Harbor was just a little too congested and touristy for us.

As mentioned, the majority of Acadia National Park is on Mount Desert Island and accessible by a 27 mile loop road. We spent several days hiking, driving and sightseeing in the park. It’s quite different from the other National Parks we’ve been to so far. The mountains surrounded by the rocky Maine seashore is very beautiful and provides for some diverse hiking opportunities. Not only are there wonderful mountain hikes as you’d expect but you can also climb along the rocks on the seashore. Some of our favorite adventures included;

Sand Beach

Beaches are unusual in this part of Maine, in fact Sand Beach is the only natural beach on Mount Desert Island. It’s a beautiful beach nestled in a cove and surrounded by rock cliffs and boulders.

Thunder Hole

There’s a great hike along the seashore from Sand Beach to Otter Point called Ocean Path. At about the halfway point you come to Thunder Hole. Thunder Hole is a carved inlet and when waves are forced into the narrow channel, the air escapes with a thunderous reverberation. It’s really cool to watch and anticipate the big thunder, which as we found, doesn’t happen too often but its fascinating just the same.

Jordon Pond

This hike is a 3.4 mile loop around… you guessed it, Jordon Pond. It’s a fairly easy and level hike with a combination of dirt path, raised log planks and some boulder scrambling at the far end of the lake. And at that halfway point is the Jordon Pond House, which is a great stop for a bite to eat on the lawn or, as in our case, a cup of hot coffee to recharge and take in the view.

Bubbles Trail

There are actually two Bubbles trails, North and South, which can’t be missed when visiting Acadia. The North trail is the more difficult of the two, being a fairly steep trail to the summit. The view of Jordon Pond and the surrounding mountains makes all that uphill well worth it. Bubbles South splits off from Bubbles North and takes you to the famous Bubble Rock, an ancient glacier phenomenon. It’s amazing how this huge bolder appears to be just hanging off the edge of the mountain. Get your camera ready!

Cadillac Mountain

This is the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and offers magnificent views from every direction. Eagle Lake is to the east, Bar Harbor and the cruise ships can be seen to the north and beautiful mountain peaks with their fall colors adorn the west and south. The drive to the summit is just as amazing up the 3.5 mile road, located off of the park loop road. Note, that reservations are required to drive the Cadillac Mountain Road and RV’s are not allowed.

Schoodic Peninsula

Across Frenchman Bay to the east is a more remote area of Acadia. The Schoodic Peninsula is very peaceful and absent of the crowds that are often encountered on Mount Desert Island. It’s well worth a day trip to encounter Maine how it’s meant to be experienced.

TIP: Avoid going to Acadia on the weekends if possible but if you must, go very early if you plan on hiking. There is minimal parking along the loop and at trailheads and it gets very crowded. The park shuttle bus at the visitor’s center is an option but is also crowded on the weekends.

OK, now the real reason we went to Maine – the lobster! We were in Maine for seven days and had lobster four times. I have no idea what we were thinking those other three nights. The lobster rolls are the local delicacy and there is no shortage of great places to indulge, although it’s best to get away from Bar Harbor. We found the Lobster Pounds, a shack that serves and cooks fresh lobster, is often the best bet. But let’s face it, all the lobster in this area is good and fresh, so what makes the difference? It mainly (pun intended) comes down to two things, the amount of lobster meat and the bread. Not all lobster establishments are as generous as others with their helpings so more is better. We also found that some places simply use a hot dog bun for their lobster rolls. We prefer them on one of the nice, lightly toasted bread rolls. It’s also important to note that the traditional Maine lobster roll is made with chilled lobster and tossed in a mild mayo sauce. You can alternately order them with warm drawn butter rather than the mayo sauce.

Again, all of the lobster we ate was fantastic and some places we planned on visiting had already closed for the season So, with that said, and without further ado, this is our rating of the four lobster roll experiences:

1. C-Ray Lobster: This is a traditional lobster pound with outside picnic bench seating and lots of lobster pots boiling. C-Ray’s was our first stop and comes in at #1. The lobster was piled high and on a very tasty, lightly toasted, split top bun. I think I found taste buds I didn’t know I had, and not to be outdone by a slice of their fresh blueberry pie. Mmm!
2. Abel’s Lobster: Sometimes you just have to throw the plans out the window and wing it. Abel’s wasn’t even on our list, but we passed by it after a long day in the park and did a U-turn – it was calling us. We knew we were at the right place when a long line formed about 20 minutes before they opened the doors. There is a nice indoor restaurant but we had the dogs with us so we sat outside. Abel’s lobster rolls came in at a solid #2 on our list.
3. Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound: This is another traditional lobster pound with the wood fire boilers right out front. There’s outside seating or a protected patio when it’s cold, which we appreciated. It’s a very popular place and for good reason, the lobster rolls was very good, just a tick off from the previous two.
4. Gateway Lunt’s Lobster Pound: Called a lobster pound but has a small inside casual dining area as well. I certainly wasn’t sending my lobster roll back, but it lacked what the other three had in taste, quantity and bread. Shannon had the full lobster dinner, which looked to be the better bet here.

We really enjoyed our trip to Maine and would like to go back someday to explore some of the areas to the north and south of Acadia. All in all, it was everything we thought it would be and more. Good pick!

Be sure to check out all of our pictures of Acadia.