Trip to Maine - Post #17: Acadia National Park

The second leg of our family vacation to Maine this past summer took us to Acadia National Park where we spent two full days exploring and sightseeing. Acadia is absolutely amazing and should be a definite must-see on your bucket list. There is so much to see and do while in Acadia regardless of your physical ability. The main loop drive is lovely, although it can get very busy. My recommendation is to visit during the week, if at all possible, if you are visiting in the summer. This will cut down on some of the traffic. Thankfully we did this and although there were a lot of people in the park, it wasn't unbearable by any means. The park does run into huge traffic problems during peak season on the weekends. There's an exhibit in the main entrance visitor's center that talks about the traffic problems.

I highly recommend you take a drive or hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain. The views are beautiful! We drove to the top. There's a paved road and parking lot, but my recommendation is to get to the park early and head to Cadillac Mountain first before the crowds arrive. Parking is tight at the top and they close the road down if there is no parking available, creating long waits at the bottom of the mountain. We arrived around 8:30 AM and the parking lot was close to three-fourths full. So we found a spot, but it was starting to get tight. There's nice path around the summit of the mountain for you to view the entire landscape.

There are bathrooms and a gift shop at the top and if you collect stamps for your National Park Book, make sure to get your stamp at the gift shop!

There are really two sides to Acadia. The side with the loop road is by far the busiest, but I highly encourage you to take a day and visit the other side. There are some cool light houses and rock formation features that you don't want to miss!

Nothing beats views from Cadillac Mountain to start your day in Acadia National Park!