Coastal Discovery Guide
Coastal Maine Hot Spots
Overview | Hot Spots | Festivals and Events | Suggested Itineraries | Coastal Maine Advertisers
Down East and Acadia
Down East, from the Penobscot River to Calais, is the most remote section of the coast, with the exception of Bar Harbor, where the pace picks up with museums, cruises, a lively social scene and miles of drives and hikes through Acadia National Park.
Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park
Mount Desert Island has been drawing visitors from as far back as the mid-1850s, when wealthy Americans flocked here to spend their summers in magnificent cottages along the shore. Unfortunately, many of those homes, along with the town’s grand resorts, burned to the ground during the fire of 1947. Also destroyed were 17,000 acres of woodland. Today the largest draw is Acadia National Park, with more than 120 miles of hiking paths.
Start your park tour at the Visitors’ Center, where you can pick up a map and browse through a gift store loaded with Maine books, outdoor gadgets and souvenirs. The 27-mile Park Look Road will let you drive through the park, including to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard. The 47,000-acre park includes a free bus service, or hike to take in panoramic views of the surrounding harbours, coves, islands and woodlands.
Back in Bar Harbor, the recently expanded Robert Abbe Museum offers a peek at the island’s Native American past with a collection of baskets, jewelry and art. The Natural History Museum, at the College of the Atlantic, includes mounted displays of birds, animals and local wildlife. The Oceanarium Lobster Hatchery gives an up-close look at the lives of lobsters. Or just sit back and relax at the waterfront park and watch schooners, ferries and fishing boats glide past. Equally notable are Bar Harbor’s elegant inns and cottages, as well as its shop-lined streets.
