Discloser: This series is not going to be a cookie-cutter blog series where I share with you the same top things that every other blogger or travel website shares about Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island. Some of the places might be familiar to you and the others will be hidden gems that aren’t talked about enough. Places like Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond House, and others have their rightful place on those blogs and websites for everything is beautiful in here. However, I really wanted to focus on the places and spaces where you can really enjoy the beauty without the volume of tourists, congestion and frustrations of those more popular places.
Oh, and one more thing..the name. Mount DESERT Island. Folks typically use the French pronunciation of ‘desert’ which is ‘dessert’ in homage to Samuel De Champlain, the French explorer who named the island way back when.
Ok, now that we have that out of the way…let’s get started!
Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. Their names are synonymous. Mount Desert Island means Acadia National Park and vice versa. I have so many memories as a child, a young adult and as mother of being on the Island and in Park with my family. We have this tradition as a family now that when we come onto Thompson Island (the small little island you drive over directly before coming onto MDI) that we roll down the windows and I always shout, “fill your lungs with the good stuff” and we do the same ritual when we leave. There is something about the air up there..it’s better, it’s richer, it’s just simply amazing.
Growing up, we lived about an hour away from Island and Park and would make frequent day trips there. Hanging out at Echo Lake with my sister or a couple of my friends was always a favorite thing to do. Plus, my mom always bought cheese puffs for lunch on those beach days. There is nothing quite like a core memory of biting into a cheese puff with wet hands sticky with sand. 🙂
Later on, we would spend a week each summer renting a camp on Long Pond. Sidenote: If you are not from Maine, a house on a lake is not a house on a lake or, even worse, a cottage; it’s simply a camp, no matter the size or age of the dwelling.
After high school, my time on the Island was replaced with college and summer work and I finally returned to the Island shortly after I met my then-boyfriend/future-husband in 2010. We saved money that year for a simple 2-night getaway to MDI and have been returning to the Island ever since.
Even the birth of my daughter didn’t stop us from going up when she was 3 months old; our truck loaded up with so much baby gear, it was laughable. Needless to say, the list could go on and on about how we like to prioritize our time up but that would probably bore you.
To officially kick off this Acadia Series, I am going to share my Top 5 Must-Haves if you are going to spend any time exploring Acadia National Park and the surrounding areas.
TOP 5 MUST-HAVES FOR ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
- Purchase a Good Map. Our go-to map is a waterproof version by Map Adventures. The 4th edition is the most current and gives excellent details of Acadia National Park and a whole island map of Mount Desert Island. It also has carriage roads and those important intersection signpost numbers. Cell phone service is exceptionally SPOTTY and relying on any app on your phone for trails is probably a bad idea.
- Have a Back Up Plan. Everyone will tell you to have a back up plan..and it’s for good reason. Parking lots could be full (very common), trails could be closed, and weather can change. We always head into the park with two plans to avoid disappointment, frustration, and whatever feelings come up for you when plans have to change. The last blog in this series will feature a number of day adventures around the island with lots of Plan Bs and Plan Cs to give you if your intended plans go array.
- Pay the Park Entrance Fees. It is really easy to forget that it does cost money to get into Acadia National Park. Accessing any of the park lands (even outside the “main parts”) requires a pass. They offer a tiered menu of day, week and year long passes. Purchase what suits your family best and remember that access to Cadillac Mountain requires ONLINE RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE and is SEPARATE from the park entrance fee.
- Practice “Leave No Trace” and…Leave the Cairns Alone too. There are a total of 7 Principles of Leave No Trace and while they are all applicable to Acadia National Park (and everywhere you go), the ones that stand out to me are: Disposal of Waste and Travel on Durable Surfaces.
- I think “pack it in, pack it out” is very applicable here. It’s crazy to see the increase in trash around the park in recent years and I wonder if the increase in visitors has anything to do with it. I can’t be sure but… we always collect trash on the trail nowadays.
- Stay on the trail (or follow park instructions for detours), walk in a single file, and try to avoid stepping on vegetation outside the “beaten path”. Much of the vegetation on higher summits in the Park are undergoing restoration processes…that means that volunteers are hiking with 5lb, 10lb, or 15 lb bags of soil up to the summits to help the restoration process! They are being slowed sometimes by visitors who disregard guidance to avoid stepping on the vegetation (as witnessed by returning the next day to see footprints in the freshly laid soil).
- As for the cairns, leave them alone too. Cairns are standard trail markers in the park, long before the paint blazes on trees made their appearance. Adding or taking away, along with making extra cairns can sometimes lead hikers astray.
- Familiarize Yourself with the Island Explorer. The Island Explorer is the FREE bus system with 11 routes around the Island and Acadia National Park. Parking can be extremely limited in some of the more popular parks of the park and taking the Island Explorer is a great way to avoid congestion, reduce your carbon footprint, and increase your chances of doing your Plan A.
Lastly, consider stopping at the Visitor Center in Hulls Cove. You can pay for your park pass, get information about the Island Explorer and they always stock the map I recommend. Additionally, you can pick up Junior Ranger kits for the kiddos, get recommendations on trails and routes, and check out the workshops that are being put on by the rangers during your time there.
Oh…and one last thing! Friends of Acadia always has an Acadia Quest each year. It is a Family/Team event where you try to complete a number of activities in the Park. An app is required and if you complete the activities, you will be in the running for some prizes at the end of the season. It’s always fun to see what activities, trails, places, etc. they select!
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