The Adventurer’s 3 Day Itinerary Acadia National Park

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Throughout the year my boyfriend Mike and I have been making our way through New England, but I was most excited about getting to visit Maine and Acadia National Park. The only NPS site designated as a national park in the Northeast, Acadia is known for its picturesque rocky coastlines and gorgeous sunrises and even though we spent 3 days exploring the park, I feel like it wasn’t enough for all Acadia has to offer. This Acadia National Park 3 day itinerary is specifically tailored to active, adventurous travelers who want to maximize their time, catch all the highlights, and get some solid exercise in as well. Prepare for lots of hiking, biking, and kayaking to explore Acadia from all angles!

Day 1: Arrive at Acadia National Park and Explore Bar Harbor

Check Out Acadia National Park’s Hulls Cove Visitor Center

Your first stop upon your arrival to Mount Desert Island should be the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, just north of Bar Harbor. There is a large parking area along with a small gift shop and park rangers available with maps and plenty of suggestions for exploring the park. This is also where you’ll pick up your Acadia park pass if you don’t already have an America the Beautiful annual pass. We made a quick stop here to pick up our passport stamp and talk to the rangers about some hiking suggestions. You can catch most of the buses in the Island Explorer shuttle system from this visitor center or the Village Green in downtown Bar Harbor. Pick up the shuttle schedule here as well to help you plan the next few days.

Visit Bass Harbor Lighthouse in Southwest Harbor

Once you pick up your pass you can make your way down to the Southwest Harbor area on the opposite side of the mountain. We chose to do this first since it’s so far out of the way from most everything else. It took us about 15 minutes waiting for a spot in the small Bass Harbor Lighthouse parking lot on a sunny afternoon once we arrived. I can’t imagine how long it takes around sunrise or sunset with hordes of photographers aiming for the perfect shot.

We would have taken the Island Explorer shuttle, but we thought we’d press our luck as the shuttle can take around an hour to get down to the lighthouse from the Village Green in Bar Harbor. There are also very limited runs of this shuttle bus (#7) during the fall. We spent about 20 minutes here once we parked and took the short path around towards the rocky shore to get some quintessential Maine lighthouse photos before heading to Bar Harbor to check in. If you have some more time you can explore Southwest Harbor in more depth before heading to wherever you’re staying for the next few days.

Check into Your Bar Harbor Hotel / B&B / Campground

There are several options for accommodations on Mount Desert Island including larger mainstream hotels, numerous campgrounds throughout the island, and local bed and breakfasts in downtown Bar Harbor itself. We chose to stay at Primrose Place just a few blocks from the Village Green in Bar Harbor and immensely enjoyed our stay. It was perfect to be able to walk down to the shuttle stop or stroll along the shops in the evening after our adventures in Acadia were done for the day. Even if you don’t stay in the downtown area, parking was relatively cheap at only a few dollars an hour in the main lots. That being said, I can imagine in the busier months that parking can fill up relatively quickly and it was certainly convenient being able to leave our vehicle at our B&B while wandering around.

Stroll Across the Sand Bar to Bar Island

One of the popular things to do back in Bar Harbor once you finish checking into your hotel is to walk across the Bar Island Path during low tide. You’ll need to time this when the sandbar is passable during low tide, which can change each day. Be sure to check the tide schedules in Bar Harbor as you’ll need to be sure to get back across the bar before the tide rises. Otherwise you’ll be stuck renting a very expensive water taxi to take you across to Bar Harbor. Take Bridge Street down to find where the sandbar is, but it should become pretty obvious as you near the water’s edge.

Once on Bar Island you can take the short trail (<1 mile) up to the top to get a higher view of Bar Harbor, or walk along the rocky shore. If you do choose to head up the trail, be sure to bring your national park pass as there is a sign requiring this to enter the interior of the island. We took a quick walk along the shore and then decided to head back early well before the tide came in.

Explore Bar Harbor

Even if you miss low tide, this is a great time to explore the charming town of Bar Harbor. The town itself isn’t very large, but is full of small shops and restaurants. Scope out some places you’d like to eat for the next few days and grab a bite or a pint before heading to bed early so you can wake up for the sunrise the next day.

Day 2: Bike to Jordan Pond House and End With Sunset Kayaking Tour

Take in the Sunrise at Otter Cliff

We chose to catch the sunrise along the rocky shoreline at Otter Cliff, but you could just as easily find a spot along the Ocean Path cliffs or some other Eastern facing area of the park.

While Cadillac Mountain is always full of people, we were the first ones at this spot and only one other group of 3 people joined us here for the sunrise. It was much less windy along the coast and was probably my favorite of the two days because of the beauty and the solitude. You will need to drive out here this early in the morning since the shuttles won’t be running yet, but I assure you it’s more than worth it. Make your way back into town for some breakfast and to pick some rental bikes to explore the interior of the island.

Once you finish with sunrise you’ll likely be hungry, so check out one of the many awesome breakfast places in town to fuel up for the rest of the day’s adventures. We ate breakfast at Jordan’s and Cafe This Way and loved both. Breakfast was actually my favorite meal in Bar Harbor! Try the blueberry muffins at Jordan’s and one of the omelets and chai latte at Cafe This Way.

Bike the Carriage Roads From Eagle Lake to Jordan Pond

Biking the famous carriage roads is on most people’s Acadia bucket list. I’m personally not a big biker, but I enjoyed biking down the gravel paths that weave through the interior of the park. The carriage roads were designed for horse drawn carriages and were paid for by John D. Rockefeller, who owned a summer home on Mount Desert Island. Rockefeller knew that the beauty of the island could be destroyed by too many visitors, so he built a network of roads in which cars and any other motorized vehicles are not allowed to follow. This makes it a lot safer for the visiting bikers and pedestrians, and relatively level roads that were originally designed for horse drawn carriages make the ride a challenge without being overly demanding.

There are several bike rental shops downtown. We chose to pick up a daily bike rental with Acadia Bike since we also scheduled our Acadia sea kayaking tour through them. They’ll provide you with helmets and a map of the carriage roads along with your rental. There is a “Bicycle Express” option of the Island Explorer that takes you and your bike directly to the carriage roads at Eagle Lake. You’ll find the van with bicycle trailer lined up with the rest of the Island Explorer shuttles. Hop in and get ready for your ride. Once you hop off the shuttle, get on your bike and head towards Jordan Pond along the western side of Eagle Lake. From the drop-off point at Eagle Lake, it’s about 4 miles to the famous Jordan Pond House.

Have Tea and Popovers at Jordan Pond House

The Jordan Pond House is famous for its popovers and tea, and as a tea lover I couldn’t wait to try it. You’ll find Jordan Pond House on almost every travel blog about Acadia National Park, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it here as well. Be sure to make a reservation on the Jordan Pond House website; even then, we still had to wait around 20 minutes for outdoor seating for a reservation around noon. The weather happened to be perfect though so it was worth it. Jordan Pond House is open seasonally, so be sure to take this into account when planning your trip.

I recommend biking all the way down from Eagle Lake because it literally takes around an hour to find parking here. And the lots are big! We got lucky and pulled into a space as someone was leaving, but we almost missed our reservation circling the parking lot. Lunch is the most popular time to visit, and you can grab two popovers and some tea as a combination like we did, or there is a full menu if you’d like something more filling. If you choose to sit on the lawn you’ll overlook the southern tip of Jordan Pond with a spectacular view of the “Bubbles” in the background.

Once you’re finished you can ride back the way you came or loop around the lakes depending on how much time you have before you need to be back in Bar Harbor to return your bikes. Drop them off and grab some food before heading back for kayaking.

Paddle on an Acadia Sunset Kayaking Tour

Your last adventure of the day is a guided sea kayaking tour around Bar Island. We chose to use Coastal Kayaking Tours (the same shop as Acadia Bike). We elected to go with the sunset kayaking tour and had a blast with our guide and about a dozen other people. The sunset tour isn’t necessarily at sunset (we got back to the dock well before the sun actually set) but the time changes according to the sunset time. Since we came in fall, the tour started around 4:00.

Pro Tip: While bikes you can most likely walk in and rent the day you’d like them, I recommend reserving your kayaking trip well in advance due to the small number of people permitted on each tour.

Coastal Kayaking Tours provides you with dry bags, life jackets and spray skirts to protect you and your gear from water. All of the kayaks are large tandem kayaks with a rudder for steering. The person in the back needs to use foot pedals to move the rudder left and right, which can be pretty difficult to get the hang of.

On your trip out you’ll head towards the sandbar you walked across yesterday. During low tide, you may need to temporarily get out of the kayak to drag your boat across the bar like we did. Once you get around Bar Island you head farther away from the coast, the waves start to pick up a bit and you realize that you’re basically out in open water. This was a bit unnerving for me, but it gave us a great chance to see some wildlife including a bald eagle, a harbor seal, and some porpoises. I was lucky enough to catch a jumping porpoise on my camera. All in all you’ll paddle about 3.5 miles over a couple hours. Once you make it back to the dock, reward yourself with a meal downtown before calling it a night.

Day 3: Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain and Explore the Best of Acadia’s Park Loop Road

Watch the Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain

Everyone talks about getting up for sunrise in Acadia and Cadillac Mountain, Mount Desert Island’s highest mountain, is the most popular spot. Check the sunrise time online and set your alarm for about an hour early to get up, dressed, and drive to the top of Cadillac and secure your place on the summit. It might be tempting to sleep in, but we got a prime parking spot at the small lot at the summit. You are not allowed to park along the side of the road up the mountain so spaces are limited and there isn’t a shuttle bus that can take you to the top.

It was windy and cold in the morning so I’m sure that helped our chances in finding a good spot, but in the warmer, busier months the competition can be fierce. Despite the biting winds and waking up at 5am, the sunrise was well worth the effort. You may want to be a bit more prepared than we were for the temperatures and wind though with a blanket and some gloves and a hat if it’s predicted to be cold.

Spend a good half hour here as the sun rises and then make your way back down Cadillac Mountain and into Bar Harbor for some breakfast and to check out of your hotel. Even in the daylight the drive was spectacular. Check out a bit of our drive down the mountain after sunrise below.

Once you’re ready, it’s time to hike one of the most popular trails in Acadia National Park: Beehive Trail!

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Tackle the Acadia National Park Beehive Trail

The Beehive Trail is one of the most popular Acadia hiking trails, and for good reason. Like its more strenuous partner the Precipice Trail, Beehive features sets of iron rungs to assist climbing the sheer face of the mountain. While we did Precipice Trail as well, you won’t find it on this itinerary. For starters, it is closed most of the year as the area is Peregrine Falcon nesting grounds and large portions of the year would be unsafe due to weather. Secondly, we were very underwhelmed by the whole Precipice Trail experience. It had been hyped up by so many people and really just didn’t live up to it, not to mention the fact that it’s unnecessarily difficult and treacherous. I feel Beehive Trail gives you the same iron rung experience and happens to be a whole lot more fun! Just for fun though, here’s a picture of Mike on the Precipice Trail!

To get to Beehive Trail, you can park at or take the shuttle to the Sand Beach stop. If you are planning to drive like we did, make sure you go early to get a parking space. Since you got up at sunrise though you should be there pretty early, even if you do stop for breakfast first! You’ll find the trailhead across the main road from the Sand Beach lot. The trail itself takes about an hour or less to complete.

There are also a few other trails you can take in the area including the Bowl Trail, and you can go up the backside of Beehive if the iron rung climbing just isn’t your thing. One thing to note is that whichever way you go, the iron rung ladders are one way only, UP! Please don’t try to climb down the rungs while other people are heading up. Not only is it dangerous in some spots to try to get down, but there are so many people on the trail it would be much easier to continue around and complete the loop. Once you’re finished, head down to Sand Beach.

Splash in the Waves at Sand Beach

Sand Beach isn’t the most creative name in the book, but it is descriptive for what you’ll find here. It may seem pretty normal, but according to a sign at the entrance to the beach it’s actually one of the few cold water sand beaches in the world. All the other “beaches” you’ll find at Acadia feature rocky cobblestones rather than fine sand. During the summer I’m sure beach space fills up quick, but there weren’t too many people around during our visit. However it was a bit cold to just lie on the beach or splash in the waves, so we quickly moved on to the next part of our stop in this area: Thunder Hole.

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Stroll Ocean Path to Thunder Hole

Instead of getting in your car or hopping on the shuttle, take the pathway along the road down to the famous Thunder Hole. Here you can take your time and go down to several rocky cliffs to take pictures of Sand Beach and the rest of the coast. It’s about three quarters of a mile to walk down to the viewing platform.

Depending on the time of day, Thunder Hole can be an extremely popular tourist attraction. Prime time to visit is a few hours before high tide, when the water levels are just right to generate the booming thunderous sound the area is named for. If you aren’t there at the right time there isn’t a ton to see, but you might get lucky if you sit for a while and listen. Hang out here for a bit if you are close to mid-tide, otherwise head back to the car or catch the Park Loop Road shuttle from here.

Drive / Ride Acadia’s Park Loop Road

Whether you’ve decided to bring your own vehicle or ride the shuttle, you’ll now be in the section of the park that can only be reached through the one way Park Loop Road. Since you have no choice, you’ll be riding the rest of the way around the loop. Feel free to stop at any of the pull-offs along the way and get out to walk around; you might be surprised at the beauty you can find in random spots. When you’re ready, it’s time to head home and relax after your adventurous trip!

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