Three Exhilarating Days In and Around Acadia National Park

As a diehard New Englander, it’s a bit shameful that I’d never been to Bar Harbor, Maine. So, recently, I planned a reasonably epic three-day weekend that maxed out on coastal and Acadia National Park vibes while minimizing the hiccups associated with summer tourism. The best part? This Zen-meets-adventure itinerary holds up like a champ for early Autumn, too. 

During the Gilded Age, Mount Desert Island (MDI) rose to fame as one of the premier summer destinations for the absurdly wealthy. Fancy folk built their summer cottages here—and by cottages, I mean Tiffany glass-bedazzled mansions.  Unfortunately, in 1947, a catastrophic fire burned 17,188 acres of the island, including mammoth swaths of Acadia National Park and most mansions. Although most grand cottages were not rebuilt, the island recovered and remains a water-bound wonderland for would-be vacationers.

Explore Mount Desert Island’s Quiet Side

Technically, this itinerary spans three nights and two-and-a-half days, but it’s enough adventure to satiate your outdoorsy adrenaline cravings for months to come. I anchored the first half of the getaway on the “Quiet Side” of the island—southwest of the town of Bar Harbor. There are generally fewer people but plenty of Acadia hiking access—like the easy-yet-scenic 1.5-mile Ship’s Harbor Trail—plus, the area is inherently coastal cozy.

I anchored myself at The Claremont Hotel, overlooking the Somes Sound, which has its own charter boat and offers gorgeous rooms, cottages, and cabins. Splurge on dinner at the hotel’s Little Fern or grab a Smash Burger or Crab Cakes at Batson River Fish Camp—a buoy-bedazzled open-air spot on their pier.

I arrived late-night Thursday and slept in on Friday. When I woke, I grabbed a cuppa from their bakery and sat in one of the many Adirondack chairs overlooking the water. The hotel offers breakfast, but I ventured out and discovered the fabulous home fries at Eat-A-Pita & Cafe 2—an indoor-outdoor breakfast hub less than five minutes away. 

Back at the hotel, I snagged a private cabana reservation and read my book for a while before walking to Beal’s Lobster Pier for lunch. Beal’s (open from May to mid-October) embodies the Maine lobster shack experience with over-the-water seating, where guests watch the fishing boats bring in the daily haul. The service is fast and friendly, and it’s absolutely fantastic—the food (chef’s kiss), the view, and the briny ambiance. 

After a heaping pile of fried shrimp, I walked back to the hotel, grabbed my backpack, and drove 15 miles north to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center of Acadia National Park. 

E-Bikes Offer a Unique Acadia National Park Adventure

Acadia offers so much adventure—on innumerable levels of intensity—from casual boat tours to phone-your-momma-before-attempting-this-trail adventures. Those looking for a non-car way to explore Acadia can rent e-bikes and casually zip around the 45 miles of historic carriage roads. The folks at Acadia E-Bike Adventure, which stays open through early November, meet guests at Hulls Cove Visitor Center to provide a quick bike lesson and an easy-to-read map. 

This zero-skill mega-thrill is equally appropriate for ultra-adventurers with pristine cardio capacity and fresh-from-the-couch cycling newbies. The Carriage Roads are wide, packed, and predominantly flat, and the e-boost function of the bike can be adjusted as often as the rider would like. Be sure to make an advance reservation at historic Jordan Pond House, in the heart of Acadia, and less than an hour by e-bike on the Carriage Roads.

See Acadia from a Lobster Boat and a Biplane

Seeing Acadia National Park by e-bike felt like an enchanted fever dream—the kind of experience that’ll seep into my bones. Nonetheless, Saturday rolled around, and another adrenaline rush was on the agenda, so I fueled up with a hearty breakfast and checked out from The Claremont Hotel. 

The first stop, just 1.2 miles from The Claremont, was Sail Acadia. The two-hour Lobster & Nature Tour (offered through the end of October) has a smattering of seals, lobstering know-how, and super cool naturalist highlights—all for just $49 per adult. Afterward, I stopped by a new-to-me lobster spot, Archie’s Lobster. I loved this place so much that I wedged it seamlessly into a conversation with a medical technician—mid-procedure. It’s that good. 

It sits directly on the craggy coastline, plus it’s a gigantic al fresco parking lot-turned-patio with expansive, open-air warehouse space. Think picnic tables, stacks of lobster traps, cornhole, Adirondack chairs, and oodles of chillax coastal atmosphere. The food? It’s spectacular and priced so reasonably that you’ll wonder if you arrived there via Marty McFly’s DeLorean.

Round out the high-energy portion of the trip with a bucket-list-level biplane tour with Scenic Flights of Acadia. The company offers a variety of traditional Cessna-style plane tours of Schoodic Point, Lighthouses, and full Acadia experiences, but then there’s the biplane. Although the biplane tour is shorter in duration at about 25 minutes, the open-air cockpit morphs the experience into a more visceral and exhilarating way to see Mount Desert Island and the grandeur of Acadia National Park.

Glamp in Rustic Luxury

My mood after the biplane touched down stayed buzzy on the adrenaline high for a while, but I settled into a luxurious safari-style tent at Terramor for a little relaxation and reflection. The outdoor resort sits in the woods, a few miles from Scenic Flights of Acadia—at the northern edge of Mount Desert Island. The spa’s 90-minute Acadia Evergreen Ritual—a full-body dry-brushing session with salt and kelp scrub components—brought me back down to earth. I still felt the elation of the biplane flight, but also very much grounded. 

I meandered over to The Lodge for a cocktail and casual dinner, then back to the tent for one of the best sleeps I’ve had all year. The next morning was dedicated to sipping pour-over coffee on the wee porch of my tent overlooking the woods. Eventually, I had a top-notch breakfast bowl at The Lodge—and vowed to return for a longer stay. Luckily, they are hosting their first annual Savor the Season: Fall Collective Weekend-long Resort Event September 20-22, 2024. So, maybe I’ll see you there.