Acadia National Park

Acadia crowns Mount Desert Island on the coast of Maine, where pink granite peaks drop to a rugged Atlantic shore of surf-pounded cliffs and coves. From the top of Cadillac Mountain you can be among the first in the country to see the sunrise, and old carriage roads and stone bridges thread the forests and lakes below.

Background

Besides about half of Mount Desert Island, the park takes in a share of Isle au Haut, the end of the Schoodic Peninsula and parts of sixteen smaller islands offshore, 49,075 acres in all as of 2017. No peak on the US Atlantic Coast stands taller than Cadillac Mountain, and the landscape includes exposed granite domes, U-shaped valleys, cobble beaches and boulders known as glacial erratics. John D. Rockefeller Jr. paid for the carriage roads. The Wabanaki people were here more than 10,000 years ago. Protection began in 1916 as Sieur de Monts National Monument, then came Lafayette National Park in 1919 and the name Acadia in 1929. Visits reached 4,079,318 in 2025.

Source: Wikipedia, "Acadia National Park"

What's there

• Cadillac Mountain - the summit for sunrise, among the first light in the country.
• The rocky coast - Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs and the surf-battered shore.
• The carriage roads - the car-free stone-bridged roads for walking and cycling.
• Jordan Pond - the lake, its tea house and the Bubble mountains behind.

When to go

Summer for warm weather and full services; October for spectacular New England autumn colour, though busy. Spring is quiet, and winter mostly closes the park roads.

Practical notes

It is small and very popular, so summer and the autumn foliage weeks bring crowds, full car parks and, for Cadillac sunrise, timed reservations. The Atlantic is cold and the surf dangerous, so admire rather than swim. Bar Harbor is charming but touristy.

Nearby

Bar Harbor is the gateway town; the Maine coast and its lighthouses and lobster shacks spread around.

Key facts