Explore Bar Harbor, Maine

Downtown Bar Harbor, shops and restaurants. In the heart of downtown Bar Harbor is a small but beautiful park with plenty of shady or sunny spots to relax in the grass. This is also the central bus stop to catch connecting buses to many spots in Acadia or around Mount Desert Island. Downtown is filled with plenty of restaurants and bakeries to fill any craving you may have. You can find the most delicious lobster mac and cheese at West Street Café and for dessert, a highly recommended swirled wild blueberry cheesecake slice from Pink Pastry shop! While walking through downtown you can expect to find many local shops promoting products made right in Bar Harbor. It was here I tried my first ever blueberry soda, It was so tasty I bought a whole case! One unique downtown gem was the movie local theater located straight across from the park. We had some extra time and caught a cheap but brand new movie and was surprised to have the ability to order pizza right to our seats.

Beehive Trail

A must do hike is the beehive summit trail in Arcadia National Park, this trail has an elevation of 520 feet. The trail consists of high ledges, rock cliffs and metal ladder rungs that will all be endured on your hike up. The view at the top is well worth the mini panic you have looking up at what your about to climb. As you reach the top more and more breathe taking views of ocean and forest around you become visible. I recommend hiking the face of the mountain up, packing a lunch or snack for the top and taking the back of the mountain down.

Jordan’s Pond Loop

Jordan’s pond is a beautiful spring fed pond that is crystal clear and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Jordan’s pond prohibits against swimming and motor boats, however, a walkable 3.6 mile shoreline trail goes around the entire pond. Along the way, the trail takes you through the forest on a wooden plank path which turns into light rock climbing but ends into a pea gravel trail the rest of the way back to the start. On-site is a full-service restaurant where you can catch lunch, dinner or a tasty popover. The restaurant includes a gift shop and observation deck as well.

The Carriage Roads

The 57 miles of carriage roads and beautiful 16 stone bridges throughout the Arcadia National Park were constructed between 1913 and 1940 as a motor-free way to preserve the park. Today you can walk, bike, horseback ride and take horse-drawn carriages through the pea graveled trails. The trails are marked with wooden signs to direct you in the way you wish to go. The carriages roads cover a lot of ground throughout the park and go by many popular tourist spots such as Jordan’s pond, bubble pond, and Eagle Lake. Biking the carriage trails is made easy by local bike shops, renting bikes are cheap and they will even drop you off and pick you up at the beginning of the carriage roads. I highly recommend making this a full day or half day adventure, as there are so many unique things to see.

Kayaking the North Atlantic

If you’re like me and live in the inland states, the only place to kayak are rivers, lakes, and ponds. So while visiting Maine kayaking on the cold North Atlantic was a must do! There are many places and tours to choose from in Bar Harbor, it’s easy to find one that fits into your schedule. We booked our two hour guided trip with Coastal Kayaking Tours, and loved everything about our experience. They set us up with a double kayak, paddles, waterproof bag for belongings and wetsuits. They also drove us and our kayaks to where we would launch. The instructors were patient, answered all questions and taught us how to paddle. Our guide made our trip fantastic; he was full of local knowledge and knew everything about the marine life we could see on our trip. He pointed out animals that could have been easily missed and taught us all about the lobster cages and business. Our guide even brought a camera, offered to take our picture and email them to us for FREE! Overall, we had an awesome experience on the waves of the North Atlantic; I would recommend this tour and company to all my friends!

I loved everything about my time in Bar Harbor and would go back in a heartbeat. We explored the Acadia National Forest by foot and bike, enjoyed tasty food, tried new things and even laughed at the movies. Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by people who loved their town and were passionate about keeping the outdoors preserved in its natural beauty. A true gem, you won’t want to miss anything Bar Harbor has to offer. Don’t forget to check out all the things I couldn’t manage to fit into my trip, such as whale watching, boat tours, and th Acadia Trolley Tour.