Let's Go to Maine

Our longest stop on our current route was Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We had heard great things about the park - from the fall colors to wildlife and things to do. It's essentially a playground for outdoor enthusiasts. It could easily take weeks to explore everything on the island, so we narrowed our list (and adapted to the very wet weather) to a few excursions:

Bar Island (which gives Bar Harbor its name) is only revealed at low tide, revealing tidal ecosystems for a few hours. It seemed to be just as exciting for the gulls as we watched them pick up a shellfish snack and drop it from the sky to crack open a meal. We had to keep our eyes on the tide though, since it is possible to become stranded across the water from Bar Harbor if you're not careful!

Thunder Hole is a popular tourist spot, giving crowds of visitors a chance to catch the sight and sound of thunderous waves crashing as the tide comes in. Despite our timing, the extremely calm ocean decided not to put on a show for us, though we're told that you can expect to get soaked during rough seas.

Sand Beach is the only beach of sand in Acadia, resulting from the cove's effect on the waves and what they carry inland.  On a warmer day, we might have considered swimming. Instead, we walked across the beach to a trail head for a great hike.

The trail took us over rocks, through evergreen woods and past beautiful overlooks of the beach and cove. We moved up into the clouds of mist and rain before heading back down to the beach.

We tried to make the most of our only full day of sunshine.

We started our morning on a tandem kayak exploring Long Pond, which flows between two mountains that were beginning to spark with brightly colored leaves. Our 4-mile paddle included an eagle sighting, as well as loon calls and a bird we've yet to identify!

For the second half of our sunny day, we hopped on our bikes (which had been spending far too much time under a tarp, safe from the rain) and headed for the famous Carriage Trails.

Thanks to John D. Rockefeller, these roads of finely crushed stone are wide enough for a carriage, but are only open to pedestrian and cyclist traffic. They span and loop large sections of the island, and even climb a few mountains. We climbed Day Mountain to give our legs a bit of a stretch. As great as the trails are, however, a good bit of rain can make for slow going on road tires.

Of course, we couldn't leave Acadia without summitting Cadillac Mountain - the highest elevation on the Atlantic, with arguably the best views of the park. So, we did it twice! Unsure how long we'd have sunlight, we drove up to the summit of Cadillac to get some photos from the different vantage points, and were able to get a glimpse of Bar Harbor from the top, including the submerged Bar Island.

The next day, we hiked the North Ridge Trail through the rain, which turned the trail into a stream...

and the climb to the summit into a magical walk through the clouds. 

On our way down from Cadillac, we hiked the Gorge Trail, which had become a roaring creek instead of a rocky path.

It was challenging, and should not be attempted by novice hikers (especially during or after heavy rainfall), but it is a rewarding hike through beautiful forests.

We highly recommend Acadia National Park to anyone seeking unique scenery and outdoor fun... as long as you don't mind getting a little wet!