↟ Acadia National Park ↟
Acadia National Park was our destination of choice for our second day in Maine. We had to split up the trip and stop at our Airbnb in Portland the first day otherwise we would have been driving almost 11 hours straight from Long Island. When planning our trip to Maine we knew that we absolutely had to make it to Acadia even if it was a bit further of a drive. We had picture perfect weather and the park was surprisingly not too crowded, which was odd since it was Memorial Day weekend. Our first stop once we arrived was the Bass Harbor Head Light (of course). The parking lot was tiny but there were several open spots to park when we got there, yay! There were two ways to view this lighthouse, you can take a path to the right that leads you directly up next to it or you can take a steep narrow wooden staircase down to look at it from below. Once we got down the staircase, I have to admit I was slightly bummed because you couldn’t see the lighthouse fully past the trees unless you continued to climb down some pretty steep and pointy rocks to get a better look at it. So obviously that’s exactly what we did. It was totally worth the scrapes and almost twisting our ankles several times, ha-ha. This lighthouse was my favorite one that we visited in Maine; it seemed to be just the right size. Not too big but not too small and comfortably nestled between the trees atop a steep rocky cliff…it was just perfect and I definitely recommend going to see it if you're in Acadia.
After the Bass Harbor Head light we drove around various parts of the park stopping along the road to get out and take some photos because every inch of this place was gorgeous. Our final stop of the day was the summit of Cadillac Mountain, which had stunning views from the top. I won’t lie, the drive going up on the winding road made me a little queasy and got a bit too close to the edge for me. Even though this mountain is really not THAT high (we have gone higher in the past), the 1,530-foot climb felt pretty steep to me (I’m not a fan of heights). However, the perfectly clear day made the views from the top absolutely gorgeous, which always makes the scary trip going up worthwhile. The parking lot at the top of the mountain was actually pretty crowded compared to other places we visited that day so the parking situation was a little tricky, but we managed. You could see all the other islands around us, boats out in the water and even a large cruise ship that was anchored. We sat there for a while and just took in the view. It was hard to leave from that spot and it would have been amazing to stay there for sunset, but we had a 3-hour drive back to our Airbnb in Portland and had to head out. Acadia defiantly took my breath away and exceeded my expectations (which were already high) and then some. This is most definitely a place we will be visiting again and if you haven’t been there yet…get yourself there.
Until next time Acadia!
