Ellsworth and Bar Harbor, Maine
Acadia National Park, 2023
With two small(ish) children, we don’t get out much, admittedly. Ten years ago, we took our first trip to Acadia National Park for our honeymoon. We left the day after our wedding, and drove 18 hours straight through until we reached the cute little bed-and-breakfast we had booked (Cleftstone Manor) in Bar Harbor, Maine. Even exhausted, we were taken aback by the quaint beauty of this little town. After some much needed sleep, we were able to eat all the seafood, and head out for some AMAZING hikes. Sitting outside the bed and breakfast on the last day of our trip, we vowed to return 10 years later, not knowing at all what life may look like by then.
Day 1:
Knowing I would be quitting my job back in June, I managed to find affordable flights in February using Expedia. This time, we opted to fly rather than drive in an effort to not leave my parents with our kiddos any longer than necessary. We also stayed in a small fishing town called Ellsworth, which was about a 30 minute drive from Acadia National Park. It was quiet here, easy to get a table at the restaurants, and is the home of the original Fogtown Brewing Company.
Day 2:
To be honest, and maybe a bit dramatic, Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park tried to kill me 10 years ago. Cadillac is the tallest mountain on the eastern seaboard of the United States- and is also the first place to see the sunrise, making it a popular spot for early morning hikers. Not having researched much about the mountain or the trails, 10 years ago we ventured up the Gorge Trail- which is a rocky, difficult climb.
The last 1/4 mile is very steep and made completely of rocks. I managed to slam my shin into one of those rocks, but had to proceed the rest of the way up the mountain. I was certainly not heading back down that trail. The views from the top of this mountain are truly breathtaking, and made it worth the pain and suffering. Thank goodness. If you aren’t the hiking type, you can also DRIVE to the top for a fee. I knew this and still opted to hike, though I’m told others were unaware and quite bitter about it. Now you know!
This time around, we somehow managed to be even less prepared. Let’s rewind back to the day we were leaving our house to head to the airport. I forgot my backpack, which I had a feeling would be bad news moving forward. Mainly because I’m cheap, and knew dang well if I had a backpack at home, I wasn’t going out to buy a new one.
I had scheduled Cadillac Mountain for the day after we arrived because, quite frankly, I just wanted to get it over with. This also happened to be the 4th of July. Still quite dehydrated from the plane, I had chugged a half gallon of water before arriving at the park. My husband and I are in somewhat reasonable shape, so we decided we would plow through an “easier” trail, and be on our way being able to say that we “did it.” We left our rental car WITHOUT WATER, cell phones, IDs, etc. We didn’t even grab a map, because stupidity.
This time, we took the North Ridge trail, which WAS easier. However, it wasn’t easy, and took longer. Part of the trail was closed, and we had to do some muddy off-roading. That was fine, but I wanted to explore the option of taking yet another trail back down. Once we were at the top, we took in the view, and looked at maps. We opted for the West Face trail down. Which was oddly flat, nothing but rocks, and felt (for hours) like we were getting nowhere. No water, and, of course, no sunscreen. I could smell my shoulders frying, and I was feeling very dehydrated by this point.
Once we got down into some wooded areas and mountain creeks, I nearly threw myself into the first one we came across. Other hikers looked at me like I was crazy, because I am. Don’t do any of this. We were almost to the end of the trail at this point. We could hear the road! Once we came out to the road, we realized we were no longer in the park, and had ended up on Route 3. I sat and I cried.
No money, no phone to call for help. We decided to rally and head to the nearest sign of civilization up the road. Thankfully, an Island Explorer bus started heading our way. I could have kissed the driver when she stopped, and told her so. She assured us that we weren’t the first idiots to do this, and that she picks people up here all the time. After a bus change, we were taken to our rental car. Total time spent? 5 hours. Hopefully in another 10 years we will be smarter.
Day 3:
We are wiser. We CARRY water with us on our next adventure to Otter Point to hike the Ocean Path Trail to Sand Beach. I shoved some money and my phone into my pocket, which is how we ended up with some actual pictures as well. I wore one of my husband’s oversize shirts to cover my painful sunburns. This was an easy hike, a relatively flat 4.4 mile out-and-back hike. It was incredibly busy this day, but the views were truly breathtaking. There are many rock climbing opportunities along the way, if you’re into this sort of thing. I was, however, disappointed that I didn’t see a single otter on this trip.
This path also passes the popular Thunder Hole, which is a natural rock inlet where waves crash loudly. When the seas are up, these crashes sound like thunder. We saw many people stop here to listen, but we did not hear any loud, thunder-like waves. Next time!
Once we returned to our car, we found a clearing in the pines to eat our lunch. From here, we headed into Bar Harbor to do some window shopping. It was busy, and parking was difficult to find. There were lines out the door for food, and many of the shops from our last trip had changed. We still enjoyed the walk, and found the BEST ice cream I had ever had at Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. It was back to Ellsworth for us. Here, we had dinner and flights of beer at Airline Brewing Company, an intimate restaurant with some really great and unique local beer options.
This concluded our trip to Maine. It was an early night, as we were set to wake up early to head 4 hours south to Boston. Next up, Boston through the eyes of country folks!