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Acadia National Park |
Location: North Central Maine Coast
Ellsworth, Maine is the jumping off place for visiting Acadia National Park. Highway 3 south from Ellsworth takes you to Mount Desert Island, which contains the primary sections of Acadia. However, there are two other main sections of the park. Isle Au Haut can only be gotten to by ferry from Stoninghton on Deer Isle, while the Schoodic Peninsula section of Acadia can be driven to via US 1 and state highway 186 from Ellsworth, turning onto 186 at West Gouldsboro, with the entrance to the Schoodic portion of the park just past Winter Harbor. To get to Stonington from Ellsworth, take highway 172 south to Blue Hill and then highway 15 south to Deer Isle and on to Stonington.
Mount Desert Island:
The highlight of Acadia NP is Park Loop Road in the primary section of the park on Mount Desert Island. Another popular highlight is Cadillac Mountain, where one can capture beautiful vistas of the park, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, and islands in Frenchman Bay.
The Loop Road offers many overlooks and access to trail heads, as well as other access to the towns of Bar Harbor and Seal Harbor, and highway 3, which will take one to Northeast Harbor.
Somes Sound divides the main section of Acadia further into eastern and western sections. The Loop Drive and Cadillac Mountain are in the eastern section. Taking Sergeant Drive in the eastern section will provide great views of Somes Sound. It's very advisable to have stopped at the park's Visitor Center and first acquire a map of the park before taking any of the roads.
The western section is mostly surrounded by highway 102. A highlight of the western section is Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, located south of Bass Harbor. Overall, the eastern section is the most scenic and provides the better photographic opportunites, but if you have the time, by all means, also visit the western section.
Schoodic Peninsula:
In some ways, I like the Schoodic Peninsula area of the park as well or better than that on Mount Desert Island. This section of the park is less traveled, and thus less crowded, and also provides a multitude of photographic opportunities along it's one-way drive, including Schoodic Point. One is also more likely to encounter wildlife here.