WHY VISIT BAR HARBOR, MAINE?
I would say that Maine is the Pacific Northwest of the East Coast, and it is around the same latitude as Portland, OR. Bar Harbor is an outdoorsy touristy coastal town on the East side of Mount Desert Island. I wanted to go because it’s right outside of Acadia National Park. The temperatures are a lot cooler than most of the East Coast, and it’s not very humid in the summer. Bar Harbor has great food and reminded me of the San Juan Islands since the town was small and everything felt woodsy and casual. I do have to say that Bar Harbor and Acadia NP may be considered “nature” for East Coasters, it really doesn’t compare to any of the national parks on the West Coast, and you won’t find any long scenic hikes or good backpacking trails.
WHEN SHOULD YOU VISIT BAR HARBOR?
Parking signs in Bar Harbor said you had to pay from May 15-October 30, so that’s probably when the peak tourist season is. We went in early August and the highs were in the low 70s, but sometimes it felt hotter than that in the sun. The evenings were cool and windy. We saw a lot of people wearing sweatshirts from the tourist shops, and I think people buy them because they weren’t expecting it to be so cold.
Acadia National Park is in the top 10 most-visited national parks and this summer was extra crowded due to the pandemic and people not being able to travel internationally. I think it would be better to go in late May/early June before kids are out of school or in the fall to see the fall colors in Acadia NP.
GETTING THERE
There are some smaller airports close to Bar Harbor, but the biggest airport is Bangor International Airport, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes from Bar Harbor. You’ll definitely need a car if you’re going to Acadia NP. For our summer vacation, we flew from Seattle to Boston, got a rental car, and spent four days in Newport, Rhode Island, then drove 5.5 hours up the coast to Bar Harbor.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at the Hampton Inn Bar Harbor, which was a mile away from the main town area, and not to be confused with the Hampton Inn Ellsworth-Bar Harbor, which is 30 mins from town. The hotel had a decent breakfast selection, and we saw a lot of families there. If you’re going during the peak of summer and can afford to stay in one of the smaller inns in town, I’d definitely recommend that to avoid having to find parking. The Ivy Manor Inn looked adorable! Most places in town had “no vacancy” signs, so be sure to book ahead of time!
PARKING
Parking in both the main town area and in Acadia NP at the peak of summer was extremely hard this year. We circled for 20 minutes several times. In town, you can download and use a mobile parking app to pay, which is very convenient.
WHAT TO EAT IN BAR HARBOR, MAINE
Overall, Maine is known for lobster, blueberries, and whoopie pies. Not sure if it was due to the pandemic, but many restaurants were closed Sundays, Mondays, and particularly Tuesdays. Also, all ice cream places have very long lines in the evening, so definitely go in the early afternoon! I mention each restaurant we ate at below, but for more photos and my top recommendations, check out my separate blog post on my favorite restaurants in Bar Harbor.
5 DAYS IN BAR HARBOR, MAINE
JULY 30 – AUGUST 3, 2021
DAY 1 – FRIDAY
We left Newport, Rhode Island early in the morning to start our 350-mile road trip to Bar Harbor. We drove straight through Massachusetts and New Hampshire and stopped in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine for lunch. It was a small vacation town, and it was super crowded! There’s a parking lot on the dock that had cheap-ish hourly parking, but the other lots were $25 or $20 for the day. We went to Cove Café right before they closed at noon to try our first Maine blueberries, which are small and sweeter than the blueberries from WA. I got the French toast with the cream cheese and blueberry sauce which was delicious. Then, we walked around the cove. There were a few shops and a lobster shack and was a nice little day trip.
Our next stop was Kennebunkport, which was another vacation town. It was very green and kind of reminded me of Florida. We drove by the Bush Family Compound (type Walker’s Point into Google Maps). I don’t know if it was on purpose, but there wasn’t much cell phone service near the compound, which is located on the end of a little peninsula. There’s a little pull-out area on the road across the water from it so you can stop and take photos.
Next, we went to Portland, Maine to see the Portland Head Light, located in Fort Williams Park. Entry to the park was free, which was nice. It’s a big tourist destination, and there were plenty of people, but there was plenty of parking. The Portland Head Light is the most photographed lighthouse in the country, and it was my favorite lighthouse of our whole East Coast trip. You can walk right up to it, but we just walked along the path along the coast to get a better picture of the whole view.
Then, we headed to the Freeport Outlets, which had a big free parking garage. There was Patagonia, North Face, Under Armour, and LL Bean. LL Bean is headquartered in Freeport, and it had three different stores, but the outlet is across the street in the Freeport Village Station near the Lindt Chocolate Shop. We were hoping there would be some good deals, but everything on sale was still kind of expensive ($60+), and we didn’t end up buying anything.
After, we kept heading north to Augusta for dinner at State Lunch. It was a really cool bar and restaurant with a fun aesthetic and a wide menu with seafood, Asian food, Mexican food, and more. Bar Harbor is two hours north of Augusta, so we still had a long car ride to go after dinner. We finally made it to the Hampton Inn in Bar Harbor around 9pm, a little later than I expected.
DAY 2 – SATURDAY
We started the day with breakfast at Cafe This Way and arrived just before the rush. Then, we walked through the shops. It was extremely busy and felt like Disneyland crowds. We stopped for coffee at Acadia Perk which was Friends’ Central Perk-themed and then went into Acadia National Park to do the 27 mile drive on Park Loop Road.
We bought a park pass at one of the entrance stations, which was $30 for a week. It was a one-way road for a while, with a parking lane on the right and a walking path on the left. We wanted to stop at Sand Beach Overlook, but there were so many cars parked along the road, we basically had to park at Thunder Hole and walk back. There were plenty of places to sit on the rocks along the coast and we saw plenty of people sitting and eating snacks.
It wasn’t high tide, so there wasn’t a ton of water rushing through Thunder Hole, but it was still cool to see. Next, we drove to Jordan Pond to see the water and the two adjacent hills called “the bubbles.” Parking there was even crazier. We waited like 10 minutes while a man put four bikes into his car so we could have his spot.
We planned to eat popovers at the Jordan Pond House restaurant, but we had to wait in a long line to get a buzzer and once we got the buzzer, it was going to be an hour wait. The woman at the booth said they start giving buzzers at 10:30am and the restaurant opens at 11am, so we figured we’d come back in the morning another day. We purchased our reservation for Cadillac Mountain at 3:30pm, so we decided to just walk around the pond for a little bit. One side was mostly wooden boardwalks and the other side started on a gravel trail. We only made it about halfway before deciding to turn back and drive up the mountain.
Cadillac Mountain is the highest peak in the park. This summer, you had to make a reservation to drive up to Cadillac Mountain and buy a separate pass for $6. You just need to show your confirmation bar code at the ranger station and then you can drive up and can stay as long as you want. Thirty percent of ticket reservations opened up 90 days ahead of each date, and then 70 percent were released at 10 am ET two days before.
I wasn’t sure which day/time we’d want to go, so I just booked our ticket the morning of. Prime times like sunrise and sunset were full, so definitely be on the site at 10am if you want those times. The reservation system worked well, and there was plenty of parking at the top. We were lucky that it was a clear day because there were amazing 360 views!
We went back to the hotel to dress up for our fancy dinner because it was my sister’s last night of vacation. We weren’t able to make a reservation at Havana in advance, but we walked in at 5:20pm just to see if they had room, and we were able to get a table. It’s one of the fanciest places in Bar Harbor with white tablecloths, but no one was too dressed up. The dinner and service were amazing. The bread basket alone was *chef’s kiss* and included blueberry cornbread. Since the night was still young, we walked into town for a bit afterward to digest.
DAY 3 – SUNDAY
We decided to check out breakfast at the hotel this time, and there was a good amount of pastries. Then, we headed to Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf to get there when they opened at 10am. It was about a 10-minute drive out of town and we passed several other lobster shacks.
There was an original course and a challenge course. We did the original course, and it took the four of us about an hour to complete. It was really fun, and we got some holes in one! If you get a hole in one, you give the scorecard to the person at the golf club return window. They spin a wheel and you get a chance to win free rounds of mini golf for next time at any of their locations. We won two! By the time we left, there were a ton of people.
We weren’t super hungry, but we stopped at West Street Café for a light lunch before getting some blueberry soft serve from CJ’s Big Dipper. Then, it was time to take my sister to the airport so she could get back to her research lab. I tried to find things to do near the airport in Bangor, but there really wasn’t anything.
For dinner, we tried to go to Project Social Kitchen & Bar, but it was closed, so we walked up the street to Side Street Café and got some delicious build your own mac and cheese and blueberry pie for dessert.
DAY 4 – MONDAY
We got coffee at Choco-Latte, which has several kinds of hot chocolate. Then, we went to try to go to Jordan Pond House again, but parking was still crazy in the morning! We dropped my mom off so she could get a buzzer, then looked for parking for over 20 minutes. We didn’t think we’d get a spot, so we gave the buzzer back . We were leaving the parking lot when someone was pulling out, so we got another buzzer and were told it was going to be a 45-minute wait, which only ended up being a 10-minute wait. The popovers are big, fluffy, and warm and they come with butter and jam.
At low tide, you can walk across the beach to Bar Island, which is part of Acadia National Park. You can access it from Bridge Street. It’s a popular walk, and there were plenty of people making the short trek. Once the tide comes in, it won’t go back out for another 9 hours, so definitely pay attention to tide times so you don’t get stranded.
We walked back into town to buy some souvenirs, stopped back at the hotel, and then drove an hour away to the Schoodic Peninsula. This is the only part of Acadia National Park that isn’t on Mount Desert Island. There are a few short rocky hikes, but we weren’t interested in any of them. The view wasn’t anything special, so if you don’t make it out there, you’re not missing anything.
For dinner, we drove back to town and went to Project Social Kitchen & Bar. It was the trendiest dinner place in Bar Harbor, but our experience was mediocre. We were pretty hungry and ordered a bunch of plates, and the food was good, but the portions were just so small and so expensive. Our last two plates never came to our table, so we just paid and went to Galyn’s down the street. There was a 40-minute wait, so we just checked out more of the shops. The restaurant had a more upscale vibe, but people were still in sweatshirts inside. We only ordered a few appetizers and dessert, but I wish we had come for dinner instead of Project Social.
DAY 5 – TUESDAY
On Tuesday, we went back to Choco-Latte for coffee and breakfast before going back to Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf to play our free rounds. This time we did the challenge course, and it was indeed more difficult than the original course. It took the three of us an hour to complete and the course was slightly less crowded than during the weekend.
The plan was to go across the street to Mainely Meats BBQ for lunch afterward, but of course they were closed on Tuesday. However, they have a sister location next to Atlantic Brewing Company just up the highway a few miles, so we still got barbecue, and it was honestly one of my favorite meals of the trip!
Since we just shared two entrees between the three of us and weren’t completely stuffed, we went to Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in town. We always saw a massive line at night, so if you want to get ice cream here, I recommend going after lunch or earlier in the afternoon! We tried the flight, which came with four scoops. This is the most affordable option, as it was $9 and we got four big scoops. There are a lot of interesting flavors, and I’m sure they switch them up every season, but our favorite was Reverse Rootbeer. Then we went down to the water and walked along The Shore Path.
Next, we explored the West side of Mount Desert Island and drove to the other smaller town of Southwest Harbor. We watched the kayakers and paddleboarders at Long Pond.
The main attraction of this part of the island is the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. The parking lot has room for 15-20 cars. You can take the short path down to the lighthouse, or you can take the trail at the far end of the parking lot and walk down the stairs to walk around on the boulders to get a different view of the lighthouse. We waited for over 20 minutes to park, and it was kind of underwhelming.
For dinner, we stayed in Bass Harbor and went to Thurston’s Lobster Pound, which is a Yelp favorite for fresh lobster. The Yelp reviews said that long lines started to form in the afternoon, and they were right. We were still a little early, so we decided to walk around and take photos of a colorful lobster shack down the street before getting in line a little after 5pm. We got to the front and ordered almost exactly an hour later. This is the most authentic lobster place, since the restaurant is right on the water near lobster boats and the lobsters are at the front counter. We ordered the pound and a quarter “plain dinner” which came with a lobster, corn on the cob, a dinner roll, coleslaw, and blueberry cake. It took about 15 minutes to be delivered to our table.
I had never cracked open a lobster, but when in Maine am I right? It’s super messy, and I don’t loveee lobster like some people do, so I don’t think I need to eat it like this again. That being said, it was indeed the best lobster I had during the trip. It was extremely fresh and didn’t taste fishy at all. My hands also smelled like lobster even after washing my hands three times. The best part of dinner was the dessert! The blueberry cake was more like a spiced blueberry loaf, and we saved it to eat the next day on the plane home. Instead, we went to the dessert window and ordered a slice of blueberry pie with blueberry ice cream!
IF I WERE TO GO BACK TO BAR HARBOR, MAINE
There really were some great food options in Bar Harbor! I’d want to go back and get brunch at 2Cats Bar Harbor and Testa’s Bar & Grill, try the blueberry pie from Mount Dessert Bakery, eat a full dinner at Galyn’s, eat dinner at West Street Café, get breakfast/smoothies at Thrive Juice Bar & Kitchen, and try more of the different mac and cheeses at Side Street Café. I’d also want to rent a kayak at Long Pond and take a boat tour or whale watching tour in the harbor. At Acadia National Park, I’d want to watch the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain.
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