The Acadia National Park is stunningly beautiful, with great hiking trails. Dont forget to visit the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. I know there are more lighthouses to visit, but we ran out of time. We left Maine just as the trees were starting to turn into their fall colors. Next time, we'll plan for more time and go a month later. Don't forget to take plenty of water for yourself.

First time to Bar Harbor for a 3 day visit to Acadia. It is a beautiful park. Easily drivable, multiple hikes (and climbs) of all levels. We obtained passes inside the visitor center and the rangers were helpful in routing our paths through the most visited areas of the Park Loop Road, the scenic carriage roads (great for bikes) and their bridges, a waterfall and then lakes that were more secluded. We were fortunate in that mid-September and arriving early, we did not experience parking issues as most people make brief stops and move on. We did not use the park shuttle but it was clearly marked with frequent stops. In 3 days we had ample time to visit and hike in all three sections of the park including the Southwest Harbor.

Acadia NP ranks in the top 5, and rightly so. There are so many different views from the mountain tops, to the valleys, to the beach, free flowing streams and everything in-between. Highlights for us: Drive to the top of Cadillac Mtn. (get your timed pass in advance, or you don't go in), Sand Beach, Jordan Pond, Driving the Park Loop Road (NP Pass required), Sieur de Monts Nature Center and Gardens, incredible bridges and a lot of scenic pull-offs for pictures. If you are a hiker...this will be a paradise for you. Take a horse drawn carraidge ride on one of the tours (one hour or two hour) from the Wildwood Stables group. It was excellent! Jordan was a very good guide, for a first-timer. You will not do this in a day ... take a lot of days to thoroughly enjoy this park. Be aware that at certain times, things get very crowded, and downtown Bar Harbor is very crowded too, especially when a cruise ship or two is in port. The little villages nearby deserve a look too. We really liked Northeast Harbor, just past seal cove SW of Acada NP.

We enjoy hiking and scenic areas and have spent the last few years hiking in the western national parks, such as Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Moab. We decided to visit Acadia as well as White mountain in New Hampshire, and the Berkshire’s in Massachusetts. We found the Acadia trails to be both beautiful and challenging, we are well into our 70s. The trail around Lake Jordan was beautiful and relatively straightforward and well worth the effort. Having lunch at the restaurant at the lake was also fun. We tackled Beehive which proved to be rather strenuous, but beautiful. Hiking poles are not necessary, and they can even get in the way because of all the scrambling across rocks and boulders. Kneepads would actually have been useful for that climb. Certainly an exciting trail to transverse. We then tackled the Precipice which is not a trail for the faint of heart. In our mind, the hike was more of a rock, climbing adventure, then a hiking adventure. This hike requires quite a bit of upper body strength, but we were able to pull it off by taking our time. This is a trail that one should give some thought to before attempting it. We decided to take the more gradual hike down the trail. Absolutely gorgeous views, but quite strenuous.

Amazing views! We went to our favorite places in the park to enjoy the rocky coastline - Otter Point, Otter Cliffs, and Schoodic Point. On Schoodic Peninsula, we took the Sundew Trail, which was rated easy. We're actve seniors and felt it wasn't real easy, more easy/moderate. There were muddy areas and lots of tree roots on the trail. The views at the three spurs were beautiful. On the Quiet Side we did the Valley Trail / Canadian Cliff Loop (Beech Mountain Parking, Valley Trail (5) to Canadian Cliffs Trail (9) to Beech Cliff Loop Trail (12) back to parking area). Each of the trails, individually are rated moderate, though this combination of the trails making a 1.3 mile loop was rated easy. The first section on Valley Trail was easy enough. The rocks, tree roots and change in elevation on the Canadian Cliffs Trail portion was in no way easy. We never made it to the Beech Cliff section. We retraced our way back to the parking area. We also did the Jessup Path which was easy, through hemlock and birch trees - pretty with fall colors. All in all, enjoyed our time in Acadia.

You really don’t need to buy any tours. Just get a car pass, make sure you have good hiking boots (this is SERIOUS hiking), and a map … you are good to go. I’d recommend driving the park loop at least once if not twice to get your bearings before deciding on a specific hike. I’d also clump one location per day for hiking purposes (like Jordan pond with Bubble rock, and then the Sand Beach / ocean side trails a different day). Cadillac mountain will require a separate ticket. Beehive is not for the faint of heart… looked pretty crazy scary to me.

Beautiful and breath taking! Be sure to take a picnic because there are beautiful places to stop and enjoy the scenery. We really enjoyed the Mt Desert side. Never could find a parking spot for Jordan Pond😌. We tried two days in a row! The lighthouse was not impressive!

Park was amazing, though easy to get lost, even when driving it. "You are here" maps or displays would help visitors. Wish there were more signs to attractions/lookouts, as the park is so spread out. Was not sure what was open or not (Cadillac Mountain) due to the season. Just needed to maximize the attractions based on time and visitors hiking abilities.

Acadia National Park is full of history. My husband and I took a park tour earlier in the day and went back to explore on our own. I highly recommend going this time of year. I'm not sure if the foliage was as peak, but it was beautiful just the same. The view from Cadillac Mountain was gorgeous as well.

Acadia National Park is not to be missed if you’re visiting Maine. There are a number of trails for hiking- easy flat terrain and more difficult ones for the avid hiker. We are 60+ years old, active and fit but not expert hikers. We found that the Cadillac North Trail was challenging enough to get a great workout. It’s so much nicer to hike all the way up if you can rather than drive up to the summit. Amazing views along the way. Also did North and South Bubble, Bubble rock, Jordan Pond & Ocean Trail , all in two days. There is so much to see and each trail has different vegetation and terrain. Gorgeous foliage. Wished we had more time to go biking through the carriage roads and hike other parts of the park. We will definitely come back!