The Acadia Adventure Sept 7 - 10

We crossed the border and crossed paths with the hurricane at the same time.   We were the only vehicle at the border in the driving rain and we had an uneventful crossing.  Just like that, our Canadian chapter was over and we were headed toward home.

We had visited Acadia National Park years ago with friends and were excited to return.  It was next on the itinerary but we had miles to cover and weather to contend with first!   We battled the wind and rain, made a wet grocery stop and even made a wrong turn resulting in getting STUCK – but, no matter, we persevered and made it to our intended destination for the day just outside of the park.

After a day of little activity, eating, drinking and movies, the weather cleared promising much better  We arrived early at Acadia, a large, sprawling park covering several parcels of land over 3 different areas.  We parked at the visitor center, got our bearings and hopped the park shuttle for some great hiking.
fortune for the days ahead!

Being the weekend, the park was crowded as were the hikes so we picked one less than the popular Cadillac Mountain and headed for the Champlain and Gorham Mountain trails.  The hike was great to start with but especially after a rain day!  With challenging sections and spectacular views, we enjoyed every step.

The next order of business was to get to the campground near an hour’s drive to the other side of the park.  Fighting more crazy roads and traffic, it felt good to arrive at our site in the blissfully peaceful campground.  We enjoyed a great meal and a walk during the sunset before a crackling fire soothed us into a great night’s sleep.

The next day required a campsite change and we had to wait until our next site was open so we took our time before heading out.  Being way out at the Seawall campground meant that less than frequent shuttlebus took a good hour to get to “park central”.  Having decided to shuttle instead of driving all the way back in, we were limited in how much time we had to spend and chose to go into Bar Harbor and see what diversions we could find.


The day was spent wandering the area, hiking across the sand bar and around the island across the way to a great view of the harbor, doing a little shopping and – of course – making a stop at the local brewery!  We had fun with our bartender, Forest, and enjoyed a few beers and an amazingly large and tasty plate of nachos with some crazy Asian fusion spicy sauce on top. 

As if that wasn’t enough, we topped that off with some ice cream from the local shop.  With flavors like Coriander Lemon Curd and Chinese Five Spice, we couldn’t pass it up!  Lightly exercised and overly indulged, we hopped the shuttle back to the Seawall Campground. 

The next day dawned cool and beautiful and we got up early to enjoy a final hike before picking up my Mom in Bangor early afternoon.  The Acadia Mountain trail was right off the drive out of the park and we arrived early enough to get a coveted parking spot!   We chose a double mountain trail – Acadia and St. Saveur – a reasonable yet challenging goal for the day.

We wasted no time and got right on the trail.  It was an aggressive uphill climb and quickly turned into a rocky ascent climbing boulder over boulder to the summit.  The day was perfect and the views were plentiful.  Knowing we had limited time, we headed back down the mountain which proved to be challenging (but fun!) as well. 

When we got to the bottom it was near time to get on the road.  We assessed our position, what we had yet to do before the airport and decided the what we had to do could wait!  We headed away from the turn back to the road and headed up the second peak!  Acadia is just such a magical place.  Beautiful hikes with all levels of difficulty from easy strolls to vertical ladder climbs and views that can’t be topped. 

We made it to the St. Saveur peak keeping a steady pace the whole way.  Having pushed it the whole way, I was starting to feel spent!  We couldn’t justify another delay so the climax of the trail, the Valley Peak loop, was sacrificed for timeliness!  Now it really was time to hit the road and we practically jogged our way back down the mountain!

My mom was arriving for her inaugural “life in an RV” adventure in a short time and we left Acadia National Park in the rear-view mirror.  With our second visit there just as memorable as the first, we surely expect it not to be our last.