Thirty Five Reasons to Stay Four Nights for a Bar Harbor Vacation. Mix and Match for the best variety Bar Harbor Vacation you’ve ever had.

50 Reasons… your Bar Harbor Vacation:

  1. Walk the Shore Path anytime- dawn to dusk- (25 minutes) and to Bar Island (at low tide). (25 minutes)
  2. Walk the Connector Trails to the base of Dorr Mountain (1 hour)
  3. Visit the Abbe Museum of Indian Culture (3 minutes from Mira Monte).
  4. Eat lobster one night, scallops one night, fish another night, fried clams the fourth night.
  5. Borrow our CD and drive through Acadia National Park – 4 to 6 hours if you stop and explore as directed.
  6. Have a picnic on the rocks at Otter Point, a romantic Bar Harbor Vacation spot. Have a picnic on the shore of Bar Island (we’ll tell you the times – remember the tides rise and fall 12 feet every six hours).
  7. Go on the lobster boat, “Lulu” – a fabulous experience (2 hours)
  8. Go whale watching (mid-June to late October) – 4-5 hours
  9. Go sea kayaking (1-3 hours)
  10. Take the “Sea Princess” out of Northeast Harbor – 2 ½ hour nature cruise into the only fjord in the lower 48.
  11. Take the “Sea Princess” out to Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) for dinner (3 hours)
  12. Take a historic walking tour around old Bar Harbor and hear interesting stories of the early “rusticators” and their summer “cottages”. (2 hours)
  13. Visit the “Oceanarium” and see the lobster hatchery, deep sea animals and the animals of the salt marsh. 2 hours
  14. Walk the ocean path from Sand Beach to Otter Point – past Thunder Hole and experience the incredible beauty of Maine’s rockbound coast, see boulder beaches, tidal pools, and daunting cliffs.
  15. Try rock climbing the cliffs of Acadia – lessons are available in the village.
  16. Picnic at low tide on the shore of Bar Island. We’ll advise you when low tide permits this activity. (Tides here rise or fall 12 feet every 6 hours).
  17. Sail on the Margaret Todd (the only four masted schooner in the area; also boasts picturesque red sails). (2 hours)
  18. Visit the Wild Gardens of Acadia – in Acadia National Park. It features all of the native plants of this island. (1/2 hour)
  19. Visit the Azalea Gardens in Northeast Harbor. This Japanese style garden is picturesque all season long; there is a Zen sand garden, and a moss garden. The artful pruning helps you to slow down and experience a calm, restful walk. In June, the azaleas are breathtaking! (1/2 hour)
  20. Visit the Thuja Garden in Northeast Harbor. This English formal garden sits on the top of a cliff. Drive up or walk up the switchback Asticou Terraces trail and enjoy some spectacular view of Northeast Harbor and the Islands beyond. The Dawn Redwood trees are living fossils and are extremely huge trees with a unique twisted branching pattern and soft deciduous fir-like spills for leaves.
  21. Visit the site of Bass Harbor lighthouse – just beyond Southwest Harbor. (The lighthouse is privately owned, but you can go out on the rocks to take pictures).
  22. Take a walk through a natural bonsai forest at Wonderland – near the lighthouse. (1/2 hour).
  23. Enjoy summer theater (in Somesville from late June to Labor Day), a favorite Bar Harbor Vacation activity.
  24. Enjoy one of the many music festival performances offered throughout the summer.
  25. Enjoy the fall foliage in Acadia. Gorgeous multicolored hillsides and the blue ocean in the background are everywhere – at peak color in October, but there is usually color from late September to November.
  26. Celebrate the Fourth of July with us in Bar Harbor: a parade, music on the village green, a lobster festival at the athletic field, and fireworks over the ocean at 9 PM.
  27. Enjoy a band concert on the village green on Monday and Thursday evenings in the summer. (1 hour)
  28. Bicycle on the Carriage roads (50 miles of compacted gravel roads wind through the Park up the hills and around the ponds. No cars or motorized vehicles are permitted on these roads) (3-4 hours)
  29. Take a horse and buggy ride on the Carriage roads 2 to 4 hours.
  30. Enjoy a canoe ride on Long Pond or ride with the tide up Northeast Creek and get a ride back as the tide goes out.
  31. Watch the sun rise from the top of Cadillac Peak, the highest point on the Eastern seaboard.
  32. Spend an afternoon watching the majestic crashing waves on the Schoodic Peninsula- “the other Acadia”.
  33. Take a thrilling, cliff-hanging hike on one of Acadia’s famous ladder trails (the Beehive, Beech Cliffs, Precipice Trail or Jordan Cliffs)
  34. Visit the museum at the La Rochelle mansion, home of the Bar Harbor Historical Society (2 blocks from Mira Monte)
  35. Take a chilling dip at Sand Beach, then laze in the sun.
  36. Take a stroll on the boardwalk of Jesup path through stands of birch and the marshlands of the great meadow.
  37. See the collection of antique automobiles and motorcycles at the Seal Cove Auto Museum.
  38. Visit the quaint seaside villages of Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor and Bass Harbor on the “quiet side” of the island.
  39. Indulge in an afternoon of  wine tasting at nearby Bar Harbor Cellars or House Wine.
  40. Have a local craft beer at one of Bar Harbor’s taprooms or microbreweries.
  41. Enjoy a workout at the Mt Desert Y- we’ve paid for your admission!  (May-October).
  42. Go for a warm, freshwater swim from the beach at Echo Lake.
  43. Have a lobster ice cream cone at one of the town’s famous ice creameries.
  44. Fish one of Acadia’s many lakes and ponds or cast a line from the shore.
  45. Take the kids to Timber Tina’s lumberjack show, Wild Acadia waterpark or play a round of miniature golf at Pirate’s Cove.
  46. Shop for Maine Tourmaline, the Maine state gemstone, and tourmaline jewelry at one of the shops in town.
  47. Spend an afternoon exploring the many antique shops in the area.
  48. Have your Canadian visa?  Take the high-speed CAT ferry to Nova Scotia.  No visa?  Make that  your next reason to come back!
  49. Make Bar Harbor your “home base” to visit one of several county fairs from June through October.
  50. Have popovers at the Jordan Pond House.

Be sure to also visit our Blog to read more about planning your Bar Harbor vacation.