We first drove to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center to obtain maps and plan the sights we would see. There we watched a short orientation video that detailed the history of the park and John D. Rockefeller's efforts to conserve the landscape. Then we drove through the Park Loop Road, after first paying the $10.00 per car admission fee which allows access to Park Loop Road for seven days.
We stopped at Sandy Beach to take a walk along the Ocean Trail. This is the only sandy beach on the island and the walk took just ten minutes. The view of the mountain behind a pond on one side and the ocean lapping away on the other side was amazing.
We next stopped at Thunder Hole which has a pretty landscape of slabs of pink granite. The granite forms a natural cave so that when the tide crashes in waves, the water is forced through a hole creating a thundering sound. When we were there, however, the tide was low and the waves were minimal. But you could faintly hear towards the bottom of the steps a slight sound of thunder.
We then returned to our car and enjoyed some spectacular coastal scenery along the Park Loop Road. We thought of getting lunch at Jordan Pond House but we would have had to wait two hours. The restaurant was pretty in a rustic, woodsy sort of way, and looked out upon the pond. There was also outdoor seating available, but we decided not to wait the two hours because we wanted to see Cadillac Mountain before sunset.
When we left Jordan Pond House, we saw the Bubbles which are rock formations. It appeared to be a large round rock perched perilously on a narrow pointy rocky mountain. I believe that there are various theories about how that rock formation came to be.
After passing the Bubble Rocks we made a sharp right to go up to Cadillac Mountain. The place was crowded with many tourists, and the various cruise ships had brought busloads of people. Nevertheless, this is one of the quietest, most peaceful places that I've been to. I had read somewhere that the heart chakra of America is located on Cadillac Mountain, and I could easily see why someone would believe that. There is a little curved walkway to go around the top of the mountain and there are breathtaking views of Bar Harbour with all the tiny cruise ships docked in the ocean. We thought that Cadillac Mountain was the highlight of this trip and we had to return there.