Autumn splendor in Maine

The perfect day would probably be: wake up early from your Bar Harbor B&B (see below for early reservation requirement - the high season ends after Colombus day week end); grab a quick harbor view breakfast and get your bike rentals at the port; bike into Acadia (2 miles) and ride the ocean side loop road, followed by one or two of the lake loops in the interior of the eastern part of the park. Ride back into Bar Harbor late afternoon and get ready for a lobster dinner (harbor view again...)

Quick Tips:

When planning to go to Acadia during the peak foliage season, you should either make hotel reservations well in advance or plan to camp. Camping in the National Park is excellent, although facilities are limited: even without the possibility to have a tent site with an ocean view, you can easily find a spot 200 yards from the coast.

Best Way To Get Around:

Biking is probably the best way to get around: Acadia is a rather large park and well adapted to biking thanks to an few excellent carriage roads, with good alternance of hilly and flat terrain; bikes can be rented at several places in nearby Bar Harbor (you can park your car in Bar Harbor and bike 2 miles to reach the closest entrance to the National Park.

The farms raise around 20 endangered livestock breeds (pig, sheep, chicken, pony, horse, etc.); about 250 animals; visitors can walk around in a very quiet and clean farm environment and watch the livestock live a happy and quiet farm life; this is an unusual experience for city dwellers, well worth it; some animals are very surprising (4 to 6 horns for instance!)

open May 1 - Oct 31: 10:00am to 5:00pm

Nov 1 - April 30: 10:00am to 3:00pm

closed on Mondays

from Bar Harbor (where you get your bike rental), go South to catch, within Acadia National Park, the ocean view road; watch out for cars on this section, but the nice thing is that traffic is 2 lanes, one way, low speed. go past Blackwoods campground and head for Jordan Pond teahouse (possible lunch/tea, there); starting from there, you enter the carriage road system (no more cars): for instance you can take Jordan Pond road North, do Eagle Lake loop, follwed by half of Witch Hole Pond. At this point you will be in the Northern part of the park, 3 miles from Bar Harbor.

This itinerary will take you on the coast, in the hills, through the forest and around pounds: very good alternance of clear views, forest biking, hills and flat terrain. Beautiful during the foliage season (although the park can get crowded at this time of the year).