7 Notes On Visiting Acadia National Park
I got to visit Acadia National Park in the early Summer. I had no real idea what to expect, especially since the Park is both old…and small in acreage compared to other National Parks.
Maine Is That Beautiful
Maine is a treasure of a State. All the things that prevented large-scale white settlers in the 1700s are things that make it so beautiful now. The mountains come right down to the coast.
The coastline is full of rock formations and rugged, small coves. The rivers never fan out into sandy deltas; instead, they stay compact and clear right to the ocean. The forests are dense, evergreen, and hardy. Many of the lakes are large and built by glaciers. The entire landscape is very special. I love that Acadia preserves a slice of it.
The Park Is Of A Specific Time
In the National Parks’ first 40 years, we (America) weren’t quite sure how we should go about preserving & promoting the Parks. So, we tried a bunch of stuff. You can see some of these experiments in the early Parks where some features don’t quite fit how we’d do things now.
Acadia is very much like that. It’s of the era with Shenandoah National Park, when there really weren’t any National Parks on the East Coast. A slice of powerful Americans wanted Parks near Boston, New York, and DC. They wanted a very specific set of features—basically resort-style with day hiking available.
Because of that era, Acadia is a very compact Park with lots of human infrastructure (and lots of surrounding private land). There is no backpacking in the Park. There is no designated Wilderness. And you are never more than a few minutes from a quaint little cottage, restaurant, or establishment. The whole Park is much more the Rockefeller’s vision (they built it, and gifted it to us) than the National Park Service’s vision. It is extremely well-built, with thoughtful roads, trails, and buildings that blend into the landscape.
But that’s not a bad thing! The diversity of our National Parks makes them special. Acadia is the perfect Park for many Americans (especially the young and older) who want to enjoy our public lands without a backpack, hiking poles, and a portable stove. Going to Acadia with very young kids was very special because there are so many special spots, hikes, amenities, lodging, bathrooms, etc to make it less of an ordeal than, say, Olympic or Death Valley National Parks.
The Park Is Small, But Easy To Find Solitude
Every National Park (err, really every tourist destination) follows the 80/20 rule where 20% of the spots draw 80% of the visitors.
My rule is to go off-peak, off-season, and off-track, and you can have even the busiest of places all by yourself. And that’s still true, even in Acadia. Almost all of our hikes were in total solitude. Only one of our destination visits was crowded (Cadillac Mountain – but even there, the NPS has its quota system to smooth out crowds).
We went to some off-beat places in Acadia and got up early a couple of days, but we never had to skip a spot that we had planned for.
Acadia Is a Day Hiker’s Park
Like Shenandoah National Park, Acadia may not have backpacking options, but it has some of the best day hikes in the National Park System. It has all distances from less than a mile to 10-mile loops.
The difficulty ranges from a true walk in the Park to near rock climbing across cliff faces. Even though the mountains are not high, the geography and topographic isolation guarantee views from most high points.
Acadia Is Very Family Friendly
Because it is a smaller, older Park, Acadia is very friendly to families, especially with small children. From destinations in the Park (like the Wild Gardens, Sand Beach, and Jordan Pond) to simply being near grocery stores, bathrooms, etc are all excellent. Acadia is much more achievable and fun for kids than, say, Death Valley or Olympic or other big, grand western Parks.
Different Seasons Equals Different Experiences
Acadia is a rare Park that doesn’t have a peak season in the summer. Peak season is in late September to October when the leaves are changing. I went during the summer and it was incredible then. It’s also open in the winter, with opportunities to cross-country ski on the carriage roads. It’s cool that a Park can be so different in each season.
The Contrast between the Coast, Mountains & Forest Is Amazing
I did not expect the mountains to literally drop into the ocean in parts with no beach. The diversity of tree species is incredible. Everything you’d see throughout the East Coast is in a single little area. The scenery is beautiful. It may be very different from Western Parks, but I’m thankful it’s been preserved, and I can’t wait to go back.
