RV Road Trip Destination: Bar Harbor, Maine
Written by Nancy Carter, Making My Own Lane
Three months after I started on this journey from Florida to Maine, I checked into Bar Harbor for the next 15 days for exploring and fun in Acadia National Park and the town of Bar Harbor.
Mt. Desert Narrows Campground, Bar Harbor, Maine
Mt. Desert Narrows is in the Thousand Trails Membership program, so camping was free. I like seeing the $0 when I book and check in. I was able to book this campsite 90 days out. I have found that keeping track of my booking windows has really paid off and allowed me to get into all of the campgrounds I want.
I chose the Narrows because it is on the Island Express trolley loop. I can take the trolley to the Acadia Visitors Center, or into Bar Harbor, without worrying about where to park.
Because of the crowds in the area, even if I had a car, I would have taken the trolley. Some days I just rode the trolley through Acadia for the views, and some days I got off to enjoy hiking through the park.
It gets especially crowded on the days when the cruise ships come in for the day. I learned to avoid the park and the town on those days until after 3:30 or so.
I had stopped off in Ellsworth and restocked my fridge and pantry so I had enough for the next two weeks without having to break camp while I was in Bar Harbor.
Day One
It was only a 30-minute drive from where I was camping in Ellsworth to Bar Harbor, so after I checked in, I hopped on the Island Explorer trolley and went into town in search of some of that New England seafood.
It had been a few years since I had been to Bar Harbor, but the town hadn't changed.
Bar Harbor is a place where the very wealthy like John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan used to come to escape the heat of the big cities in the summer, until The Bar Harbor Fire of 1947 destroyed many of the homes and summer “cottages”. You can read about the terrible fire and the history of Bar Harbor here.
Bar Harbor - Day 2 Acadia
I booked the activities and tours I wanted to do during my stay, finished setting up my camp, and took the trolley to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, and did the Park Loop tour in Acadia National Park on the park shuttle to take in all the sites. The Park Loop, or Scenic Route, is a 27-mile drive around the east side of Mount Desert Island.
You will need an entrance pass for the park, or you can use your America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. If you are parking in the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, you should display your pass on your dash. There is a hefty ticket for not having a pass.
The bus/trolley transportation throughout Bar Harbor and Acadia is free.
Reservations are also needed for Cadillac Summit from the end of May to the end of October to drive to the top. You can purchase your pass here.
Jordan Pond Tea and Popovers - Day 3 Acadia
If you have the chance to go to Acadia, this is a must do! There is a big lawn with picnic tables set up where you can enjoy popovers and tea every afternoon and take in the view of Bubble Rock.
I had made my reservation 30 days before, because they book up very quickly during the summer season. The popovers are huge and delicious, and I opted for a blueberry soda instead of tea.
You will get two popovers, but let them bring you out one at a time. They are best eaten super hot with butter and jam.
Because of an aggressive hornet swarm, they were only serving inside. It had been like that for a couple of weeks, and while I was disappointed to not be able to eat outside, I was really glad I had a reservation. They were still honoring previous outside reservations, and it was really hard to still get a reservation.
After eating my popovers and pop, I headed back out for a quick hike along the Jordan Pond trail to walk off some of those calories.
I then hiked from Jordan Pond to Wildwood Stables, along a carriage trail, to make reservations for a carriage ride. I had tried to reach them by phone, but wasn’t able to get through. So I just went there in person in search of a reservation.
Campfire Cooking
The weather was perfect for campfires, and I was able to use my cast iron and cook outside on an open fire! I found that everything is more delicious when cooked over a campfire.
My campsite made for a perfect outdoor kitchen, with two, largest granite rocks. The original granite countertops. It made for a great place to put those hot cast iron pans.
Ocean Path Trail Hike - Day 5 Acadia
Willie and I decided to do this 2.2 mile trail along the coastline of Acadia, destination Thunder Hole.
The public transportation in and around Acadia and Bar Harbor is free, and dog-friendly. You can get on and off as you wish, but when it is busy, be prepared to wait for the next trolley. We had to wait over an hour to get picked back up again because there was so much traffic on the Scenic Road. It was good we had snacks and water.
There were a lot of people in this park, so we decided to find a less-crowded spot that had an amazing view of the powerful waves along the shoreline.
Then we took the trolley into Bar Harbor, where I got a lobster roll, clam chowder, and another IPA with fresh blueberries.
My goal was to eat lobster every day, but my budget didn’t match up with my goal.
I had set a budget of $100 a week on lobster, which might seem like a lot, but with lobster being $19 a pound, that $100 didn’t go very far, and I had to settle on eating lobster twice a week.
Mr. Rockefeller’s Bridge Tour - Day 6 Acadia
Sometimes being a solo traveler has its advantages, like being able to get on a “sold out” tour. And I was able to book this two-hour tour with only a one-day notice. I decided to do this guided tour instead of renting an e-bike and exploring the trails on my own.
There are 57 miles of motor-vehicle free carriage trails, 45 miles of them are in Acadia National Park and 12 are on private land. The public trails are maintained with a crushed gray granite, and the private trails are maintained with a more-expensive crushed pink granite.
John D. Rockefeller financed these carriage trails between 1913 and 1940, including 16 out of 17 stone-faced bridges throughout the park. Each bridge has its own unique story, and a horse and carriage ride along the carriage trails was a great way to see many of them.
Acadia is one of the few national parks where all the land was donated by private philanthropists and residents such as George B. Dorr, Eliza Homans and John D. Rockefeller, who wanted to preserve and maintain the beauty of the area.
Our tour through Acadia also included some time on the private carriage trails, and a great synopsis of this history of Rockefeller and how and why he built the trails. Hint, he wanted to protect his own estate, too.
Fjord, Lighthouse and Park Tour - Day 8 Acadia
I booked a boat tour through Acadian Boat Tours (link) through the Somes Sound to see the only fjord on the east coast. I also saw seals, bald eagles, some homes of the rich and famous, and the Bear Island and Egg Rock lighthouses.
It was a fun way to see Acadia from the other side - the ocean side, and learn even more about the history of this national park.
The boat tour was also pet-friendly, if you wanted to bring your dog.
Bar Island hike - Day 10 Acadia
Living by the tide tables. In Acadia, there are some things that are best to do at low tide, or high tide.
So one of the first things I did when I got to Bar Harbor was do check the tide chart. The farther you get from the equator, the larger the tide.
You can only do the hike to Bar Island during low tide. There is a land bridge that connects Bar Harbor and Bar Island that you can only access at low tide. It’s only about 2 miles round trip, but you also have to include the time it takes you to walk from wherever you have parked in Bar Harbor to the beginning of the trail.
It’s important to pay attention to the tide, and your time, or you might be spending a night on the island or paying big bucks to have a rescue boat come and pick you up!
Willie and I started our hike a little before low tide. There was one part on this land bridge that we ( I waded. Willie got carried) had to walk ankle deep in water to get to the other side.
The day we chose was very foggy, but because of the way the tides were when we were in Bar Harbor, we were limited in our choice of day and time.
There were a few cruise ships offshore for the day as well, and you could hear their fog horns off in the distance.
After our hike, Willie and I decided we needed another lobster roll fix in town.
Do you like your lobster rolls with mayo or naked (no mayo)? I prefer naked, but I had to try with mayo just to make sure. Honestly, both are delicious.
Cadillac Mountain Summit - Day Thirteen Acadia
Cadillac Mountain has an elevation of 1,530, and is a great place to be one of the first on the east coast to see the sun rise from October to March, or see an amazing sunset, or just take in a view of the beautiful Acadia National Park coastline.
However, you must make a reservation to drive to the top, and there is no guarantee you will see anything, if the mountain is covered in clouds, as it was the day I went.
We could see the signs showing us what we would have seen if we could have seen anything, but that was it.
Because I was spending the day with an old friend, it was still a lot of fun.
We were able to see the footprint of an old hotel, the Green Mountain House, from the late 1800’s and the mountain summit marker.
Bring a sweatshirt. Even it it’s warm at the bottom, it can be cold at the top. The weather in Bar Harbor can change quickly, from sun to rain, hot to cold.
Things in Maine I still want to do
Take the CAT ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia.
Go to Lubec, Maine, about 100 miles north of Bar Harbor, to find sea glass.
Visit the Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine and the beginning, or end, of the Appalachian trail, depending on how you look at it.
Thanks for joining me as I continue my journey up the East Coast from Florida to Bar Harbor, Maine and back.
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Hi there! I'm Nancy.
In 2023, I ditched my heels for hiking boots, sold my house, and decided to travel the US full time in my 2005 Lazy Daze Class C RV.
I love to share the places I travel to and what it's like to live in an RV full-time.
If you have ever thought about hitting the road and traveling in an RV, either in your free time or full time, you are in the right place!
Follow along for weekly blog posts about my adventures as I travel the US with my two dogs, Rufus and Willie, and my cat, Katie.