Trying to figure out the best things to do in and around Acadia National Park? I’ve got you covered! With stunning coastlines, fun-to-traverse mountain terrain, gorgeous forests, and glorious lakes, Acadia and the surrounding area has it all. After doing enormous amounts of research and then spending eight days there myself, I’ve put together my very best recommendations for what to do (and what not to do) in and around Acadia National Park! (Some of which I learned the hard way, like with my accidental death-defying hike – read on, my friend).

The first thing you need to know before visiting Acadia, is that like many National Parks we have visited, there are several different areas of the park. (PS – see where we’re at in our quest to visit them all by clicking HERE!) Most of the 47,000 acres of Acadia National Park are on Mount Desert Island, though spread out between the East and West sides of the island. The remaining park sections are on Isle de Haut (a long drive + ferry ride to access), and the Schoodic Peninsula (either a long drive or boat ride away). We heard amazing things about both of those more remote areas but did not make it to them on this trip.

Acadia is also one of the most-visited National Parks in the country, so it may be worth considering timing your visit in the slower months. I may be partial, but I think October is a pretty great time to go. The foliage changed completely during the time we were there and the weather was stunning for over half of the week.

All of the below recommendations can be found on Mount Desert Island. And bonus, most are within a 45 minute drive of each other, which is pretty awesome for a National Park.

So let’s get to it!

Best Things to Do In Acadia National Park

The novelty of this hike makes it a must-do, friends! The kids were all very excited for this one, because it is only accessible 90 minutes before and after low tide. It’s about .5 miles to get over to the island. Once you reach the island, you can continue hiking up to a viewpoint where Bar Harbor can be seen through the trees, which we did and enjoyed. We went on a beautiful day, where the views in the harbor were gorgeous. The kids figured out you could find tiny sea stars by looking on the underside of the rocks.

Just make sure to get back on time! If you get stuck on the island, it’s a 9 hour wait or a water taxi ride to get to back across. Not ideal!

While it’s hard to pick my favorite adventure from our trip to Acadia, this hike definitely ranks at the top for the most epic views. The coastline is magical, and we had incredible views throughout the duration of this 4.5 mile hike. This out-and-back trail gets you to each of the popular areas along this section of coast, and each one is unique in its own right. You’ll want to time your visit to Thunder Hole so that you’re there at high tide (we missed it by 30 minutes).

THIS hike, which is mostly along Park Loop Road, is a busy one, but its worth it. Parking was a bit of an issue. Upon our arrival, we were shocked to find that the area was so full of cars that we had to park over a mile away from where we planned. #rookiemistake However, because the route was out and back and along the road, it really didn’t matter where we started (with the exception of needing to be at Thunder Hole at a certain time. I’d highly recommend packing a picnic and eating out there. We ate at Otter Cove and it was magical.

Cadillac Mountain, even in dense cloud cover, was a lot of fun. It’s also the highest peak on the East Coast standing at 1,530 feet of elevation. Even more exciting, it is the first place you can view the sunrise in the United States between October 7th and March 6th. As I write this, reservations are required to drive up to the top, which you can get by clicking HERE. Sunrise reservations release in advance, and unfortunately, we were never able to secure them. We did, however, get a daytime reservation, and were happy to head up there at our designated time.

The summit is home to a cute gift shop, and the kids loved the .5 mile well-maintained path at the top, where you could scurry around on the bedrock. If it was this beautiful on a cloudy day, I can only imagine how it would be on a clear day!

This was our first hike in the park and it remained a favorite overall! There are two sections to see: North Bubble and South Bubble (make sure you bring a waterproof map! I’d recommend THIS one!) The hike is a bit of a rock scramble, but even our older folks in the group made it without too much issue. It was VERY fun for the kids, and views at the top were definitely worth it. The left and middle photos below are at South Bubble and the photo on the right is North Bubble, overlooking Jordan Pond.

Want to make sure you catch all of the different types of terrain when planning to trip to Acadia? Then DO. NOT. MISS. THIS. HIKE. It’s pretty flat most of the way, with some fun boardwalks, and tricky rocks to climb over if you choose. But it’s the coastline that is the real stunner here.

Careful on the wet rocks! They can get slippery!

I was genuinely thrilled by how exciting a majority of the hikes in Acadia were! Beech Cliffs and Canada Cliffs trail has a really fun ladder section but I would only attempt this with other kids who follow directions well and a good adult to child ratio. We took the older kids (7 and up) on this trail and most listed it as their favorite activity of the entire trip.

Tim, my brother, and I had already completed the most terrifying ladder hike in history (I exaggerate but that is how the Precipice Trail felt to me), so this seemed simple and like a “just-right” challenge for the kids. Other popular ladder trails include Beehive (the MOST popular, but pretty difficult/scary I hear), Jordan Cliffs, and Dorr Mountain.

I will quickly add that taking the Cadillac Cliffs offshoot on the Gorham Mountain trail was REALLY fun for the kids too. -some challenging scrambles and caves to explore.

The Wild Gardens of Acadia is a beautiful place to explore. The Jessup Path boardwalk was definitely worth doing. It was a gorgeous walk this time of year and was flat and fun. There is also a Nature Center in this area, with a Ranger on staff, so the girls got to turn in their Junior Ranger books there instead of having to travel all the way back up to the main Visitor Center.

(*if you click a below link, it may be an affiliate link, which means if you make a purchase by clicking them, I may earn some coffee money, at no added cost to you! Thank you so much for supporting my work here, friend!)

best things to do around acadia national park

There were many, many great boat tour options, but ultimately we settled on the lobster fishing and seal-watching boat tour at sunset with Bar Harbor Whale Watching Co! We loved watching a fisherman pull up traps and seeing what animals and other treasures were inside. Then we headed out to Egg Rock, where we spotted a bunch of seals. It was a great experience.

I’d also heard great things about sailing at Sunset on the Margaret Todd and Lulus Lobster boat. Lulu’s Lobster Boat unfortunately doesn’t take kids under 6, and the Margaret Todd seemed like an experience the adults would enjoy more than the kids. We did not regret our choice, and the kids even got to hold a lobster and touch a sea cucumber! Super fun!

When in Maine, one must go see Timber Tina. EVERYONE we came in contact with knew about Timber Tina and the Great Maine Lumberjack show. She was on Survivor in 2006 and had some really fun stories to tell about it. The whole experience was a fascinating look into some of the history and unique culture of Maine. We enjoyed meeting the lumberjacks and the kids even got to use the big saws. And of course Tim asked Timber Tina a question about chainsaws – ha!

Bar Harbor is fabulously located and a beautiful little town. It’s neat to walk around and a great place to get souvenirs and lobster rolls (we kept coming back to Stadium because the lobster rolls were just that good). The marina and coffee shops were all so lovely. Time your visit with low tide and do the Bar Harbor Island walk!

If eating in a restaurant, make dining reservations ahead of time. Cruise ships often come into the harbor and can make it difficult to find restaurant seating if a cruise ship is docked.

This gorgeous little bridge is worth a stop and a photo, especially if visiting in the fall when the leaves are changing. There is a little museum which closes during the off-season, so we didn’t get to stop in. Parking is available very close by in the museum parking lot. How beautiful is this?

Only 5 people can access the bridge at a time, just FYI!

If you’re on a time crunch, here’s what you can skip:

Not everyone is going to agree with this, but after doing all of these things, I think these were the options that took more time/effort than they were worth, perhaps.

Jordan Pond Popovers

Side note: I was told that the popovers at Asticou Inn are just as good and much more accessible. Unfortunately, Asticou Inn was out of popovers on the day we stopped in.

bass harbor lighthouse

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Here’s another that didn’t make my list of best things to do in and around acadia national park:

precipice trail

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Whew! How incredible is all that?!

I’m telling you, Acadia is responsible for memories that will indeed last a lifetime for me and my big crew that tagged along to celebrate my big birthday. If you’d like to see my stories about Acadia, click HERE! Also, check out the REEL I made about our trip.

I hope you’ll follow along as we keep exploring this beautiful world God has created! Subscribe to my exclusive email list in order to get the best behind-the-scenes info by clicking HERE. Can’t wait to see what’s next!

Thank you so much for coming on this ride with me today!

biggest hugs and Blessings,

ann marie 🖤

Want to see more from our travels? Check out these posts: