Acadia National Park Summer Roadtrip

What an awesome way to end an incredible summer! My final trip of the summer was an awesome camping trip to Acadia National Park. It was our first time ever in Acadia and let me tell you, it wont be our last. I fell in love with Bar Harbor, Acadia, the trails, the ocean, and everything else in between.

This trip has been in the works since last summer. After our huge national park roadtrip last summer ( read about it here https://www.lifewithmarianna.com/travel-1/2017/09/19/adjusting-our-altitude-national-park-summer-roadtrip). We wanted to do another national park this summer that was closer and was more pet friendly (FYI: most national parks don't allow dogs on their major trails). We finally decided on Acadia and we started planning. We booked our campsite first at Blackwoods campground because campsites at the the national parks are always full months and even a year ahead!

We had counted down the days till we were finally away and enjoying a week away from our daily lives. Acadia is about 9 hours from NJ which meant ROADTRIP. We had prepped with snacks and great playlist that kept us busy and entertained. Making little stops as possible, we finally had arrived to the beautiful Mount Dessert Island.

We set up our camp site which was super cute because we were really prepared this year with our gear. Also the fact that we were finally staying at just one campsite for the week was amazing haha. We headed into Bar Harbor to do our grocery shopping for the week and were excited to head back to camp to start our campfire and just relax.

We had decided that this trip was going to be a relaxing trip. No itineraries or schedules. Whatever we felt like doing that day, we would do! Our first day consisted of hiking the most popular mountain in Acadia as well as the tallest mountain on the Eastern Seaboard! Cadillac mountain was such an awesome hike. It was short but definitely a hike that made you break a sweat. The views from the top of the mountain were beautiful! You could see Bar Harbor and everything around Mount Desert Island. We enjoyed lunch at the top of the mountain before making our way back.

Our second day we wanted to rest and spend the day at the lake. There are so many lakes on Mount Desert Island. You can swim, kayak, paddle board, and swim in most of them! We headed to Long Pond where we spent the day kayaking and soaking up some sun. The weather was so perfect. Not to hot and a great breeze! We ate lunch at the lake and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and taking in the gorgeous views around us.

It rained all day on our third day but we didnt let that get to us! With camping, all of our cooking was done outside, we decided to grab breakfast in town at Bar Harbors best blueberry pancakes, Jordan Restaurant (if you're in Bar Harbor, grab some blueberry pankcakes or muffins, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!). We spent the day at a coffee shop so my boyfriend could work on his homework and I did some reading. We had a late lunch/ early dinner in town before heading back to our campsite to wait out the rain. My boyfriend and I had decided to go into town to watch Mama Mia: Here We Go Again. There was the cutest old fashion movie theatre in town! Halfway through the movie there was even a 15 minute intermission (can we please bring this back so we can avoid leaving halfway through the movie to pee?). Sidenote: BEST MOVIE EVER. Seriously go watch it if you haven't.

Thursday we spent the day doing another popular hike called Gorham Mountain. We talked the ocean trail to get to our hike which was pretty incredible. We got to see the incredible cliffs and enjoy our lunch at the top of the mountain again. It such beautiful scenery all around us! After our hike we showered and were ready to head into town for some good dessert! If your'e looking for some good treats in Bar Harbor, I recommend trying Pink Pastry Shop and CJ's Big Dipper.

Friday was our last day there. My boyfriend and I had decided to take our bikes and do a trail around Eagle Lake. It was such a beautiful ride and we were able to stop along the way to take pictures. It was an awesome day spent together before we headed back to our busy schedules! Of course for our last night we headed into town for some dinner and dessert! We ate seafood at Stewmans Lobster Pound on the water. I had the best Haddock, shrimp, scallop, and lobster bisque ever haha. We ended the night with some blueberry ice cream (which is apparently a must when in Bar Harbor!).

We were sad to head home on Saturday because we had such an incredible week! I can't wait to come back to Mount Desert Island again some day. This was the best way to end an incredible summer of traveling. For the first time in a long time, my next destination is unknown. No trips or plans yet but of course you know I can never stay put for too long. Hope yall enjoyed reading about my trip to Acadia!