jgwagner4

My family (wife, 4 yr. old, 9 mo. old and myself) are planning on spending a week in Maine this summer. We are looking to stay on an un-crowded beach (swimming not required) where we can walk, explore tide pools and look for clams.

So far Acadia seems to be coming up a lot as a possible area that would meet these requirements.

I have been looking at vacation rental homes and cottages as we would like a full kitchen, a separate bedroom for the kids, TV with DVD and internet access.

So my questions are:

- Is Acadia the best (or a good) location for what we are looking for?
- What other areas should we also be considering?
- Does anyone have experience with a vacation rental or cottage such as the one we are looking for that they would recommend?
- Do you need a license for clamming and if so, where can it be obtained?

Thanks!

dfrostnh

here is the information about clamming licences
http://www.maine.gov/dmr/crd/smd/mun..._licensing.htm

It's been years since we have spent time in the Bar Harbor area since we usually vacation further south along the coast. I know you said you wanted uncrowded but with young children you might consider a popular family place like York Beach. There's a playground for the children. Lots of sand for digging.

tbelgian

It depends on when you are traveling to Acadia. Sometimes it is very crowded. You can always find areas away from the crowds. The side with South West Harbor is called, "the quiet side," of the island.

I do not believe you can clam without a license, but call the state's DMR; dept of marine resources for info. You want to be aware of the conditions since, for several reasons, the flats could be closed and you DO NOT want to eat the clams. You would probably get the license from the town offices where you are staying or claming.

We always camp when we go there, so I don't know anything about rentals.

Have you gone to the Acadia National Park web site? There might be a lot of info there.

Good luck and have fun.

jcasale

In addition to the "quiet side" of Mount Desert Island, there is a section of Acadia (Schoodic)that is separated off from the more crowded Mount Desert Island part and might have more what you are looking for. Acadia in general can get pretty crowded in the summer. You might also try staying in that general part of the coast (which is gorgeous and has great tidal pools) but not stay on "the Island". Sullivan is about halfway between the Mount Desert part of Acadia and the Schoodic part. There may be some rentals there and there are lots of neat places to explore along the coast. Make sure if you go to that area that you find Tidal Falls. The tides actually reverse the direction of the water and create a mini waterfall at mid-tide. As the tide goes out there are all sorts of neat sea creatures that get exposed. And there is a great little park there for picnics.

jcasale

Forgot to add - I just put "Sullivan Maine Vacation Rentals" in a Google search and came up with quite a few sites that would give you the kind of place you are looking for. The nice thing about Sullivan is that it is near Acadia, but much quieter. it is also near Ellsworth for grocery shopping and restaurants and easy to get to from Bangor and the interstate if you are driving up from Boston. There are other little towns all up and down that part of the coast that are wonderful, but not all of them have as easy access to the shoreline. Keep in mind that "beaches" in that part of Maine are mostly rocky, pebbly afairs - not that much sand. Even for clamming you are often digging in gravel. I always ended up with cuts on my fingers after clamming when I was a kid. But it was fun. You do have to check in to the license issue. The last time I did any clamming was probably 25 years ago and it was on our own land. Also pay attention to closures of clam beds due to "red tide".

In general - enjoy! We got to that area every summer and just love it!

jgwagner4

Great responses!

The tidal falls sounds like a really neat thing to experience. I had found a nice looking place in Hancock to stay that seemed perfect but was already booked. So we were already starting to gravitate towards the Schoodic area.

I am still open to advice, but I think we are starting to get this narrowed down.

Thanks!