12 Best Sights in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, Maine

This important museum dedicated to Maine's indigenous tribes—collectively known as the Wabanaki—is the state's only Smithsonian-affiliated facility and one of the few places in Maine to experience Native culture as interpreted by Native peoples themselves. The year-round archaeology exhibit displays spear points, bone tools, and other artifacts found around Mount Desert Island and exhibits often feature contemporary Native American art, and there are frequent demonstrations of everything from boatbuilding to basket weaving. Call on rainy days for impromptu children's activities. A second location, inside the park at Sieur de Monts Spring, open only during the summer, features artifacts from the earliest digs around the island.

This important museum dedicated to Maine's Indigenous tribes—collectively known as the Wabanaki—is the state's only Smithsonian-affiliated facility and one of the few places in Maine to experience Native culture as interpreted by Native peoples themselves. Spanning 12,000 years, the "core" exhibit, People of the First Light, features items such as birch bark canoes, basketry, and bone tools as well as photos and interactive displays. Changing exhibits often showcase contemporary Native American art. A birchbark canoe made at the Abbe anchors the free Orientation Gallery beside the gift shop at the entrance. Check the website for events, from basket weaving and boatbuilding demonstrations to author talks and family-friendly pop-up rainy days activities.

Opened in 1928, the Abbe's Acadia National Park location at Sieur de Monts is its original home. Longtime exhibits in the small eight-sided building include artifacts from early digs on Mount Desert Island and dioramas of Native American life here before European settlement.

Built in 1858, this is one of Maine’s most photographed lighthouses; it's been a part of Acadia National Park since 2020. Now automated, it marks the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay at the island’s southernmost point nearly 2 miles below Bass Harbor village. You can't go inside, but a walkway brings you to a seaside viewing area with placards about its history. The small parking lot typically fills for sunset viewing in high season and parking isn’t allowed on the entrance road or on Route 102A. The free Island Explorer bus doesn’t serve the lighthouse.

One of Acadia’s premier attractions, 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain is the Eastern Seaboard's tallest mountain. Stunning panoramic views sweep across bays, islands, and mountains on and off Mount Desert Island. You can see Bar Harbor below on the northeast side and Eagle Lake to the west. Low-lying vegetation like pitch pine and wild blueberry plants accent granite slabs in the "subalpine-like" environment. There’s a paved summit loop trail and several hiking trails up Cadillac, named for a Frenchman who explored here in the late 1600s and later founded Detroit. From mid-May–mid-October, a vehicle reservation (done through  www.recreation.gov) is needed to drive to the summit. Sunrise slots are in high demand, as this is one of the first places in the country to see first light, not to mention the perfect spot to watch the sunset or stargaze in the spring and fall—Bar Harbor’s light ordinance helps with that. 

Soak up the mountain scenery, listen for the call of loons, and watch for cliff-nesting peregrine falcons along the 3.3-mile trail around this 187-acre tarn—a mountain lake formed by retreating glaciers—on Park Loop Road’s two-way portion. Several carriage roads converge here, one marked by a fanciful gatehouse, one of two on the road network. Visitors kayak and canoe on the deep water (no swimming) and gaze down on Great Pond after hiking up nearby mountains. A popular choice is The Bubbles, with twin peaks whose distinct shape makes up for what they lack in size. They rise across the water from Jordan Pond House Restaurant, where folks come for popovers served with strawberry jam and tea, hoping for a table on the expansive lawn—a tradition started in the 1890s in the original Jordan Pond House, which burned in 1979. The rebuild has a two-story gift shop and, on the upper level, an observation deck and Carriage Road Carry Out, with to-go items like sandwiches and salads—or try the popover sundae. Parking lots here fill fast in high season; consider biking or taking the free Island Explorer bus.

Stepping into the large foyer of this 1903 brick chateau, your view flows through glass doors on the opposite side, then across the piazza and flat lawn to a serene coastal expanse. A business partner of J.P. Morgan, George Bowdoin, and his wife, Julia, built this 13,000-square-foot, 41-room mansion near downtown Bar Harbor as their seasonal residence. Unlike many of the area's summer “cottages” of the nation’s elite, it was spared from the Great Fire of 1947. In 2020, La Rochelle became Bar Harbor Historical Society's museum and the town’s only Gilded Age mansion open to the public. While the Bowdoins’ story weaves through displays, each room has themed exhibits on local history: in the foyer, baskets the Wabanaki made to sell to tourists; the dining room, grand hotels of yesteryear; the master bedroom, old maps (one shows where the fire raged); a guest room, the town's famous visitors; and so on. Under the elegant wishbone staircase, a “flower room” with a curved wall spotlights the famous landscape artist who created the long-gone sunken garden. In the servants' quarters on the third floor, their story is shared—don’t miss the hallway callbox.

This easily accessible 4.4-mile round-trip trail runs parallel to the Ocean Drive section of the Park Loop Road from Sand Beach to Otter Point. It has some of the best scenery in Maine: cliffs and boulders of pink granite at the ocean's edge, twisted branches of dwarf jack pines, and ocean views that stretch to the horizon. Be sure to save time to stop at Thunder Hole, named for the sound the waves make as they thrash through a narrow opening in the granite cliffs, into a sea cave, and whoosh up and out. It's roughly halfway between Sand Beach and Otter Cliff, with steps leading down to the water to watch the wave action close up. Use caution as you descend (access may be limited due to storms), and also if you venture onto the outer cliffs along this walk. Easy.

This 27-mile road provides a perfect introduction to the park. You can drive it in an hour, but allow at least half a day, so that you can explore the many sites along the way, including Thunder Hole, Sand Beach, and Otter Cliff. The route is also served by the free Island Explorer buses. Traffic is one-way from near the Route 233 entrance to the Stanley Brook Road entrance south of the Jordan Pond House. The 2-mile section known as Ocean Drive is open year-round, as is a small section that provides access to Jordan Pond from Seal Harbor.

Massed granite ledges meet crashing waves at Schoodic Peninsula's tip, off the loop road at the end of Arey Cove Road. Dark basalt rock slices through pink granite, to dramatic effect. Look east for a close view of Little Moose Island; a bit farther away to the west is a sidelong view of Mount Desert Island; and to the south, an inspiring open ocean view. There are bathrooms and a good-size parking area. 

About 65 immaculately maintained vehicles from the “Brass Era”—the beginning of auto production until about 1915—are displayed in this large warehouse-type space. There are gasoline, steam, and electric vehicles; each has a sign detailing its history. The big red 1914 Stanley Mountain Wagon was used to ferry passengers between the train station and lodging—the term "station wagon" derives from such vehicles. Enticing not only car buffs, the changing exhibit (new every two years) also highlights the impact of early automobiles on society and culture ("Engines of Change" explored how autos helped drive the suffragette movement). There are also 30-plus vintage motorcycles. Kids of all ages love hopping a ride on vehicles taken outside for "exercise" and a close-up look (catch-as-catch-can but call ahead to up the odds). On Tuesday, you can watch car mechanics at work. For Cars & Coffee on select Saturdays, folks head over in historic and unique vehicles; admission is free during the event, however you arrive, and always free for kids (under age 18). Check the website for information about other special events.

The seasonal ranger-staffed Nature Center is the first major stop along the Park Loop Road. There are exhibits about the park's conservation efforts, as well as a park information center. The area is known as the “Heart of Acadia,” which memorializes George Dorr, Acadia National Park’s first superintendent, and includes walking trails, Sieur de Monts Spring, Wild Gardens of Acadia, and Abbe Museum (its main location is in downtown Bar Harbor), which honors the area’s Native American heritage. 

If you're up for a challenge, this is one of the area's best hikes. The 3.9-mile round-trip loop summits both St. Sauveur and Acadia mountains. Ascents and descents are steep and strenuous, but the views of Somes Sound and beyond are grand. The hike begins at the Acadia Mountain trailhead. For a shorter excursion, follow the fire road that connects with the Acadia Mountain Trail section of the loop. Difficult.