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

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.

About a half mile beyond the Schoodic Point spur on the scenic one-way loop drive, this spot looks out on nearby Little Moose and Schoodic islands and the ocean beyond. It’s also where to park if you’re planning to hike a loop consisting of the Alder and Anvil trails across the road from the parking lot.

Less than a mile from the entrance to Schoodic Woods Campground and Ranger Station, and just beyond Frazer Point Picnic Area, the only road into the park becomes one-way and continues for about 6 miles to the park exit (no RVs are allowed on the road after the campground entrance). Edging the coast and sprinkled with pullouts, the first few miles yield views of Grindstone Neck, Winter Harbor, Winter Harbor Lighthouse, and, across the water, Cadillac Mountain. After a few miles, a two-way spur, Arey Cove Road, passes Schoodic Institute en route to Schoodic Point. Here, huge slabs of pink granite lie jumbled along the shore, thrashed unmercifully by the crashing surf, and jack pines cling to life amid the rocks. Continuing on the loop road, stop at Blueberry Hill parking area to look out on near-shore islands. The Anvil and Alder trailheads are near here. From the park exit, continue two miles to Route 186 in Birch Harbor. There's a biking path trailhead with parking at the exit and another one about midway to Route 186, both on your left.