Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park Review

The only section of Maine's national park that sits on the mainland is at the southern end of the Schoodic Peninsula in the town of Winter Harbor. The park has a scenic 6-mi one-way loop that edges along the coast and yields views of Grindstone Neck, Winter Harbor, Winter Harbor Lighthouse, and, across the water, Cadillac Mountain. At the tip of the point, huge slabs of pink granite lie jumbled along the shore, thrashed unmercifully by the crashing surf (stay away from the water's edge), and jack pines cling to life amid the rocks. Fraser Point, at the beginning of the loop, is an ideal place for a picnic. Work off lunch with a hike up Schoodic Head for the panoramic views up and down the coast. During the summer season you can take a passenger ferry to Winter Harbor from Bar Harbor, then catch the free Island Explorer bus, which stops throughout the park. Admission fees are not charged when you're just visiting Schoodic. A visitor center is expected to open in summer 2013 at the park's Schoodic Education Research Center.

Schoodic Education and Research Center. At the campus of a former Naval radio communications station within the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, the Schoodic Education and Research Center offers public lectures, workshops, and events like Junior Ranger Day. The goal is to educate the public about science, nature, and the research work of a nonprofit institute that is based here and works in partnership with the park service. It's worth a drive by just to see the Rockefeller Building, a massive 1935 French Eclectic and Renaissance-style structure with a stone and half-timber facade that housed naval offices and housing. In summer 2013, a park visitor center and the main office of the Schoodic Education and Research Center Institute are to open here. From Park Loop Road, turn on Acadia Drive, watch for signs. 207/288-1310. www.sercinstitute.org.