We're planning a trip to Maine (including Acadia Nat Pk) for the late spring, but are concerned about the air temps and bugs. We want to include significant biking on the carriage trails. We'll have two young children with us so expected daytime temps below 50 deg are not preferred. Just how bad are the bugs? The kids are too young to put strong bug spray on hands and faces. Can anyone offer suggestions about our time frame? As an alternative, we could come in September, but we'd have to eliminate the biking. Thanks for any input!

September is the best month to visit Maine, the weather is almost always stupendous and the crowds and bugs are long gone.

The last two weeks of May are also usually very nice, and the black flies haven't quite come out yet. Bring some Avon skin-so-soft towelettes and that'll keep the bugs ways from the kids.

June is probably the peak of black fly season in this part of New England. Realize that these critters are forest dwellers that hatch in cold streams, so being near the beach won't be a problem. However, get away from the beach and into the woods, and you can be inundated. Skin so Soft is marginally helpful. The best repellant is a good strong breeze. The temperatures should be in 50's and 60's, but you may get a heavy fog along the beach due to the icy cold water and the mild spring air. As mentioned above, September is a much better month for outdoor activities.

Kasper, How come you'd eliminate the biking in Sept? We go to Acadia toward the end of Aug or in Sept. It's beautiful and perfect biking weather. Sept is great because most of the tourists have gone home and everything is still open. We went early this last summer, our weather had been terrible all spring and early summer. The natives were cranky...they were working and not making any money. Sept is a much better choice. Bugs in May...not too much of a problem. We like to use Bay Rum that we bought in Puerto Rico. It's like Skin so Soft but better smelling.

Thanks for the replies. If we switch to September we'd have to eliminate the bikes because one kid will be too heavy for the seat and, hopefully, I will be expecting another baby. I'm trying to assess if it's better to go somewhere else to do the biking in May and then to Maine in September w/o the bikes. Any opinions?

If you want to bike in May, Cape Cod may be a better option that Maine. There are some excellent bike trails on the Cape. Since the Cape has more of a dunes and scrub habitat, black flies shouldn't be nearly as bad. Ticks can be a problem however if you walk through any brush.