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

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 experience first light. It's also the perfect spot to watch the sunset or stargaze. Bar Harbor’s light ordinance helps with the latter, but keep in mind that the access road is only open 24/7 in early spring and late fall.

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.

Originally part of John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s seaside estate, this stunning hilltop garden is the creation of its namesake—Rockefeller's wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller—and famed landscape designer Beatrix Farrand. An ever-present Narnia vibe begins on the drive up through the woods, where blowers keep the large mossy granite rocks free of leaves and needles, to magical effect. Even before entering on the Spirit Path, lined with Korean funerary statues, the garden’s earthy pink high wall entrances: it resembles those in Beijing’s Forbidden City. The English-style main border garden has many colorful annuals; one side is more shaded, so bed heights vary, adding whimsy to the symmetrical space. In smaller garden spaces nearby, you can rest on a bench, step through a pagoda, look out on Little Long Pond, and contemplate more Eastern sculptures, from seated Buddhas to guardian animals. An easy forest trail leads to the large terrace—with commanding, expansive ocean views—that fronted The Eyrie, the Rockefellers’ massive summer “cottage,” until it was torn down in 1962.

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—north of Seal Harbor 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 fish, kayak, and canoe on the deep water (no swimming) and gaze down on this 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 ( 2928 Park Loop Rd.  www.jordanpondhouse.com), 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 local summer “cottages” of the nation’s elite, it was spared by 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 reception room, baskets the Wabanaki made to sell to tourists and displays about local work and industry that shaped the town; the dining room, grand hotels of yesteryear; the master bedroom, old maps (one shows where the fire raged); 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 call box. In the garage, accessible from outside and open when the museum is, free exhibits spotlight today's working waterfront. From dawn to dusk year-round, the public can enjoy the grounds at no charge. The museum has a gift shop.

Most of this 2.2-mile path parallels the Ocean Drive section of Park Loop Road from Sand Beach to Otter Point. It has some of the best scenery in Maine: cliffs and slabs of pink granite at the ocean's edge, twisted branches of dwarf jack pines, and ocean views that stretch to the horizon. The round trip (4.4 miles) allows you to soak it all up from different vantages, though many visitors stroll it a bit while making scenic stops by car or Island Explorer bus. From Sand Beach to Thunder Hole (0.7 miles), Ocean Path is an easy walk on concrete and packed gravel; it gets rougher as you continue and there are stairs at Otter Point. Save time to stop at Thunder Hole, where waves thrash through a narrow opening in the granite cliffs, into a sea cave, and whoosh up and out. Steps lead down to the water to watch the action up close. Use caution as you descend (access may be limited due to storms), and if you venture onto the cliffs along this walk. On a sunny day, lounging on the smooth, massive ledges is utter delight. Moderate.

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 Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Otter Cliff along the 2-mile section known as Ocean Drive. Park Loop Road is served seasonally by the free Island Explorer buses—and given the summertime crowds, consider hopping on. Traffic is one-way from near the Route 233 entrance to the Stanley Brook Road entrance south of the Jordan Pond House. While most of the road is closed from December through mid-April, Ocean Drive is open to vehicles year-round, as is a small section that provides access to Jordan Pond from Seal Harbor. Off-season, you can still bike and walk on the road; it's also used for winter activities, weather-cooperating.

Some 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 with a sign detailing its history. The big red 1914 Stanley Mountain Wagon ferried passengers between hotel and train station, and hence the term "station wagon." Enticing not only car buffs, changing exhibits show the impact of early automobiles on society and culture (for example, "Engines of Change" explores how autos helped drive the suffragette movement). The museum also displays several vintage motorcycles. On Tuesdays, you can watch car mechanics at work. For Cars & Coffee (10 am–1 pm on select Saturdays), folks head over in historic and unique vehicles; admission is free during the event (and always for kids under age 18). Check the website for information on special events this family-welcoming museum holds throughout the season.

Known as the “Heart of Acadia,” this multifaceted part of the park memorializes George Dorr, Acadia’s first superintendent. On land he donated to Acadia at the base of the mountain now bearing his name, the ranger-staffed seasonal Nature Center has exhibits about park conservation and serves as a visitor center. Steps from here is the level path through Wild Gardens of Acadia, where 400-plus native species—all labeled—are grouped to simulate park habitats like meadows, bogs, and mountaintops. Six "memorial paths,” their creation paid for by wealthy rusticators and most predating the park, begin at Sieur de Monts (Acadia’s original name). Don’t let “paths” fool you: most are steep, challenging trails with stone-cut stairs; many ascend mountains, and all connect with other trails. There’s also a trailhead for the easy, mostly level Jesup Path and Hemlock Path Loop, a 1½-mile round trip that follows a boardwalk through woodland and crosses the Great Meadow. Part of a wetland that's being restored to bring back native species, it's distinguished by The Tarn, a shallow pond and landmark nearby on Route 3. While Acadia is synonymous with the great outdoors, two historic octagonal structures entice at Sieur de Monts: the namesake domed springhouse and the Mediterranean-style original home (temporarily closed) of the Abbe Museum ( www.abbemuseum.org); exploring the history and culture of Maine’s Wabanaki nations, its main location is in downtown Bar Harbor.

Fittingly, green and red are the team colors as checked-shirted lumberjacks—and lumberjills—logroll, axe throw, chop, climb, and saw: the 1¼-hour show’s whimsical forest-ringed setting and cheery, larger-than-life master of ceremonies Timber Tina are as magical and fun as Christmas morning. From the covered bleachers you'll laugh and learn as the former Survivor TV show contestant engages the crowd, invites kids up to the stage to saw, and prompts and cajoles competitors—most compete on college lumberjack sports teams. Growing up in Hayward, Wisconsin, home of the Lumberjack World Championships, Tina performed in her family's lumberjack show as a kid and has competed and performed worldwide. Like her home state, as she shares during the 12-event “Olympics of the Forest,” Maine is a lumbering center that in centuries past relied on lumberjacks' brawn to cut down trees and move logs downriver. Many died on the job, but that didn't stop the survivors from plying their skills for some competitive fun after the work was done. Shows are at 7 pm nightly in summer.

Evoking rugged Maine with a timber frame design, the 11,000-square-foot Acadia Gateway Center transit hub and visitor information center opened in 2025 on the west side of Route 3 a few miles before the causeway onto Mount Desert Island. The Maine Department of Transportation facility has a park-and-ride for the free seasonal Island Explorer buses that serve Acadia National Park and nearby towns. Even if you’re not taking the bus, you can pick up visitor information about the park and state, buy park entrance passes, and use the restroom.

Popular with birders, the Alder trail heads inland, passing fruit trees and alder bushes on an easy 1.2-mile out-and-back hike, but many hit the grassy path as part of a near-loop with the challenging 1.1-mile Anvil Trail. Trailheads for both are near the Blueberry Hill parking area on the loop road; you must cross the road to get to them. Steep and heavily rooted in sections as it climbs Schoodic Head, Anvil requires lots of rock climbing but rewards with wonderful water and island views from the rock knob overlook (side trail) for which it's named. After connecting with Schoodic Head Trail from Alder or Anvil, it's not far to the top of Schoodic Head, where expansive views of the surrounding seascape and landscape await.

With many varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas, the Japanese-style garden is spectacular from late May to mid-June as the pink, white, purple, and yellow-orange flowers not only bloom but reflect in a stream-fed pond. Whatever the season there’s plenty to admire at this Land & Garden Preserve locale, especially in fall when the many native plants brighten the landscape. You can contemplate on a bench along the winding paths as intended, perhaps by the white sand garden—raked to evoke moving water. Created with azaleas from famed landscape designer Beatrix Farrand’s Bar Harbor garden, Asticou was designed by Charles Savage, a self-educated garden designer who managed his family’s nearby Asticou Inn. Check the website for "Garden Walks & Talks" and, in mid-July every other year, an evening Japanese lantern stroll.

Offering one of Acadia National Park’s more unique experiences, Bar Island is only accessible by foot during a three-hour window when low tide exposes a ½-mile bar of sand, gravel, and rock connecting Bar Island to downtown Bar Harbor. If you forget to check the tide charts during the busy season, a stream of folks heading down Bridge Street from the West Street Historic District will let you know it's time to head over. But always make sure to check the tide charts before setting out, because once covered by rising tidal waters it’ll be another nine hours before the land bridge is again exposed. The entire Bar Island trail offers an easy 1.9-mile round-trip hike; on the island you can enjoy views of Bar Harbor and Frenchman Bay and check out ruins of old homes. Easy.

This seasonally opened picnic area is located just past the entrance to Sieur de Monts along the one-way section of the Park Loop Road. Trees shade most of its 35 sites. A restroom is available.

One of Acadia National Park's renowned iron rung and ladder trails, this popular, super challenging 1.4-mile loop ascends a 450-foot cliff. Hikers celebrate at the summit 250 feet above sea level with views of Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and the Gulf of Maine beyond the Ocean Drive section of Park Loop Road. To get there, they hike up steep granite staircases, scramble rocks, and grasp iron rungs and ladders. There's even a section where you step on iron bars, not solid ground. Yes, it's much easier going down—no more rungs, ladders, or bars. If you have a fear of heights, fear not: from Sand Beach you can watch those who don't on the Beehive.   Wear sturdy footwear; the trail is dangerous when wet. Difficult.

Swans Island is a picturesque 6-mile ferry ride from Bass Harbor at the bottom of Mount Desert Island ( see the Getting Here and Around section of the Chapter Planner for more information). Opportunities abound for outdoor activities like hiking, swimming, biking, fishing, and beachcombing, but the 35-foot-tall white Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse on the south shore is not to be missed. Both the light (you can climb up!) and the keeper's house, which has history exhibits, art displays, gift shop, bathrooms, and free island and trail maps, are open from mid-June to mid-September. An apartment upstairs can be rented on a weekly basis from June through October. Aside from vacation rentals, Swans Island only has one lodging, Harbor Watch Inn ( www.harborwatchinnswansisland.com)—four rooms with kitchens or kitchenettes as well as an upstairs suite. The Island Market & Supply ( www.tims-swans-island.com) is a great place to get picnic supplies or other general needs.

The mostly exposed 4.4-mile round-trip summit hike rewards with expansive views of Bar Harbor, Frenchman Bay, and the Schoodic Peninsula for much of the way. The trail is worth undertaking at either sunrise or sunset (or both!). Parking can be limited, especially in high season, so park officials recommend taking the Island Explorer bus for access via a 0.1-mile section of the Kebo Brook Trail. Moderate.

Just beyond Bar Harbor proper, this easy-to-moderate 0.8-mile round-trip trail through woods to the rocky shore passes through land that belonged to George B. Dorr—Acadia National Park’s first superintendent and a key player in its creation. Views extend to Ironbound Island across Frenchman Bay, and you can check out remnants of Dorr's estate, including the manor house's foundation, remains of a saltwater pool, stone steps to the ocean, and old gardens and apple trees. There's parking, but it's only about 1½ miles by sidewalk from downtown on Main Street/Route 3. There are historic markers along the way; coming or going, you can connect with the Bar Harbor Shore Path via a side street. Check if the Shore Path has fully reopened after major storm damage in 2024. Moderate.

Descendants of the early Hancock settler for whom Crabtree Neck was named are among those behind Crabtree Neck Land Trust, which impressively has six preserves in and around this reach of land. They include the 3-mile Old Pond Railway Trail, with two trailheads near U.S. 1 (one is in the village just off the highway on Point Road across from Hancock town hall). It follows a railbed on which trains in an earlier era transported rusticators heading to (and later from) Bar Harbor, completing the last leg of the journey by ferry. The trust has also made it easier for folks to swim, walk, or simply enjoy views of Frenchman Bay at Carters Beach down on the neck. To get there, drive about 4½ miles down Point Road and turn left onto Haskins Road, which soon ends at Carters Beach Road. Walk the unpaved shore-hugging road, aka Carters Beach Corridor, about a half mile north to the beach. Here, one of the trust-owned tracts along the road connects with Frenchman Bay Conservancy’s Salt Pond Preserve ( www.frenchmanbay.org). Yes, there's a salt pond near the beach. Salt Pond Trail is about a mile out and back.

Located just east of Acadia National Park headquarters (the building is not open to the public), 436-acre Eagle Lake is the largest freshwater lake on Mountain Desert Island. Swimming is not allowed, but kayaking, canoeing, boating, and fishing are, and the encircling 6.1-mile carriage road invites walkers and cyclists. From the parking area across from the lake on the north side of Eagle Lake Road (Route 233), you enter the carriage road through an arched passageway below one of the famed stone bridges John D. Rockefeller Jr. gifted to Acadia.

Open year-round, with 23 sites and a restroom, Fabbri is beyond Otter Point via the one-way section of Park Loop Road and also accessible from Otter Cliff Road.

Housed in the town's former fire station, this museum promotes and celebrates the Mount Desert Island region's maritime heritage. Inside, a map of the Great Harbor at the mouth of Somes Sound anchors a display that helps visitors orient themselves to the area as well as the museum. Interesting changing exhibits about local history have a nautical theme and include photographs and objects like ship models from the museum’s collection as well as other area institutions.

This is a great spot to get your bearings—and take a breather after climbing the 52 wide granite stairs from the parking lot to the entrance. (If you need the accessible entrance, follow signs to drive there.) A large 3D relief map of Mount Desert Island gives you the lay of the land, while Artist-in-Residence works catch the eye. There are free park and carriage road maps, and rangers are on hand to answer questions and offer suggestions. Learn about ranger-led activities like guided walks and carriage road bike rides, Junior Ranger programs, campfire talks at campground amphitheaters (open to all visitors), and night sky talks at Sand Beach. Along with souvenir items, walking sticks, and Acadia sweatshirts and the like, the gift shop sells hiking maps and guidebooks and is well-stocked with books about Acadia. Look for signs with a QR code to buy a park audio tour ( 2orguide.com/looptour  $9.95).

The Land & Garden Preserve expanded greatly in 2015 when David Rockefeller, son of Acadia National Park founder John D. Rockefeller Jr., donated about 1,000 acres of largely forested land in Seal Harbor to the conversation group. The property includes 17 acres of meadows; 12 acres of marsh; a bog and streams; trails and carriage roads, some connecting with Acadia's trails (1.3-mile the Richard Trail, steep in sections, has stone staircases like the park's); and Little Long Pond, which you can hike around, paddle on, and swim in (at designated areas). Check the website for special events like field walks and carriage rides.

Two parking areas on Route 3 serve Little Long Pond Natural Lands. The one at the main gate (across from Bracy Cove by the pond) is small, so consider using the one less than a half-mile west (toward Northeast Harbor). Just under a mile, also with stone steps, Friends Trail leads from here to the cove and pond, as do carriage roads.

A stop on Park Loop Road's Ocean Drive section, Otter Cliff looms 110 feet above the North Atlantic’s crashing surf and is the literal highpoint on Ocean Path, which parallels the road and heads across the clifftop before ending at nearby Otter Point. Use caution on the cliff: rocks may be slippery. Look for rock climbers on the cliff face—one of several popular climbing areas in Acadia. Near the headland, thousands of round boulders along the shore have been smoothed into shape by thousands of years of wave action. Otter Cliff has a parking area and a seasonal Island Explorer bus stop, or you can walk here on Ocean Path from Thunder Hole or Sand Beach, its other terminus (4.4-mile round trip). Trek down to narrow Otter Cove at the path’s very end for the lovely view of Dorr and Cadillac mountains.

The trust protects 14,000 acres of land in the Rangeley Lakes area. Both online and at its Rangeley office, the trust has maps and descriptions of its 35 miles of recreational trails and access roads, along with information about fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.

Formerly apartments and offices for the U.S. Navy base that operated here for decades, this massive 1934 French Eclectic-style structure is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Today, the building is known as Rockefeller Hall, and its home to the Schoodic Institute, which is home base for many ranger-led programs and family-friendly activities at the park’s Schoodic District, including public programs of its own (some have fees and require overnight stays; check the institute's website for more information); it’s the largest facility of its kind at a national park. The Rockefeller Welcome Center is on the first floor.

Two small white buildings with changing exhibits about island history are clustered with heirloom gardens along Main Street at this Mount Desert Historical Society museum. The larger one isn’t historic but has typical New England architectural touches. Hugging the road just beyond the footbridge over the mill stream—the arched white structure is an iconic spot for a snapshot—the tiny 1780s Selectmen’s Building was the Town of Mount Desert's office for many years. Herb and floral plants from the 19th and early 20th centuries bloom in the gardens. The society's Sound Schoolhouse museum, open by appointment only year-round, is a few miles away on Route 198 ( 373 Sound Dr., Mount Desert).

Need a break as you begin or end your Acadia National Park adventure? This 46-acre waterside picnic site (seasonal, bathroom) is on parkland just before the causeway to and from Mount Desert Island.