Today was a LONG day in Acadia. We didn’t accomplish much the previous day because everything was taking longer than planned. In particular, we never made it to the Ocean Path, the main Acadia National Park attraction. So, today was cram day. And that meant starting the day at 3:30am!

Cadillac Mountain

The sun rise in Bar Harbor was at 5:20am, but that wasn’t quite our destination. Our stop was the top of Cadillac Mountain. It’s the tallest peak in Acadia and the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. It is also where the USA first catches a glimpse of the sun rays each morning. (Technically speaking, this only happens for the winter part of the year, but whatever.) Since the sunrise at Bar Harbor was at 5:20am, we were guessing the sunrise at the top would be around 5:15am. We also knew there would be a ridiculous amount of traffic. And, seeing as it was a 40 minute drive from the campground, we left around 3:30am. We weren’t taking any chances!

We didn’t see much traffic along the way. Maybe we were too early? But, as soon as we hit the turnoff for the summit, we hit the traffic from Bar Harbor. Absolute madness. We were at the top by 4:30am, and I watched the car in front of us roll into the last parking spot. Noo! The road had signs saying “NO PARKING,” so we drove back down to the next overlook/parking. It was only a short 0.5 mile walk so no big deal. On our walk back up the mountain though, we noticed that everyone else parked along the road. So, if you ever come for sunrise on Cadillac Mountain, it is evidently ok to ignore all the parking signs. But honestly, I don’t know where else all these people would have parked. Our parking lot was basically full by the time we reached the other side of it.

Once back at the top of the mountain, we found a spot and sat down to wait with everyone else. There was so much excitement in the air, you’d think we were about to witness something more than just an everyday sunrise. But, it wasn’t just your everyday sunrise. In fact, it was probably the most spectacular sunrise that we had ever seen. On a beautiful clear morning, the orange glow of the sun rose up slowly in front of the various islands of Acadia. If I could make one suggestion though, bring a blanket, coffee, and muffins. Next time…

Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast

If you do watch the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain, you will most likely be heading to nearby Bar Harbor for breakfast. Let me warn you. Everyone else will be heading there too. You might as well hang out on the mountain and enjoy the views for a little while longer. (We stayed for another hour or so.) Once in Bar Harbor, you won’t have many options that early in the morning. One of the few places open that early is Jeannie’s Great Maine Breakfast, so expect a very long wait.

Since we took our time leaving the mountain, our wait wasn’t nearly as bad as people who arrived earlier. We only waited around 20 minutes. We were both starving, so we decided to both order our own entree. Shocking, I know. Nisheet ordered a combo plate that came with eggs, bacon, home fries, and toast. They are famous for their homemade oatmeal bread and strawberry rhubarb jam, so of course he got that. The toast and spread were by the best thing on his plate, but they were just mediocre. I had a croissant sandwich which was much better than Nisheet’s combo, but it definitely wasn’t something to write home about. Having said that, it was nice having a nice hot meal to start the day off right.

[Eggs, Bacon, Homefries, & Toast = $8.99, Croissant Sandwich = $9.99, Coffee = $1.99, Hot Chocolate = $1.99]

Acadia National Park: Ocean Path

It was still fairly early in the morning after breakfast, so when we got on Park Loop Road, the traffic was minimal. I was still itching to get to the Ocean Path though, so we didn’t make too many stops along the way. We did stop for the obligatory Acadia National Park Sign picture though. Excuse the squints. The sun was in our eyes. Also, as I mentioned earlier, since we already had a park pass, we could skip the lines at the entrance booths.

I should note that Acadia isn’t like a typical National Park. It is small, but it is very spread out. To visit the different sites, you have to go in and out of the park. And for some of the sites, there isn’t an entrance booth, and you must have pre-purchased your pass. 

There are 2 options for Acadia’s Ocean Path.

1. You can drive along Park Loop Road and park at the various stops. I’d suggest this option if you don’t want to walk much or don’t have much time. You can still see the highlights. Also, even if the parking lots are full (and they will be in the summer), most of the area allows parking in the right lane. Just read the signs.
2. Park your car and walk along the Ocean Path. This is definitely the recommended option. You see stunning views the entire way without having to stop and look for parking. You don’t have to stay on the path next to the road either. For the most part, you can climb/walk on the rocks near the water.
   • The best part to walk is from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff. If you don’t want to walk both ways, park your car at Otter Cliff and walk back to Sand Beach. Then you can take a bus back. If you park at Sand Beach, you will need to walk both directions. (It’s a one way road, so the bus will take 1.5 hours to get back!)

We were lucky and found a spot in the Sand Beach parking lot. Here is a great place to use the restroom one last time and fill up your water bottles. The only other facility I saw was at Thunder Hole, and it was a smelly pit toilet. After parking at Sand Beach, just follow the signs to the Ocean Path.

There are a few stairs to reach the path. But, once you get there, you are instantly greeted with the stunning views. Views you don’t quite get from driving along the road.

The Ocean Path itself is fairly flat and runs alongside Park Loop Road. While the views are undeniably gorgeous, the real fun is off the path. There are multiple side trails leading out to the rocks that jut into the water. You can either keep taking the side trails for the views, or you can scramble along the rocks and avoid the trail. We did a combination of both. Also, bring a picnic lunch with you. You’ll never have a more gorgeous setting for your lunch.

Thunder Hole

Part way down Ocean Path, you’ll come across Thunder Hole. This is one of the few spots I actually remember from 20 years ago when I visited with my family. I have memories of it being chilly, rainy, and windy. But, it was amazing. There were huge waves crashing, and Thunder Hole was thundering. Not this time though. For some reason I thought high tide was the time to go. It isn’t. You should get there 2 hours before high tide. That is when the water is entering the cave and the air forces a huge wave out. Oh well. It was still neat to see the small gurgles of air escaping the cave.

Side Note: We stopped here 3 more times during the trip (1 of those being 2 hours before high tide) and still nothing. I guess the conditions just weren’t favorable during our trip. You really need a stormy weather to make Thunder Hole thunder.

Across the street from Thunder Hole is a small gift shop and pit toilets. There are better gift shops elsewhere in Acadia, but it is a good place to get a cold, refreshing beverage. We bought an Old Soaker Root Beer. Not only did it taste good, but it was a unique experience. We took it out to the rocks and enjoyed the view of Old Soaker (rock formation way in the background) while drinking an Old Soaker. (Kind of reminds me of the “drink a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams” joke in Boston.)

Monument Cove & Beyond

After Thunder Hole, the number of people on Ocean Path dramatically dwindles. The path also eventually turns into more of a dirt trail winding through the woods and only coming out to the rocks here and there. Don’t worry though, the views are still amazing. So don’t turn around yet.

We didn’t see any signs for it or crowds taking pictures, but Monument Cove was beautiful. In hindsight, I wish we had looked for a path down to the rocky beach. But, I don’t think we knew for sure at the time that this was in fact Monument Cove. So we pressed onward.

Otter Cliffs

After Monument Cove, we came to Otter Cliffs. It was easy to figure out where we were because of the number of rock climbers. And we had hit the tourists again. (There is a huge parking lot here). We soaked up the views, took a quick nap stretched out on the rocks, and then headed back.

We were initially going to take the bus, but we soon learned that was a bad option. Since Park Loop is one way in this section of Acadia, it would take an 1.5 hours to get back. No way! I’d rather walk, thank you very much.

Sand Beach

The walk back to Sand Beach was pretty quick. We mainly stuck to the trail on the way back, but we did make a stop at Thunder Hole again. Still no thunder or crashes. And, even with that stop the walk took us well under an hour. We were pretty hot though. So, Nisheet thought it would be a good idea to take a quick dip in the Ocean. It couldn’t be colder than Lake Michigan, could it? Wrong. It was absolutely frigid, and I did not partake in the late afternoon cool-down.

I should mention, there are changing rooms at the beach in case you decide you want to swim. So, bring a swimsuit and a towel just in case!

Park Loop Road

After Nisheet cooled off, we hit the road. Since it is a one way road, we passed by the same scenery that we had walked by twice already. Maybe it was because we had already seen it twice or maybe it was because I was tired, but it just wasn’t the same driving it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful drive. But you should definitely walk the Ocean Path if you have the option.

We eventually did make it beyond the further point we walked. The views were still stunning, but there is a reason that Sand Beach to Otter Cliffs is the most well known. The other views just can’t quite compare.

Jordan Pond House

To finish out our day on the Park Loop Road, we stopped at Jordan Pond. Nisheet had heard they had the largest gift shop in Acadia National Park, so he wanted to check it out. When we arrived, we saw that the gift shop was indeed very large. A sign also sparked my memory that this where people traditionally order the famous popovers and tea outside on the lawn. We of course had to do that! Unfortunately, they won’t seat after 5pm if you only want popovers and they have a lot of dinner reservations. They won’t even seat you for dessert or drinks. A little frustrating, but we knew we would be in the area the next day. And now we knew to come earlier in the afternoon!

Back to the Campground

You might be thinking that 5pm is early to head back to the campground, but remember we got up at 3:30am. Plus, we needed to hit up a grocery store first. We had heard good things about Hannaford Supermarket in Bar Harbor, so that’s where we went first. Parking was a little tricky because every other tourist also shops here. The prices are cheap, and the food is decent. They also have a pretty good beer selection with various local brews. Unfortunately, they were sold out of blueberry pie. How can they run out of blueberry pie in Maine?

Blueberry pie became our mission. I think we stopped at every store on the way back to the campground hunting down a locally made blueberry pie. It shouldn’t have been that hard. But it was. Why was everyone sold out?? Why??? We were eventually directed to Quietside Cafe in Southwest Harbor. Supposedly they have the best pie on the island. It is way out of the way for most people, but it just happened to be along the way to our campground. And, I can say from experience, the pie is out-of-this-world. Especially eaten in front of a campfire. We did only buy a slice though because the cost of the entire pie was outrageous.

[Quietside Cafe Blueberry Pie Slice = $5.25]