We went on a fun summer roadtrip to Bar Harbor and Portland, Maine. We did a quick rest in Portsmouth on the way there to have dinner and a one night stay which was totally worth it! I know a lot of people go in the Fall for the beautiful fall foliage so I wanted to put together a list of all of our favorites. We are big eaters so we attempted to try numerous restaurants while we were visiting. We also didn’t feel like we needed to go crazy with 5 star hotels because we were out of our room most of the day.
Where we stayed in Bar Harbor:
Keep in mind, Bar Harbor is a small town. Most of the accommodations are small motels and inns where people stay. I would highly recommend staying in Downtown Bar Harbor so you can easily walk everywhere. The parking seemed very difficult for cars driving in to visit the town and walk around especially during a busy season. We stayed at the Bar Harbor Villager Motel as the location was absolutely perfect with free parking. The motel was extremely clean with friendly and helpful staff. The did have breakfast for guests but it was very basic with cereal, muffins, granola, fruit, and a few miscellaneous items. The motel does provide coffee all day so you can also get an afternoon pick me up. In addition, they have a daily activity that we participated in for s’mores and build your own trail mix.
What we did in Bar Harbor:
Acadia National Park:
Acadia National Park is one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States. Visitors can enjoy 27 miles of historic motor roads, 158 miles of hiking trails, and 45 miles of carriage roads. There is plenty to do on your visit to last multiple days.
To enter Acadia National Park you need an Entrance Pass for your car. This pass is good for 7 days when you purchase from your date of arrival. All visitors at Acadia National Park are required to have and display a park entrance pass from their vehicle. You have to have the pass PRINTED out on your driver’s ride windshield of your car. If you only have the QR code on your phone, visit the Visitor’s Center upon entering the park and they will print out the pass for you. I took this option because I don’t own a printer. If you do not display your pass, you could be subject to fees.
Bike or Walk the Carriage Roads
Forty-five miles of rustic carriage roads, the gift of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and family, weave around the mountains and valleys of Acadia National Park. You can bike, walk, or go on horseback throughout the carriage roads. We did not want a strenuous ride so we opted for the e-bikes. I would HIGHLY recommend the e-bike option so that you are physically exhausted and able to see all the sites as there are numerous elevation gains. We rented our e-bikes from Bar Harbor Bike Rentals. To reserve a bike, you have to book the full day rental which is $100 per bike and an additional fee for a gel seat. If you bring the bike back before 1 PM though it is $65 or a half day rental. All reservations have to be completed 48 hours in advance.
Make sure to ask for a map for the Carriage roads where you rent your bike. We started at Eagle Lake to Jordan Pond. We unfortunately got a flat tire and weren’t able to complete the Bubble Pond loop. The trails are easy to follow so just have fun with it. At Jordan Pond there is a gift shop, grab and go for lunch, and a restaurant. For the restaurant you have to make reservations in advance. The restaurant’s food reviews are extremely average but they are known for their popovers with jam.
Sunrise or Sunset at Cadillac Mountain
Vehicle reservations are required for Cadillac Summit Road from May 24 through October 22, 2023. If you want to go for sunrise though, the tickets are released 48 hours prior at 10 AM EST. It is extremely difficult to get as our tickets sold out in less than 20 seconds every day. Make an account on the website BEFORE and have every family member login to purchase a ticket. The sunrise pass is good for entry from 4:00 AM to 5:30 AM. We got to the summit at 4:00 AM as we didn’t want to miss first light. Bring warm layers and blankets to the summit as it was chilly even in July. If you don’t get a ticket and are adventurous, you can hike up to the summit as well.
30% of the Cadillac Summit Road Sunrise and Daytime vehicle reservations will be available for purchase 90 days in advance of the reservation date. This could be an option to reserve your spot way ahead of time!
70% of the Cadillac Summit Road Sunrise and Daytime vehicle reservations will be available for purchase at 10:00 am (ET) two days in advance of the reservation date.
Drive Park Loop Road
Park Loop Road is a 27-mile drive around the park to see all the scenic and popular viewpoints. You begin the loop at Hull’s Cove Visitors Center. This loop can get extremely busy especially in early morning. We went in the late afternoon and never had an issue with parking along the way. Depending on how many stops you want to make, this loop can take 1-2 hours to the full day. We only spent about 2 hours visiting the different locations and clicking a few photos. Keep in mind that there are sections that are one-way only. There are multiple points where you can exit/enter, but you may only drive in one direction on this particular section. While driving we skipped Cadillac Mountain as we were going the next day. We went to Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and the listed viewpoints along the drive.
Hiking Trails
Hiking Trails: There are numerous hikes in Acadia National Park. The two most popular that I read about are Beehive and Precipice Trails in addition to an easier hike known as the Jordan Pond Path. We completed the Beehive Trail which is considered challenging. There are rungs and ladders that you have to climb to make it to the summit as well as exposed cliff faces. If you want to make the trail longer you can continue to Bowl Pond but you can also avoid this addition as well by taking the Bowl Connector Trail. If you have an extreme fear of heights but you still want to summit, you can do the Bowl Trail to the Beehive Trail (up and down the same way). I didn’t think the trail was strenuous but my fear of heights made it challenging mentally.
Sunset Sail
We did the Bar Harbor Sunset Cruise on our first night in town. Unfortunately it was extremely cloudy so we couldn’t see the sun. They did offer us the option to reschedule the cruise but we went ahead anyway. They did say on the cruise that fog is common over 200 days of the year in that area so just keep that in mind when you book in advance. Also make sure to bring layers of clothing as it does get chilly on the top deck of the boat. If you feel cold you can also sit below and enjoy a hot chocolate, tea, or coffee.
If you have extra time
I walked up and down the main downtown area to pick up some fun Maine-themed sweatshirts and ornaments. The stores have the cutest sweaters for fall. I like to give them as gifts as well to my family members.
The famous Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine begins at the Town Pier next to Agamont Park, goes a short distance to the East past the Bar Harbor Inn, then wraps around a point before continuing South for about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island.
If we had time we would have done Oli’s Trolley that can take you through Acadia National Park (2.5-4 hours) or Downtown Bar Harbor (30 minutes).
Where we ate
Enjoy your ice cream and sweet treats at Agamont Park where you can see sweeping waterfront views. Make sure to check the timing of every restaurant. We noted that most dining did close very early and not open on Sunday and/or Monday. We did spend quite a lot on food as we really wanted to try all the fresh seafood. I would say for two people most lunches were between $75-100 and dinners $100-$150.
The three big items to try are the blueberry icecream, whoopie pie, and the lobster roll.
- Havana (RATING 10/10): American Fine Dining with Latin Flair (Make reservation): Havana is the winner of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence from 2004 to present. I have never seen such a gigantic wine list with varieties from all over the world. Their food was AMAZING. We actually went here twice for dinner because the flavors were out of this world. We got gambas, spring rolls, and lobster moqueca both times. If you only eat one meal in Bar Harbor, the lobster moqueca is probably one of the top 5 favorite dishes I’ve ever eaten. Ask for the garlic chili oil on the side. The combination of flavors is so rich and tasty. I typically HATE coconut and I couldn’t really taste it in this dish.
- The Travelin Lobster (RATING 10/10): No reservations, Counter service (5% discount if you use cash): This was our favorite lobster and crab roll of the entire trip! It is a drive from town and feels like the middle of no where. We ordered the large lobster roll (hot), crab melt, and crab roll. I actually preferred the crab melt over the lobster roll. The way the crab combined with the cheese and bread was heavenly.
- The Stadium (RATING 10/10): I would highly recommend stopping by here for a dessert, small breakfast, or an afternoon pick me up. I got the giant chocolate chip cookie, everything breakfast sandwich (egg, pepperjack, sliced avocado, and cilantro lime crema), matcha latte, and a hot maple leaf latte. This was not all in the same day so don’t judge. The giant cookie was super soft and chewy. The breakfast sandwich bun was so fluffy and light. This sandwich is great for someone who isn’t super hungry. They also have lobster rolls, macaroni and cheese, popovers, crepes, and numerous fancy coffee options.
- Melt (RATING 8/10): This place is for lunch only with hours from 11AM-3PM. The melts were freshly made so it makes for a great quick lunch. It was just a simple crab melt but satisfying.
- Side Street Cafe: (RATING 4/10): Not sure if we just ordered the wrong things as this place is highly reviewed online. We did not like the food at all. The food really lacked flavor and the fish was so dry tasting. We ordered the brussel sprouts, seafood dip, and haddock sandwich. The brussel sprout flavor was average but the pieces were so gigantic I felt like they weren’t cooked all the way through. The seafood dip was the best part of meal but very heavy given the cheese so you could barely taste the seafood. Lastly the haddock sandwich was dry as a bone and the tomato ketchup was disgusting (I don’t eat pork and just realized now that it had bacon in it…oops). The table next to use returned their chicken wings because they said they were undercooked.
- Thirsty Whale: (RATING 1/10): I don’t think I would recommend anyone go here for a lobster roll. The lobster was chilled with a tiny bit on mayo on a buttered bun. Most people would say…that’s what a lobster roll is. This was so plain tasting and just unappealing that the lobster tasted dry. Again, this place is highly rated but perhaps get one of their fried fish sandwiches. I did see people ordered the other sandwiches on the menu over the lobster roll so perhaps we ordered the wrong item.
We also had our share of sweets on the trip as well, especially icecream!
- Pink Pastry Shop: I ordered the lemon blueberry whoopie pie and blueberry pie. The lemon blueberry pie was a blueberry cake with a sugary lemon frosting on the inside. This was very delicious. The blueberry pie was good but the crust to me was very thin on top that is almost disintegrated. The blueberries did taste so fresh and not too sweet.
- We tried icecream at Jordan Pond Ice Cream and Fudge, Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium, and Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. Most places do not allow samples which I thought was strange. If you want value for money I would recommend Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium as the portions were huge. At every place, I would try the blueberry ice cream! The blueberry ice cream taste was truly on of a kind and tasted so fresh with no artificial taste.
Places you should check out: We had a long list of places to eat but unfortunately didn’t have time. Some of the additional restaurants on my list were Cafe this Way, Sweet Pea’s Cafe, Galyn’s, Great Maine Breakfast, Peekytoe Provisions, Geddy’s, and 2 Cats.
Travel Tips
- Check the temperature in Bar Harbor before you go. Bar Harbor had a huge temperature difference from where we live in New Jersey. If you go out on the water definitely bring warm clothing.
- There is almost no cell phone service in Acadia National Park. Please keep this in mind if you happen to be meeting someone or need to make a call. You will have a very difficult time opening park passes and tickets so make sure to have everything downloaded before or print it out.
- Bring bug spray and sunscreen with you. I sprayed my legs every evening with bug spray before going to dinner.
- Do you research before going to make sure restaurants and destination are open. Notably, a lot of the restaurants were closed in the early part of the week even during a busy season. The restaurants also close very EARLY! There were very few places serving food after 9 PM.
- Book your hotel in advance if possible. It is a small town so hotels sell out very quickly. In addition, make sure your hotel has parking. It is best to stay in the main downtown area instead of having to walk 20-30 minutes each time.
As I always say, please let me know if this guide is helpful for you! If you have any more tips or favorite places let me know. I am happy to edit the post for a complete experience.
