This is the ninth in a series of articles that offer suggestions for your 1999 camping/vacation destinations. The articles share our personal experiences at these great places and provide links to more explicit information on attractions, parks and campgrounds. We have never camped at Acadia National Park, but hope to one day soon.
Ancient glaciers and the relentless powers of water sculpted the land that is now Acadia National Park. They did an exquisite job! Dramatic craggy cliffs and cobblestone beaches line the convoluted shoreline, while fingers of Atlantic water penetrate to the island's heart. Forests of spruce and fir cover the land that is not marsh or meadow. Majestic bald mountains stand against the northeastern Maine sky. Acadia National Park offers an awe-inspiring landscape of mountain and sea, with many ponds and lakes to decorate her idyllic scenery. Maybe this is why she draws more visitors per acre than any other national park!
About the Park
Looking much like a lobster hanging from Maine's beautiful and rugged coast, Mount Desert Island contains most of Acadia's 46,000-acre park. The park is about 165 miles north of Portland, Maine, and 47 miles east of Bangor. Take State Route (SR) 1 north along the coast from Portland to Ellsworth, then SR 3 on to the Hulls Cove entrance. Coming from Bangor, take U.S. 1 east to SR 3. Also, The Cat ferry runs between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Bar Harbor, Maine, mid-June to September.
Acadia National Park is comprised of lands donated by private citizens. As a result, the park is a collection of land plots entwined with small private communities and quaint fishing villages. This mixture of private and public acreage provides a very unique aspect that is unlike any other national park in America. Acadia has four park entrances -- three on SR 3 and one on SR 233. It has three excellent and very informative Visitor Centers. There are 26 mountains in the park, many deep freshwater lakes and ponds (Jordan Pond is 150 feet deep), and a wide assortment of fascinating plants and animals. Cadillac Mountain is the highest mountain in the park at 1,530 feet and provides a gorgeous scenic view.
Other sections of Acadia include the Isle au Haut (2,728 acres), with dramatic rugged beauty and limited access, and the very tip of Schoodic Peninsula (2,194 acres). The Schoodic portion is located off SR 186 near Winter Harbor, Maine, and is the only portion of the park on the mainland.
The copyright of the article Camping '99 Destinations Series: Acadia National Park in Camping is owned by . Permission to republish Camping '99 Destinations Series: Acadia National Park in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
