How Many Days Do You Need at Acadia National Park?

Acadia National Park just outside of Bar Harbor, Maine, is one of those places where it is somewhat tricky in figuring out how much time you need to explore and truly do the park justice.

On one hand, with great weather and the north's long summer days, you can hike an incredible amount of trails within the park in just a single day. We hit it so hard on our first day there that if you told me had to leave I would've been more than content. We really saw a great cross-section of the park in a short period of time. On the other hand, frequent rain, solid crowds in prime months, and the nearly four-hour drive from Portland add on some considerations that may make you want to extend your stay. 

We ultimately settled on four nights in Bar Harbor and felt this was the perfect amount of time to really explore Acadia National Park and the region at large.

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9 Great Lobster Rolls in Maine to Try When Visiting

There were two foods we knew we were going to eat our weight in when visiting Maine- lobster and oysters. We jumped into both of these headfirst and truly had an exceptional dining experience when eating our way around Maine restaurants.

As lobster and oysters on their own are relatively straightforward dishes, we also sought after one variant of the former to try just a bit differently. Enter the lobster roll- a truly wonderful creation that you absolutely must try when in Maine.

In retrospect, we realize we actually had seven lobster rolls in Maine, and in this one, we wanted to talk about each of them in greater detail!

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7 Lighthouses in Maine to Visit Between Portland and Bar Harbor

Of the roughly 700 lighthouses in the United States, Maine is home to 65 of them. When you see the state's rugged coastline, you'll quickly understand why so many are necessary- the coastal area is quite vast, rocky, and shallow which made early navigation a dangerous endeavor!

As the lighthouses along the coast are beautiful, you'll likely want to pick a few to see during your visit. It doesn't take long after starting to plan that you notice that some lighthouses in Maine are far more accessible than others.

This goes back to the size of the state's coastline. While Maine is only about 300 miles north to south, the coastline actually covers an impressive 3,478 miles thanks to the many inlets and bays you can find along the way. To give some context to this figure, that is like driving from Bar Harbor to San Francisco with having a few miles to spare (50 hours drive time at highway speeds). So what may appear to be a short detour down a peninsula could become a decent drive outright and is why we think advanced planning is a must.

As we were traveling between Portland and Bar Harbor when we wanted to see some lighthouses, we had to recognize that we were already in for quite the long day driving on US-1 on its own. As such, we planned our lighthouses around those that were most accessible in an effort of time. Couple these with a few you can see just outside of these two cities directly and we ended up seeing seven Maine lighthouses.

In this one, we wanted to share those lighthouses!

We'll start in South Portland and work our way north up the coast to Bar Harbor as you scroll through this list.

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The Carriage Trails at Acadia National Park Are a Must Ride

When you visit Acadia National Park in Maine, exploring is incredibly easy. You simply hop in your car, drive around the Loop Road, park at various trailheads and overlooks, and get out and explore that way. In fact, the park is laid out so well that you can see an incredible amount of its beauty without hiking at all!

But if you want to see even more of Acadia National Park beyond what you can get from the Loop Road, you're going to have to trade four wheels for two as a good section of the interior of the park is only accessible via the vast carriage trail network found within!

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