WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT

Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine’s Mount Desert Island. It consists of woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast.
Best for: Nature lovers who want to take a hike from civilization for a few days.

Katie Patterson, The Moms Society founder and amateur adventurer, recently braved the National Park and Bar Harbor with her two boys and lived to tell the tale. Prep for your Acadia family trip with some tips and tricks from Katie to keep the stress of vacation planning to a bare minimum.

WHAT TO PACK

• Layers, layers, layers. Temps are all over the place, so be prepared for any weather.
• Even if you plan to fly, pack a soft, small cooler. You’ll be on an island, so while there is a ton of incredible food, there isn’t a lot of grab and go restaurants. Stop by groceries to pick up food and plan to have picnics in the incredible park.
• Invest in hiking boots and/or rain boots. Exploring Acadia is fun but wet and muddy. Have the correct footwear so you won’t be yelling “watch out for that puddle” throughout the day.

Favorite items Katie brought:
Kids L.L. Bean jacket
Rain boots
Cooler
Water Bottles
Other helpful items here

HOW TO GET THERE

DEF look for a direct flight into Bangor, ME.
Katie flew Delta into the Bangor airport, then rented a car (a Jeep which was just big enough) through Hertz.

WHERE TO STAY

• Mount Desert Island is fairly small (for reference, the population is approximately 5k in the off season) so options are limited.
• You can stay in Bar Harbor to be closer to the action, or South Harbor to be on “the quiet side” (per the locals).
• Unless it’s in the immediate area, most destinations take about 25 minutes to travel to. It’s beautiful scenery though and lovely drives. (Just take some solid car activities for your kids!)

Places to Stay
Fun for kids: Under Canvas (Where Katie stayed)
Nice for families: Salt Cottages

MOM POV on The Claremont, a popular hotel in town:
“While the Claremont is beautiful, I personally wouldn’t recommend it for families. Although the cabin set-up provided bunk-beds and great sleeping arrangements for families. The overall resort is not somewhere we’d stay again.“ – Katie

WHAT TO DO

• Acadia National Park. You’ll need a park pass. Pick one up online at Recreation.gov and it will be valid for 7 days. Purchase and print before your trip (you’ll be able to select its start date) and you won’t have to worry once you’re there about pulling it up on your phone. Just put the printed paper in your car window dash.
• Cadillac Summit Sunrise. This is an iconic spot in Acadia National Park and it’s a THING to see the sunrise here. Tickets are required, so either purchase in advance or buy them online once you’re there 2 days prior.
  Best for: Kids over the age of 5 (there’s some walking!)
• If you want to do a lobster boat tour, book it prior to your trip – they are smaller boats and fill up much faster. Katie did Lulu’s Lobster Boat and it was truly wonderful.
• Jordan Pond House is also iconic.

MOM POV on Jordan Pond House:
“Definitely book reservations before your trip. We didn’t and waited 30 minutes – ok, but really a relatively short wait time with no reservations. If you have younger children, I’d recommend an 11:30 lunch reservation. They also are a National Parks Stamp for the passports (located by the checkout in their gift shop).” – Katie