what to do when you have 48 hours in acadia, maine

  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.
  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.
  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.
  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.
  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.
  • Acadia, Maine travel guide, activity recommendations, and curated itinerary from What to When.

ITINERARY

STAY: Under Canvas Acadia (thoughts below)

DAY 1

  • Drive up early. Depending on where you are coming from, this may be a long drive - Acadia is way up there. We drove from Boston and it was about 5 hours.

  • Lunch at Ted’s Takeout (make sure you check their Facebook page for hours and location - they are not open all the time)

  • Hike: Beehive --> Bowl —> Gorham Mountain —> Ocean Path (5.5 miles)

    • Start with the Beehive Trail (so park by the start of that trail) - be prepared for some heights. Once you get to the top, take the Bowl Trail which brings you to a beautiful lake that you can swim in. Then connect to the Gorham Mountail Trail (you’ll get another nice peak) which will take you to the bottom, and then you’ll start on the Ocean Path back to the start of Beehive. Making a loop out of these four trails really allows you to see the best of everything. FYI need a park pass for this hike.

  • Stop in Bar Harbor to see the town. IMO, Bar Harbor is a bit touristy and crowded, and I was happy to see it once and not go back. I prefer the western half of the island (includes Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Seal Harbor), which feels much more local. We grabbed a lobster roll at Stewmans Lobster Pound which was actually really good, but EXTREMELY overpriced ($45 for a lobster roll). A bit of an “institution” feel, but it is right on the water so a nice setting.

  • Grab a drink either at Fogtown Brewing Company in Ellsworth or by the fire pit at Under Canvas.

  • Dinner at Perry’s Lobster Shack (no reservations). The food is good, not great, but the setting is amazing. I would definitely go back, and it is really close to the hotel which is an added benefit - most of the restaurants are not. The lobster roll and crab dip were fine, the steamers were good and really fresh. I think the full lobster dinner is probably the move, and I was dying for the lobster mac & cheese but unfortunately they were all sold out the night we were there.   

DAY 2 

  • Breakfast at Under Canvas, or stop at Acadia Provisions to get snacks for the hike on the way to the park.

  • Hike: St. Sauveur and Acadia Mountain Loop (4.4 miles)

    • I’d recommend starting with the St.Sauveur trail. Make sure you take a picture of the map located at the start of the trail - the physical park maps don’t include the Valley Trail but all the signs on the mountain do, which makes it confusing / difficult to find the start of Acadia Mountain Loop. It would be easy to find with the correct map.

  • Lunch at Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. #1 lobster roll (and overall food) we had while in/around Acadia. We got the lobster roll, the crab dip and the potato salad (don’t sleep on the potato salad, it is SO GOOD).

  • ***Jordan Pond Loop (3.3 miles) + Jordan Pond Restaurant. I’m including this because we did it, and I want to give you all the information, BUT my rec would be to not do this. The restaurant is supposed to have world-class popovers, but they were mediocre, the restaurant feels like an institution and there were bees everywhere. Like swarming you as you ate. Jordan Pond Loop was beautiful, but very crowded.

  • Stop at Blueberry Hill Dairy Bar for ice cream on the way back to Under Canvas. Wait until you see the enormity of the “small” ice cream - legitimately the size of my entire head. I got the cookie dough, which was amazing, and the soft serve was really good. Would definitely recommend going (but maybe splitting?!). Cash only

  • Dinner at Abel’s Lobster.

DAY 3  

  • Breakfast at Silvia’s Cafe.

  • Hike: Barred Island Preserve (~2 miles).

  • The trail is about 2 miles through the forest (think mossy wonderland) and then, if you go at low tide, you’ll be able to walk across a sandbar to get to a beautiful little island.

  • Lunch at LB Kitchen in Portland.

  • Head home!


Places we didn’t go, but that were recommended to us:

  • Havana

  • Thurston Lobster Pond

  • Crocker House

  • IronBound

  • Sweat Pea’s

  • The Lumberjack Show (every night at 7pm)

My POV on Under Canvas Acadia: I love the concept of Under Canvas - allows you to connect more with nature and really recharge because you’re in a tent in the middle of the forest with no TV’s, no lights in the rooms, etc. You can just be - sit by the fire, sleep with the tent flaps open, lie in bed looking at the view… The tents were nice - I went to Under Canvas Zion as well and the Acadia location definitely has newer tents. I would go back again, HOWEVER, it was honestly pretty $ (at least when we went) for what it was. I’m not sure we would’ve found a cheaper hotel with the same level of niceness just because Acadia is such a hotspot in the summer but I will say staying at Under Canvas Zion is 100% the move because the views are breathtaking and expansive, and sitting in your tent looking out just felt like a once in a lifetime experience. In Acadia, the tents are more in the middle of the forest so it doesn’t feel as spectacular view wise. So, to sum it up, I would recommend it, I had no qualms, but I would say that if you can find a nice hotel for a similar or less expensive rate, I wouldn’t have a big preference between the two.