Acadia National Park - Part 3

You can read the first installments of our trip to Acadia National Park Part 1 and Part 2 here.
For our last hike, we took the free buses that leave from Bar Harbor Village Green to the Jordan Park House.  The buses are sponsored by L.L. Bean and they are totally free and go everywhere. 

From the Jordan Park House we followed the carriage road trying to find the trail. I got a little lost, as usual, but a nice gentleman with a map pointed us toward a shortcut that led to Penobscot.  By sheer luck, I am sure this was the back trail that the family we met on the bike ride had told us about.  It was straight up with iron rungs and steep steps cut into the side of the mountain, kind of like rock climbing. It was fun!

View of Jordan Pond from Penobscot Mountain trail

We ate lunch at the summit of Penobscot Mountain, with a view of Jordan Pond. The elevation of Penobscot is 1,194 feet - not too high.  We debated continuing on to Sargent Mountain and ultimately we passed.  Shocker, right!  It was a good thing we did, because the trail we took back down was quite long and circuitous.  I'm not confident that it was the direct route to the trailhead, but it got us back.  This hike took just under 4 hours.

Thunder Hole - captivating to watch the waves crashing in

We went to Sand Beach at sunset and then back one morning to read and relax.  The Maine water is too cold for swimming but you can get in up to your knees!

Sand Beach at sunset

The unique thing about Acadia is that it's a package deal - hiking, biking, cute shops, lakes, the ocean - all in one place.  I would say the only negative for us was the drive.  It took 8 hours each way with stops only for gas, restrooms and switching drivers. In comparison, the Adirondacks are only 2 hours away for us! If I go back, we would stop for an overnight midway along the route.


Thanks for reading!