One part of Acadia that we didn't visit was Schoodic Point. While it is supposed to be a beautiful area it is also located a long drive from the rest of the park on Mount Desert Island. We decided to just stay within the main portion of the park during our visit--but on a future trip we definitely want to drive down the Schoodic Peninsula to see more of Acadia. Nevertheless as we continued to drive around the island we did get a glimpse of Schoodic Point across the water.
A six-mile (10 km), one-way loop road offers views of lighthouses, seabirds, and forested islands. Vehicle turnouts that provide opportunities to stop and enjoy the scenery.... Arey Cove Road leads to Schoodic Point, a windswept, rocky point providing spectacular views of Mount Desert Island.
--from Acadia National Park website
Our next actual stop was the parking area for Thunder Hole.
In the gift shop I found one of the pint glasses that we ended up buying from the park.
From the gift shop we headed across the road towards the coast.
Since so many people visit there were plenty of fences to help keep people from getting too close to the water.
We had tried to time our visit with the tides in hopes of hearing the sounds Thunder Hole is famous for, but it didn't work out. We saw plenty of other people waiting.
This is the area that produces the famous sounds. A cave under a ledge traps air when waves come in and when it suddenly fills with water it can create a massive burst of sound and spray that sounds like thunder.
More beautiful flowers.
While we were visiting before the official start of the season we did see at least one bus, the Island Explorer (sponsored by LL Bean) making the rounds. I can see how it would be very nice to ride the bus around in the summer when the roads are packed and not have to worry about trying to find a parking space at each place you want to visit.
A bit further down the coast we were able to walk towards the shore and take in this beautiful vista.
We even spotted some seagulls during our wandering.
More gorgeous Maine coastline. I wish that I could have sat down to enjoy the view for a few hours.
As you can see here most of the Maine coast is rocky with no sand in site. There is actually one sandy beach in the park, but we didn't visit that until the next day as it was so busy the first time we drove by.
For part of this time we were walking along the ocean path, a trail that stays within site of the ocean and connects many spots along the coast.
I normally prefer mountain vistas, but these coastal views really started to grow on me during our time in the park. This was the Otter Cliff overlook area if I remember correctly.
Wild berry canes show that there would be quite a harvest later in the year.
After leaving the Otter Cliff area we continued driving until we came to Little Hunters Beach.
When the she stairs turned the corner I was able to look up and see a breathtaking cobble beach.
Many people had piled up stacks of cobble stones into small towers. I assume that when the tide comes in these piles are knocked over each day.
This is actually the picture of the coast I've used as my computer background for months.
It was very peaceful to sit on the beach and enjoy the waves hitting the shore.
While sitting on the beach I took a video of those waves and uploaded it to YouTube. The video was actually taken and uploaded in 4K, so if you have a good internet connection you can increase the quality until you feel like you're actually there on the beach.
After this stop we headed towards Jordan Pond, but that is another post coming tomorrow.
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