Acadia National Park - Part VI - Cadillac Mountain

Our last major visit in Acadia National Park was to Cadillac Mountain.  After we had left Sand Beach behind we ended up driving around the loop road to the Cadillac Mountain road.  You can actually drive up to the top of the mountain, which makes it a convenient place to visit.

Since it is the highest point on the American Atlantic seaboard it is the first spot on the coast to see the sunrise each day.  We briefly thought about driving up to see it, but with only two days in the park, several young kids, and it being summer we quickly decided against that plan and instead just decided to head up during the day.

Cadillac Mountain is the major destination for visitors to Acadia National Park. Accessible by car, it is the highest point on the east coast of the U.S., and offers magnificent views of a glaciated coastal and island landscape.
--from Acadia National Park website

On our way to the mountain we saw Eagle Lake.

Up at the top we headed for the trails.

We were careful to leave no trace behind.  Unfortunately not all visitors to this heavily trafficked location do the same.

The summit does have plenty of trails where you can wander around.

Extensive sections are also bare rock.  You can get some great views of the ocean and the many islands located off the shore of Mount Desert Island.

This panoramic shot captures some of the grandeur visible at the top of the mountain.

We spotted a cruise ship off the coast of Bar Harbor.

It was quite windy as we walked around the paths.

Several different hotels were built on the mountain top, but none lasted long.  The one pictured here only lasted from 1883 to 1884

After walking around we headed into the gift shop for a few minutes

I ended up buying us one of the frosted white and green pint glasses, our second glass from the park.  In the months since we've gotten home it has enjoyed plenty of use.

You can view all of these pictures and a few more from our trip to the summit in this album.

~Matt

Acadia National Park - Part V - Sand Beach

On our second day of exploring Acadia we decided to get on the road a bit earlier than we had the day before.  When we'd driven around the loop road the previous day we'd gone by Sand Beach but hadn't stopped since there had been so little parking available.

If you live next to another coast you might wonder why I'm making a big deal out of a sandy beach, after all they're quite common on many coastlines--but not the coastline of Acadia National Park.

All the other beaches that we saw in the park were rocky beaches, like the cobblestone beach where I recorded a video of the waves.  Sand Beach is an unusual beach in the park and quite popular due to its unusual nature.

Make sure you read up on the regulations before you visit the beach.

Apparently the property at one time was purchased by JP Morgan who gave it to his daughter Louisa Satterlee.  His granddaughter (the Eleanor Morgan Satterlee referenced in the sign) eventually gave it to the park service.  You can read more about the history on this blog I found.

A nice structure is provided for changing and we utilized it to get the kids changed into swim suits.  We knew the water wasn't warm and so the kids weren't likely to get in it much, but if we didn't change them they'd likely get their clothes soaked, so better safe than sorry seemed to be a wise policy to abide by.

The walkway to the beach just looked like typical Acadia scenery.

Once you got down on the beach you saw the interesting juxtaposition between the typical Maine coast and the sand.

You can see how much water runs over the beach.  Apparently the tides on the beach have a 12-foot variance.

Even behind the beach you can get a typical "beach" shot with the dune grasses.

The high tide line is quite a ways up the beach as you can see here.

Quite a few people came down to the beach and left it while we were enjoying our time on the sands.

I had to take my shoes off and made quite a few footprints in the sand.

The clouds cooperated for even better pictures during part of our time there.

We all got to experience the chilly waters of the North Atlantic.

Drawing in the sand was quite fun.

I had fun writing a number of things.

The kids even got into the action with their own sticks.

I walked (carefully) over to the section of beach with quite a few rocks, trying to avoid stepping on the seaweed.

As you can see the seaweed covered most of the rocks in the area.

However, I managed to spot a number of interesting shells affixed to the rocks.

I don't remember if the tide was coming in or going out, but of course we saw plenty of waves.

Before too long it was time to go, so we headed up the stairs.

Back at the changing building we hosed off the sand and got changed back into regular clothes.

Before we drove off I spotted these beautiful flowers.

All of the pictures from Sand Beach as well as the other ones taken throughout much of the park as seen in the past few days of blogs can be seen in this album.

~Matt

Acadia National Park - Part IV - Jordan Pond

After the cobble beach our next stop was at Jordan Pond.  This tarn (lake formed by a glacier) is one of many lakes on Mount Desert Island.  The restaurant located there has been a favorite spot for popovers and tea since the 1890s, though the original building burned down and the current structure dates from 1982.  I wouldn't mind stopping there for a bite to eat the next time we visit the park.

Afternoon tea with popovers remains a popular, not to be missed tradition on a visit to Acadia. Reservations, especially during lunch and the very busy teatime, will greatly reduce your wait and give you a more relaxing experience. If you can’t make a reservation, the shortest waits for tables are before 11:30am or after 4pm. Our menu includes the traditional favorites of lobster stew, house made ice cream, and freshly squeezed lemonade.
--from Jordan Pond House website

Thankfully we found a parking spot and then headed towards the restaurant building.

 There were a number of signs telling the history of the area.

 The pond was quite popular with early vacationers.

While we didn't go in to eat we climbed up to the upper level of the house to take a look around.

Some kind of construction or maybe replanting was going on behind the house.

As we headed down and away from the building we passed by a meadow area.

The lake is the only one that we had the chance to hike near, but we drove by some others and this was definitely the most picturesque.

While this sign quite prominently warned people not to get in the water as it supplied local drinking water there were sadly plenty of people willing to ignore the posted information and wade into the water.

 The path started out as a normal hiking trail.

 Every so often we caught glimpses of the lake through the trees.

 Eventually the path turned into a literal boardwalk.

 Several times we came upon groups coming the opposite direction and we tried to give them room to pass without stepping off the pass if it was possible.

 A couple times I stopped to take 360º pictures of our surroundings.

 While we had to turn back before the end of the trail I'm quite glad we took the hike.

 We got to see some interesting plants as we walked as well.

After leaving Jordan Pond we headed back to our campsite for the night after a quick stop in Bar Harbor.  The next post will cover our trip to Sand Beach in the morning.

~Matt