Pls critique my Bar Harbor / Acadia Itinerary!

[Anonymous]

Be prepared for rain and have some indoor activities in mind.

[Anonymous]

Good itinerary. I agree with the poster that mentioned Sand Beach being... overrated. It's crowded and with the water being so cold, it's not really worth it. Wonderland and Ship Harbor Nature Trail are the easiest of hikes (they're really flat strolls) so they shouldn't be too much for your crew (although I'm not sure either are stroller safe). If it weren't for the 2 year old, I'd say skip the beach in favor of rock-scrambling on the Great Head Trail--it begins just north of Sand Beach and any kid over the age of 5 or 6 would LOVE it. Cliffs over the edge of the sea. Or, head to Long Pond and hop in a canoe (the water is warm enough that your eldest can jump out and float around next to the canoe). But maybe those are activities you need to wait another few years to enjoy... unless you can strap the 2 year old to your husband for a ride? Every summer I see folks doing that and think "god bless them--that looks like a lot of work" but the truth is, your older kids are at an age where they could really be enjoying some minor hikes so I can see why parents would be willing to risk their back health!

[Anonymous]

Hi! OP here! Thanks so much for all of the great advice! We had a great trip to Bar Harbor / Acadia! I loved it!

While it's fresh in my mind, I'm posting here what we did in case it helps anyone else! (I'm sure there will be a million typos - sorry). I'm starring ** the things we particularly liked. Reminder - I went with my husband & 3 kids ages 8, 5, and 2.

We drove from Northern VA - really long drive is all I will say (LL bean flagship is a good rest stop). We rented a house in Bar Harbor which was good for our family, instead of 5 in one hotel room. I know it's nice not to cook on vacation but I was happy to do half and half and not have to take my kids to restaurants 3x a day .

Our house rental was Sat to Sat. We left on a Friday, stayed overnight with friends in Boston, went to an MA beach with them Sat AM then got into Bar Harbor pretty late on Sat night. We stopped at a lobster pound on the way in and the kids liked seeing the live lobsters and crabs.
Sun - relaxed / settled into the house; went to the Visitor's Center and got Jr Ranger packets for the kids (I think a lot of ppl arrive on Sat & the visitor center was swamped. To illustrate - I saw someone in there I hadn't seen since college graduation 14 years ago, haha). Then we checked out downtown Bar Harbor and went to the waterfront area with the rocky beach a bit. [nap / rest]. Parked on road near Sand Beach**; walked Ocean Path** to Thunderhole (you're supposed to get to Thunderhole 2 hrs before high tide and we got there a little after high tide but we still thought it was cool). Walked back to Sand Beach and hung out there for an hour.
Monday - went to Jordan Pond and hiked 1 mile out and back there. Ate at Jordan Pond Restaurant for lunch** (side notes - I had made advance reservations for the restaurant. my first popover was awesome. Then I overdid it having 2). Drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain**. [nap / rest]. Ended up doing the Compass Harbor trail looking for a sandy beach we heard was around there but only found a rocky beach. Per kids' request we went back to Sand Beach for 45 mins.
Tues - did the tidepooling on the way to Bar Island** and hiked to the top. You have 1.5 hours before and after low tide to go to / from Bar Island before the ocean covers the trail. [nap / rest]. Did Diver Ed's Dive in Theater** (great for both parent and kids IMO). Dinner out in Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island Ice Cream** (side note - Desert is pronounced like: don't desert [abandon] me). We went back to Mount Desert Island Ice Cream two more times after this - particularly enjoying the butterbeer ice cream.
Wed - We had breakfast at Jordan's. It was my oldest's bday this day so we let him pick. We spent 4 hours at Sand Beach (DH did Great Head trail but rest of us stayed on beach). That night my husband took the older 2 on a 3 hour fishing trip which they all liked and caught a lot of fish (mostly pollock). This is the only thing all week that the 2 year old couldn't do (we wore her on most hikes tho she walked some too).
Thurs - 1 hour horse drawn carriage ride on the Carriage Roads** (side note - I want to say I booked this 1 week before we left and there was only one slot left for the whole week, which I took). Then we went to Echo lake**. [nap / rest]. Did souvenir shopping in downtown Bar Harbor and walked along the Shore Path. That night we did Stars Over Sand Beach** and saw the Milky Way! Excellent program that i wouldn't have done with DCUM! I thought the laser the rangers used to point out the stars was really cool.
Friday - breakfast at Two Cats**. Went to the visitor center for the older 2 to turn in their packets and become Jr rangers**. It was beautiful weather all week but this day was rainy. We tried to hike Ship Harbor in the rain but only did 1/2 of the figure 8 with kids who weren't into the rain. We quickly stopped by the lighthouse and made our final ice cream stop before getting ready to pack up.

In sum - I recommend Acadia!