There's blueberry picking in front of Jordan Pond House

We did the Bubble Trail with our 4,7 & 9 year olds - yes, it's all uphill but great view at top with cool leaning rock. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g143010-d3209219-Reviews-Bubble_Rock-Acadia_National_Park_Mount_Desert_Island_Maine.html

I couldn't go to Maine without going to a lobster pound. We always go to Beal's in SW Harbor, which is a drive from Bar Harbor. But there's a great, flat trail near there that goes to a beautiful rocky beach with tide pools - Wonderland trail https://www.citrusmilo.com/acadiaguide/wonderland.cfm

My kids are older now, but we have such great memories of Acadia - you're going to have a wonderful time!

The big attractions are quite crowded in August. Consider visiting Thunder Hole and doing the Ocean Walk early in the morning or in the evening (perhaps after an early dinner) to have a less hectic experience. Same with Jordan Pond House--avoid noon to 1:30 if you can. Acadia is awesome--enjoy!

+1000 for Thurston Lobster Pound....one of our favorites.

Also, we're fans of Red Sky in Southwest Harbor for a nice dinner.

Your plan looks great...good suggestion on the Jr. Ranger programs!

+1 for Diver Ed. My kids loved it!

Your kids can get Jr. Ranger badges and patches (and I think I got one too...get the booklets at the Information place with the rangers, and there will also be a listing on times to attend presentations, which is one of the requirements and always fun.

Thunder Hole---you need to ask when it happens, it's dependent on the tides. We showed up and hung out and it was the wrong timing and there was no thunder, just the hole, LOL

OMG just forgot YES the biking on the carriage trails is AMAZING and we rented bikes and it was SO WORTH IT

Also, along with the popovers at Jordan Pond, they have some kind of berry lemonade...

so happy for you OP! Do the Beehive to the swimming lake next time you go. Then when they get a little older, do Cadillac Mountain 'hike' (climb) up the face--amazing but not for anyone under 8 imo (because the parents will have a heart attack worrying about their kids!)

If your kids are up for it, I'd also recommend one of the park ranger trips. They often have small group tidepooling for kids. There is a tide pool tank at College of the Atlantic that does talks (perfect for the younger two). We've also like the Stars over Sand beach presentation through the park service.

Sand Beach is great if the weather is hot (it was one year when we were there, and the cold water felt great), but if it's the usual 75 degrees or so, it can be really cold. The lakes are warmer (although can still be chilly) -- Echo Lake, Lakewood, Long Pond all have swimming areas. Echo Lake can get a bit crowded, but it has a sand beach and there's plenty of room in the water.

We usually take our bikes, because the rentals that I looked at were very expensive. If you only want to ride one day, then it might be worth it to rent. The LL Bean island shuttle system is very efficient, and many of the buses have bike racks, so you can take the bus over to the carriage roads, etc.

Thurston's is great, but it's rather small, so I would go early to avoid lines. We also like Cherrystones in Bar Harbor. Jordan's is good for breakfast if you want (local) blueberry muffins and pancakes. 2 Cats is also good for breakfast.

I really enjoyed the ferry ride over to northeast harbor. Beautiful to see the green islands on the blue water.

Do not miss Diver Ed's boat tour. It looks hokey but he was super engaged with the kids and it was the nest money we spent all week.

The only edit I would do is the ice cream after dinner might be afternoon instead: it is so chilly most nights! And instead of the/or in addition to the bike ride - the carriage ride at Jordon Pond is lovely and your kids are the perfect age for. And my kids adored the wild blueberry picking in the field just below the dining area at Jordon Pond. We didn't come home with any but they had fun finding whatever they could. Depending on your rental house - just some down time, walking into town for breakfast is nice. One thing we have loved doing is spotting community events-favorite being during strawberry season one year and the little town had a Strawberry Shortcake day. Sigh. I still can't push the yes for our rental week as we are so busy not sure I can commit to week this summer - LOVE Maine so much

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo absolutely loved the bee hive trail, but I don't think your 5 and 2 yo can do it.

I just looked that up and it looks really cool but probably not for our group this trip. I already want to go back

Cranberry Isles seems nice! I'm going to play around and see if I can squeeze that in.

Thanks for the ideas!

My 7yo absolutely loved the bee hive trail, but I don't think your 5 and 2 yo can do it.

My kids loved the Diver Ed excursion.....take a boat out, he dives down and picks up some sea creatures for everyone to see and then returns them to the ocean. http://divered.com/

A trip to Cranberry Islands was fun too.

We go every year and hit some of the same spots. Your itinerary looks great! Maybe consider a ferry out to the Cranberry Isles. There is a restaurant on Islesford (Little Cranberry) and there are wild blueberries on the side of the road. You can get a ferry from Northeast or Southwest Harbors, both of which have main streets with restaurants. Quietside Cafe in SW Harbor is kid-friendly.

Background: going in August. Driving there & rented a house. 3 kids - 8, 5, and 2. Never been to Maine!

Draft Itinerary

Day 1 (Sat.): Arrive / settle in
Day 2: Acadia - drive to Thunder Hole (hang out there), do a hike on Ocean Trail, go to Sand Beach and hang out there (also drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain?)
Day 3: Acadia - drive to Jordan Pond - and hang out and eat lunch there (MAKE RESERVATION & eat popovers), bike on Carriage Road
Day 4: do land bridge to Bar Island in the morning (checking tides), dinner out & after dinner get ice cream at MDI Ice Cream
Day 5: Eat breakfast at 2 Cats, Diver Ed boat tour (saw these things in past DCUM threads!)
Day 6: Do Shore Path walk, dinner/movie at Reel Pizza Cinema
Day 7: Leave free for anything we don't get to / decide to do once there
Day 8 (Sat.): Leave

*Don't let me pack too much in on one day. The kids will need down time too.
*Is there anything I've listed above that is better to do during the week/not weekend? The days here are in random order and anything can be swapped for a different day.
*Any great restaurants? (Thurston Lobster Pound is on my list although I don't like Lobster!)
*Is there anything great I am missing?
*Where can we get wild blueberries? (I think there are wild blueberries on the Wonderland or Ship Harbor Nature Trail? Can I add this too Day 4, 5, or 6, or is that too much? Are there any wild blueberries anywhere else?)
*The 2 year old naps, but on vacation we usually just wing in with a stroller, car, or carrier on vacation
*Anyone have strong feelings on bringing or renting bikes? If bringing, would have to get a bike carrier for the car. I would like to bike one day, but not too much - the older 2 kids are still newish to non training wheel biking.

I won't leave without trying whoopie pie or Moxie.

Thank you!