I've done the trip from DC to Acadia almost every summer, both with kid and without. I have stopped in various spots to spend the first night--including Boston and various places in Connecticut. I have to be honest, it's so much effort to get up to Acadia, and then so awesome when you're there, that my goal (and my 11 year old's goal) is now to get up to the park as quickly as possible and not putz around in other places. So I'd recommend spending less than 3 days in Boston. But the things that others have mentioned are all good. I'd add one more--the aquarium. It's right on the harbor and very awesome. The other thing I'd recommend you consider is visiting Portland, Maine. It's smaller, but the harbor area is very special and stands out. My kid insists on stopping every year. Great spot to just rest for a few hours, grab lunch, or spend the night. BEST pizza place in the world with a view of the harbor: Flatbread Company. Cute little shops. You can explore some islands by ferry.

As for Acadia... you need to be booking accommodations now. Seriously. Even camping reservations. DO NOT WAIT.

My family likes to camp up there even though we aren't "campers." We're talking car camping. With a fire some nights. And eating out for most of our meals. There is a beautiful, natural spot down by the sea, where you can hear the waves at night. It's called Seawall. That's our go-to spot. But it's rustic and quiet. For younger kids, where you might want more amenities (like pool, other kids, etc.) plus some more tolerance for loud kids, check out Mount Desert Campground. They have some amazing and beautiful spots overlooking Somes Sound that might still be available. If that's not your thing, look for airbnbs or other rentals that are rustic, on the water, etc. Why go all that way just to say in some overly priced hotel in Bar Harbor???

Once you're there, here are some recommendations for age appropriate trails:

EASY:

Any trail that is near Jordan Pond. And by the way, DEFINITELY plan on having lunch there--they have the most amazing popovers and lemonade, with a view to die for.

Wonderland. It's basically just a pretty walk--fairly short. Nice fauna along the way. Leads to the rocky shore, where you and pup can rock-scramble and look for tidal pools. Close by is another similar trail, which is basically just a walk down to the water called Ship Harbor Nature Trail. (I think Obama and his dog have done that trail.) Either place would make nice (and easy) places to walk to with a picnic lunch to enjoy by the shore.

Bar Island Trail. This is awesome and few people seem to know about it. It does require advanced planning because the trail is only visible twice a day and is only visible for a few hours. You have to hit it at low tide: Just look online for tidal schedule. Basically, you drive into downtown Bar Harbor at low tide. The trail is visible at the end of Bridge street, which is just off West Street. You park and then walk across a sand bar that has become visible during low tide but that is normally under the harbor! You have about 1.5 hours to cross to the island, explore, then get back. (Once on the island, follow the trail to the right, which will take you on about a 35 minute hike up to the highest point of the island.) The island is cool to explore plus the sandbar is littered with beach finds and it's a kid's exploration paradise.

There's also a few things you should see that are kind of tourist traps, but any visitor has to see at least one--they are well marked on any acadia map and are found on the major "loop" you can drive through the park but it includes Thunder Hole and Otter Cliffs. You should plan to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain to see sunrise or sunset (and have them hike it when they're teenagers).

Slightly More Challenging:

Great Head trail. You have to park at Sand Beach (on the loop). You walk across the entire beach and then scramble up some rocks and you eventually make your way out to the tip of the cliffs, which overlook the sea and a great view of The Beehive (a small mountain). Amazing. Definitely pack drinking water and some snacking for sitting along the sea cliffs. Definitely doable for the 4 year old although this might be the only serious hiking you do for the day.

Bowl Trail. A little hard to find--basically across the street from Sand Beach. Hike up a rocky area and you're greeted with an amazing beautiful pond, suitable for swimming and some cool areas where you traverse around on small bridges. (Kids will be challenged but safe.) Also, sometimes there are leeches. But no biggie.

Other ideas: Kayak Rental at Pond's End (Long Pond) in Somesville, which is on the Western side of the Island, is easy and fun. Visiting the lighthouse at Bass Harbor is kid friendly. They can climb around on the rocks.

FOOD

BEST BFAST IN BAR HARBOR. Two Cats. 130 cottage street. Not a lot of true bfast places in town, so the place gets busy. It's an old adorable brightly covered cottage with great homemade food.

BEST ICE CREAM IN BAR HARBOR: Two different locations in Bar Harbor; it's called Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. Very cool, unique flavors.

DINNER: Town Hall Bistro and Mache Bistro are good for "higher end" fare. For family friendly seafood places with good views, I recommend Abel's Lobster Pound or Seafood Ketch.

Crap. I have to go back to work. HAVE FUN!

We did a similiar trip last summer, but didn't go all the way to Acadia. It's a lot of driving.

Flew to Boston via Southwest. Drove to Portland Maine for 3 nights (just under 2 hrs from Boston) and then back to Boston for 3 nights. Flew home.

Boston highlights were the Tea Party Museum, Harbor tour (it was a beautiful day), Freedom Trail, and swan boats. We stopped in Kennebunkport on the way to Portland, did a lighthouse cruise in Portland, ate awesome potato donuts and gelato, and walked a lot.

We were on a time limit so we didn't go all the way to Acadia (about 4.5 from Boston to Acadia) - so about 12-13 hrs from Acadia to DC.

Boston native and I take my kids all the time. For the historical stuff, we focused on what they could take at certain ages. Early on we read Paul Revere stories and visited the North End and surrounding area. When they knew the story they were much more interested. Before that we did Make Way for the Ducklings book and then visited the Swan Boats and the ducklings sculpture. We moved into Revolutionary War in a broader sense and went to a reenactment on one of the Boston Harbor islands.

Anonymous wrote:Consider flying to Boston and renting a car to drive to Maine.

+1 we've done the drive so many times at all hours of the day and night. It can be anywhere from 8-12 hours from DC to Boston.

Kid friendly activities in Boston include: whale watch, the children's museum, tea party museum, the Uss constitution, swan boats, ferry and tour of Boston Light (http://www.bostonharborislands.org/bostonlight), the science museum.

I would structure 3 days as follows:
Day 1: fly in, walk Quincy market/ Faneuil hall and swan boats. Dinner in the north end
Day 2: half day at children's museum, 1/2 day whale watch. Dinner at old union oyster house (read history of building on back of menu)
Day 3: morning tour of Boston light, pick up car and check out uss constitution. Drive to Maine

Can't help with Acadia but looking forward to responses from people.

Native Mainer and yes it's a really long car trip to Boaton or Maine, especially in summer when you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic when it's90 degrees outside (still miserable even with AC) thru NJ, NY, CT. Even MA can be bad depending on timing. Flights to Maine in summer are pricey tho. And you obviously need a car if going to Acadia.

In Maine, Portland has a small children's museum and science center ( no where near as great as Boston) but right now science center offering a dinosaur exhibit - that's the only thing there tho. Children's museum best for 6 and under IMO. Duck Boat tour here is fun too. There is also Lucky Catch lobster boat tours - you go out on working boat and haul up a few traps. Loads of fun for kids and adults (highlight of my summer visit) but does fill up so you may want to book ahead.

Anonymous wrote:One other option - we took the train to Boston, spent a couple days there using public transportation and cabs to get around, then rented a car for the trip to Bar Harbor / Acadia.

That is one long train ride to Boston.

One other option - we took the train to Boston, spent a couple days there using public transportation and cabs to get around, then rented a car for the trip to Bar Harbor / Acadia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I'm interested to see the responses to this thread. We are also planning to go to Acadia this summer, and it's our first time. We are going to overnight someplace on the way up, and on the way back we are planning to stay a few days to a week in a second beachy location. We are considering Rhode Island for this.

The posts about the drive are giving me pause, but I'm hoping two days (in each direction) of 6-7 hour drives can't be that bad. Can it?

OP, we decided not to stay in Boston as part of this trip because of some of the reasons listed. Our youngest is also four, and I think she has another couple of years to go before she gets very much out of city vacations.

It will depend on exactly where you are coming from, but I think it will take longer than that.
We came from Northern VA and instead of going up I95,we took I81 as far as Scranton and then cut across. Yes, this added miles to our drive, but it also allowed us to miss the majority of tolls and traffic, which was so much less stressful.
We drove all the way to Maine the first day (I think it was Brunswick? I can't remember for sure) so we would have a shorter drive the 2nd day. We were camping and knew we wanted to get there early enough in the day to set up our tent.

We are in Maryland, but I looked at Arlington to Scranton then Scranton to Bar Harbor on Google Maps. It looks as though the route you describe is around 4.5 hours to Scranton then 9 hours to Bar Harbor. Or is that optimistic?

We are okay with tolls and with driving through New York. The total I'm getting for our preferred route is approximately 12 hours. It's possible that I'm getting the most optimistic estimate, though! All of these suggestions to fly then rent a car are making me reconsider.

Consider flying to Boston and renting a car to drive to Maine.

We enjoyed our trip to Boston with the kids but we were there in part to see family. We stayed in Cambridge at a relatively kid friendly B&B called the Irving House that is right next to Harvard. We had a queen room, with a single and a pull out trundle bed. I can recommend the Full Moon Cafe in west Cambridge for dinners out - they have adult friendly food, beer & wine and a play corner with a train table!!! There are a couple of good toy stores in Cambridge too. The kids enjoyed Fanueil Hall (at lunchtime) The Harvard Museum of Natural History and the USS Constitution. We also drove through the North End smelling all the great Italian food/cannolis and did not get to do all the fun things we wanted i.e. visit the science museum or Salem...

Anonymous wrote:It's a pretty long drive from Boston to Bar Harbor--it will take most of one day.

When in Massachusetts, consider a day in Plymouth, especially Plimoth Plantation. Your 7 year old is the perfect age for it. Then ice cream at Peaceful Meadows

I was just going to suggest the same thing!

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I'm interested to see the responses to this thread. We are also planning to go to Acadia this summer, and it's our first time. We are going to overnight someplace on the way up, and on the way back we are planning to stay a few days to a week in a second beachy location. We are considering Rhode Island for this.

The posts about the drive are giving me pause, but I'm hoping two days (in each direction) of 6-7 hour drives can't be that bad. Can it?

OP, we decided not to stay in Boston as part of this trip because of some of the reasons listed. Our youngest is also four, and I think she has another couple of years to go before she gets very much out of city vacations.

It will depend on exactly where you are coming from, but I think it will take longer than that.
We came from Northern VA and instead of going up I95,we took I81 as far as Scranton and then cut across. Yes, this added miles to our drive, but it also allowed us to miss the majority of tolls and traffic, which was so much less stressful.
We drove all the way to Maine the first day (I think it was Brunswick? I can't remember for sure) so we would have a shorter drive the 2nd day. We were camping and knew we wanted to get there early enough in the day to set up our tent.

NP here. I'm interested to see the responses to this thread. We are also planning to go to Acadia this summer, and it's our first time. We are going to overnight someplace on the way up, and on the way back we are planning to stay a few days to a week in a second beachy location. We are considering Rhode Island for this.

The posts about the drive are giving me pause, but I'm hoping two days (in each direction) of 6-7 hour drives can't be that bad. Can it?

OP, we decided not to stay in Boston as part of this trip because of some of the reasons listed. Our youngest is also four, and I think she has another couple of years to go before she gets very much out of city vacations.

It's a pretty long drive from Boston to Bar Harbor--it will take most of one day.

When in Massachusetts, consider a day in Plymouth, especially Plimoth Plantation. Your 7 year old is the perfect age for it. Then ice cream at Peaceful Meadows

It's a seriously long car ride - even just to Boston. We used to do the drive up & back from Acadia every summer when I was a kid. Though I loved the park, the drive was evil.

With two really little kids, I'd just fly into bar harbor. Rent a car there, or just use taxi + Acadia shuttle. Bar harbor is a cute, very walkable town.

If Boston isn't avoidable, try flying to Boston, and then flying into bar harbor.