Bucket List New England Travel: Visiting Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park in the Fall!

This past October my husband and I took our young daughter on a short trip to Maine for an extended weekend getaway. We are from Michigan, so a short and direct flight with no time change sounded like a nice trip to take with our young child. We were blessed with mostly good weather (it rained only one of the days) and we absolutely loved our stay in Maine to visit Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We recommend renting a car at the air port verse trying to rely on public transportation. Here are some other recommendations we have for a short getaway to this beautiful area of the world:

1. Hiking within Acadia National Park:

A few years ago (during the pandemic) we developed a passion for the outdoors and hiking using the All Trails app. Fall is also my favorite time of year, so pair our love for the outdoors with beautiful fall foilage, and you cannot go wrong with hiking around Acadia National Park this time of year.

We took this trip as a family while our daughter was under 2 years old (21 months old) wearing her on our backs in a hiking pack. The Jordan Pond Trail was particularly nice and easy to hike because it was a giant circle and mostly flat. Halfway along the path (about a 3-mile hike) we took a break at a beach front so our daughter could get out of the hiking pack and burn off some toddler energy! Another great hike and most well-known was the Ocean Trail hike with views of Thunder Hole, Sand Beach (start of the hike) and of course the Atlantic Ocean the whole way. Just note that this trail is a huge tourist attraction and parking was a nightmare so try to get there as early as possible in the morning. There were several other hikes pinned on our All-Trails app however we ran out of time with our short 3–4-day trip, but would love to come back again in the future!

2.        Register a car pass to summit Cadillac Mountain at sunset:

Visiting Cadillac Mountain is one of the most popular things to do in Acadia National Park. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. There were views for days…I could have stayed up there forever. We got the chance to view the most beautiful sunset. We loved all the views and cannot recommend this activity enough (just dress in warm layers because it’s cold up there)!

More about registration: Everything we read about Acadia National Park recommended visitors to make a reservation to drive to the top. (You must have a registration to be granted access to the top). Luckily, we were able to pre-register prior to the trip but as we got closer to the day of the reservation, we realized it would be overcast and rainy. The park service has a system of how to make a reservation and not everyone gets a pass. It’s first come first serve and this website outlines when you can start making your reservations (at the time 2 months in advance, 30% of tickets are released and 48 hours in advance, 70% of tickets are released for a future date). We were so lucky to be able to get a second reservation for the following day we originally planned by going to the website 48 hours before our new intended date. Make sure you are on top of it online to snag a registration spot because they do sell out!

3.        Restaurant choice- Jordan Pond House for brunch within Acadia National Park:

This restaurant is located within the park with beautiful views of Jordon Pond and the surrounding area. The menu was standard for brunch food, but the poppers (fancy name for their homemade bread) were stand out delicious! I still think about those heavenly little muffin top breads (They tasted like a mix of a flaky and crispy crescent roll on the outside with a warm dense bagel dough on the inside, served with butter and jam)! Note that you should make a reservation in advance prior to your visit. The walk in line to the restaurant was a 2 plus hours wait at peak lunchtime and they close by 5pm. Pair brunch at the Jordan Pond House with the 3ish mile hike around Jordan Pond Trail for a full afternoon of nature and comfort food!

4.        Drive around the Park Loop and Carriage Roads within Acadia National Park:

If you know my husband and I and how much we love photography, it's no surprise that we enjoyed driving around the park on a rainy day, stopping to photograph covered bridges, picturesque landscapes and enjoying the fall colors when the weather wasn’t cooperating for an outdoor activity. Get a good soundtrack or podcast playing on the radio and enjoy a rainy morning drive, admiring nature’s beauty!

5.        Staying at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel and Event Center:

We stayed at the Atlantic Oceanside the whole time and were very pleased with our stay. The room was a comfortable temperature, the bed was cozy and clean, and the large room faced the ocean. I called before we got there and asked if they could accommodate us with a crib for our toddler daughter and that wasn’t a problem at all. They had a restaurant located within the event center that we made reservations for on the last night. The dinner was delicious! (I ordered the salmon meal, and my husband and daughter had homestyle mac and cheese). They also had an indoor swimming pool and hot tub we used one rainy afternoon, which attracted us in the beginning because of our daughter’s love for water. Above all though, the most notable part of our stay here was the continental breakfast each morning! We have stayed in many hotels over the past decade and honestly, Atlantic Oceanside had the BEST continental breakfast we’ve ever had in any hotel stay in the past decade! Every day they had a different spread of breakfast flat bread pizzas under a warming lamp, warm breakfast food (various eggs, meats, quiches, potatoes, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal) plus fruits, pastries, muffins, cereals, and a rotating coffee bar with different featured flavors each day (if you are a morning coffee drinker like me, than you will love this too). I’ve never been a huge breakfast person, but I made sure to eat a huge meal each morning! It never got old because of the rotating food menu every day (pancakes and bacon one day, waffles and sausage the next etc etc). We would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone with kids during your stay in Bar Harbor, Maine.

6.        Exploring downtown Bar Harbor:

We recommend walking along the pier and spending an afternoon shopping and exploring the downtown area of Bar Harbor. It was bustling with energy and things to do. There were so many good food options (especially if you like seafood) as well as stops for ice cream and listening to local musicians/ vendors in the park! Most notably was dinner at McKay’s Public House. They had a full bar as well as several cozy eats. I ordered off the appetizer menu and it was delicious!

7.        Driving, Renting Bikes, and Hiking around Schoodic Peninsula:

We did not have a lot of time to explore this area before our short weekend getaway was over, however, we enjoyed driving around the Schoodic National Scenic Byway and stopping for some scenic photos at view points. This area of the park is full of a lot of evergreens (not as much foliage to admire in the fall) but was very relaxing to drive around. If you want a quieter activity with far less tourism, this is an area to explore for sure. We had friends recommend renting bikes in the summer, however it was too cold in mid-October when we were there. This would be a beautiful area to explore by bike in the future!

We hope that our recommendations help you plan your next getaway to Maine. There's truly no better time to experience the magic of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park than in the fall. The combination of stunning natural beauty and the tranquil charm of the season makes it an unforgettable getaway that will leave you longing for your next autumn escape.