Maine Coast and Mountains: Attractions

Your Accommodations

Attractions

Hike, cycle, golf, stroll, kayak, rest. Sail, browse, sleep, swim, walk. Eat (well). Cook – or let someone do it for you. Read. All of these choices are yours when you stay at “Acadia Sunset” cottage.

Mt. Desert Island offers just about every kind of opportunity for physical recreation or sublime relaxation that you can think of. Hang out on the beach – either fresh water or oceanside – with fellow beachgoers, or quietly private: you decide. Go shopping. Take in a ranger-led program at the Park. Go for an interpretive boat ride and learn about the islands and wildlife, or just kick back and let someone take you on a sail around the outer islands. You can hike, walk, bicycle, fish, swim, canoe, enjoy a meal dockside or on linen tablecloths, visit a museum or a beautiful garden; catch up on your reading, if you like. MDI and Acadia National Park can be about whatever you want them to be but, most of all, Acadia is about getting out and enjoying nature.

Hikers and walkers click here for a complete listing of trails organized by difficulty rating (courtesy of ANP.) Click if you need Acrobat Reader.

The Park features a sampler of Ranger-led activities here.

Or if you already know about the splendor and beauty of the Acadia region, support its preservation and sustainability by joining Friends of Acadia.

Here’s a sampling of activities you might enjoy within ~2 to 20 minutes of your accommodation at Acadia Sunset:

Walk on your own private beach – OK, less than two minutes’ walk – right outside your door, down your own private steps. Beachcomber’s paradise. Canoeists’ and kayakers’ opportunity for protected exploration in Duck Cove (10 second walk to the steps).
Tour Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse (4 minute drive).
Rent a canoe on Long Lake (8 minute drive).
Hike Acadia Mountain, then swim in Echo Lake at the end of the trail (15 minute drive to the trail head).
Rent bikes at Southwest Cycle in Southwest Harbor for a tour around the carriage paths (7 minute drive to the bike shop).
Get homemade ice cream at the Quiet Side Café in Southwest Harbor (some of the best blueberry pie in the region, too, we might add) (7 minute drive to SW Harbor).
Eat lobster on the pier at Thurston’s in Bernard (5 minute drive).
Take in a round of golf at the Causeway Club in Southwest Harbor (10 minute drive to the course).
Head out to Park Loop Road for the driving tour of the main Park, traditional tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond
House, or a day at Sand Beach (22 minutes to the Park entrance outside Bar Harbor).
Ship Harbor Nature Trail (3 minute drive).
Visit Seawall (4 minute drive).
Walk the Wonderland Nature Trail (also accessible to wheel chairs and strollers) (3 minute drive).
Glide on your cedar front-porch glider in the afternoon, as the sun begins to set over the cove and the outer islands (1 second walk, including the time it takes you to open the door).