Our Recommended Sights & Eats in Maine
I’ve been going to Maine every single year of my life since I was born. Both of my parents grew up spending parts of their summer there, they even honeymooned there. So needless to say, I’ve become a bit of a Maine expert in my friend circle (and New Yorkers are pretty enamored by it, so my Maine knowledge does come in handy.) That’s why, years into my love affair with Maine, I’ve finally sat down to compile a blogpost about my favorite state! Including our favorite hikes, the best places to pick blueberries, the most exciting rocky coasts to walk on, our favorite places to eat and more!
Stargazing at Sand Beach
Let’s start right off the bat with my very favorite thing to do in Maine: stargazing. Acadia National Park is open to visitors 24/7, and one of our favorite times to take advantage of that is after the sun sets. We are self-proclaimed ‘nocturnal,’ after all, so we love nighttime activities! On a clear night, bring your flashlight and make your way out to Sand Beach, one of Maine’s few sandy beaches. Without light pollution, it’s chilly and pitch-black all around you. Wear layers, wrap yourself in a blanket and lay down on the bed of sand to prepare for a dazzling light show. The sound of crashing waves with envelope you as you look up to the nighttime sky. Thousands of stars will be splattered across a sky so alive, you’ll find it hard to catch your breath. Satellites and meteors will swarm around the vastness, hugged by the Milky Way.
Want to add an extra layer of ‘educational’? You can join in on the Park Service’s ‘Night Sky Scoping’ program where dozens of strangers lay down on the sand and listen to a Park Ranger share astrological facts. The Rangers will point out constellations, share scientific facts and even let you know when the International Space Station will be floating by.
Want to visit Sand Beach during the day as well? Why not try your hand at a Polar Bear Plunge by jumping into its icy waters! We make sure to do this every year.
Go Hiking
There is no shortage of hikes available to you in Acadia National Park! Our favorites include Bar Island, Bubble Rock, Jordan Pond and Beehive Trail. If you choose Bar Island, make sure you take note of when low tide begins and ends, because that’s the only time you can make it to this island off the coast of Bar Harbor! At low tide, a sand bar appears making passage to Bar Island possible. I love this walk because you’ll often be able to spot starfish and other sea life while you cross the bar.
Bubble Rock and Jordan Pond are lengthy, yet leisurely hikes. Bubble Rock includes a bit of elevation (you’re summitting a small mountain to see the giant ‘bubble rock’ that hangs off the mountain edge), and the hike around Jordan Pond will give you excellent views of the ‘pond’s’ crystal waters and lush forestry surrounding it. This walk is especially stunning during Autumn!
The Beehive Trail is a ‘strenuous’ hike for those who want to add a little bit of spice to your hiking adventure. This hike involves some knee-wobbling heights and stretches of iron rungs that you have to hang onto in order to keep yourself from tumbling off the side – but it’s certainly an achievement when you finish!
Daniel nearing the summit of the Beehive Trail
Me enjoying the views around Jordan Pond
Schoodic Point
To best experience Maine’s famous rocky coast, go to Schoodic Point! This is one of my favorite places in all of Maine - all four miles of this coast are covered in imposing boulders that the waves crash against, spraying salt water into the sky. Go for a walk; hop along the boulders, look at tide pools and find a perch where you can sit in silence and enjoy the tumultuous ocean.
Go on a Whale Watch
When we sailed with Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co., we actually didn’t see any whales. We were given a voucher to book another trip, but I actually didn’t find that entirely necessary because we saw some other incredible sightings instead: dozens of puffins, a few mola mola fish, and a basking shark! These creatures are among Maine’s vibrant aquatic life - whether you catch sight of these or you are lucky enough to see any of the humpbacks, finbacks and minke whales as well - you will have a great time! Just take my word for it: don’t forget your Dramamine. And it may even be worth cancelling if the ocean is having an especially choppy day; the vomit down the side of our boat at the end of the trip tipped us off to that. (Luckily, I have an iron stomach.)
Catch a Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain
From October through March, Cadillac Mountain is the first place the sun touches in the United States. Dress warmly and allow yourself plenty of time (parking lots fill up), but make sure that 'watch the sunrise from Cadillac' is on your to-do list! Just like stargazing, bring a blanket to wrap yourself in because you’ll be outside before the sun is up! Maybe even pack yourself some hot chocolate in thermoses to keep warm, and prepare to be dazzled. Because Daniel and I aren’t morning person, we don’t often go to see the sunrise anymore; but it was one of my family’s favorite activities growing up, and I do remember it pairing brilliantly with some fluffy blueberry pancakes in Bar Harbor afterward.
This picture is actually of the moon rise while we were visiting Thunder Hole, but it’s too pretty to exclude!
Pick Wild Blueberries
On Cadillac Mountain, and all across Acadia, wild blueberries grow in droves. Consider bringing along some sort of pail, Tupperware or Ziploc bag to collect your berries in, and then go on a treasure hunt! Nothing is more satisfying - and oddly stress-relieving - than hunting across Cadillac Mountain's sparse face in hopes of filling your bucket with wild-picked blueberries. Get out of the loop to find even more blueberries; we often have luck when wandering away from the roads that snake by Blue Hill Overpass.
Go on a Ghost Tour in Bar Harbor
Ready to get spooked? When the sun sets, follow your host through the emptying streets of Bar Harbor as they carry a lantern ahead of you. For about an hour and a half, you’ll walk around Bar Harbor’s spookiest sites, hearing ghostly stories of times past – and some times present, too. We went with Bar Harbor Ghost Tours; not only did they have great stories to tell on their tour, but they had recordings to play and other props to share while they told them! They also encouraged us to take photos and interrupt the host to show them if anything spooky shows up in the picture (like orbs of light or blurred faces). I remember when I went to take a picture of the “most haunted” house in Bar Harbor, my phone – which had over 40% battery left – just shut off entirely. SpoOoOoky.
Other sites worth visiting are the Portland Head Light just outside of Portland and Stephen King’s home in Bangor! Both Portland and Bangor are fun little cities to wander through.
To Eat:
Two quick disclaimers before we share our favorite eats: as blasphemous as this is, neither Daniel nor I like shellfish, so we can’t recommend our favorite places to get lobster or lobster rolls. And in addition, Bar Harbor is a tourist town, so you have to look a bit harder for good food that isn’t overpriced or entirely too-predictable. But rest assured, it’s there!
Jordan Pond House
My favorite place to get a treat is at the famous Jordan Pond House; usually we do our best to recommend less-touristy places, but when you serve pop-overs that good, Jordan Pond House is meant to be at the top of the list. Here’s my hack, though, because the rest of the food is both overpriced and not very mind-blowing: go for their pop-over combo! Get yourself 2 pop-overs (with the option to add more, of course), paired with butter and strawberry or blueberry jam, and then also pick a specialty beverage to go with it. Choose between drinks like hot chocolate, Prosecco or blueberry soda - you’ll be glad you skipped out on the rest of the menu so that you can focus on what really counts.
Atlantic Brewing in Bar Harbor
We love the vibe of this place and we find the food to be good, but mostly we recommend visiting for the blueberry wine, cider flights and blueberry soda! They serve Old Soaker Blueberry Soda here, which is a family favorite.
Project Social Kitchen and Bar
This restaurant is new to the Bar Harbor scene; they have a rotating menu of excellent tapas and a beautiful outdoor garden to eat in.
Jordan’s Restaurant
A Bar Harbor brunch classic! Start your day off with their blueberry pancakes or blueberry muffins - or just choose from the rest of their diner-esque breakfast menu. Make sure to make reservations (if they take them) or be prepared to wait for breakfast. But rest assured, the wait is worth it.
Acadia Lobster & BBQ Co.
About a 20-minute drive from Acadia National Park is our favorite Lobster Pound! Now, again, we don’t eat lobster so we’re basing this solely off of the rest of their menu - but damn is there pulled pork sandwich good! As is their clam chowdah! There are so many Lobster Pounds to choose from, though; all of which have that similar ‘eat at a shack by the side of the road’ ambiance that makes Maine lobster pounds so famous - we recommend doing a little game of Lobster Pound hopping and see which one is your favorite.
Duckfat & The Highroller Lobster Co.
If you swing by Portland, we highly recommend both of these awesome restaurants. Both have such cute facilities, and both are excellent at producing their specialty. For Duckfat, it’s poutine – a dish that Daniel and I are obsessed with. We get their classic poutine each time we drive through Portland, and then we mix it up by pairing our poutine with different paninis each time. We’ve yet to be disappointed! The Highroller Lobster Co. has the best lobster bisque I’ve ever had, and it pairs beautifully with their grilled cheese. You can choose to add any of their specialized mayos to their sandwiches, so we paired our grilled cheese with a jalepenos mayo – yum!
Helen’s Restaurant of Ellsworth
Looking for dessert? Give Helen’s a try! Their entrees aren’t much to write home about, but their homemade pies are incredible. Get a blueberry pie (made with fresh blueberries of course), chocolate cream pie, banana cream, strawberries and cream - yes, lots of ridiculously thick, hand spun cream that you’ll be dreaming about until the next time you’re lucky enough to visit.
Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium & Pug Nuts
Bar Harbor is full of ice cream shops, too. I may be biased because I grew up on it, but I think New England has the best ice cream in the country! My favorite place to get ice cream in Bar Harbor is at Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium – their waffle cones are absolutely excellent. I usually get one scoop of Mint Choc Chip and one scoop of bubblegum in a waffle cone (it’s good, I promise); but they have 50+ flavors to choose from – including (fresh-picked) Wild Blueberry, and Lobster. My family also loves Pugnuts in Surry, Maine; it’s an ice cream parlor themed entirely around pugs that boasts a rotating menu of unique, artisan flavors of ice cream and gelato.
So whether you want to use iron rungs to scale the sides of mountains or lie under a restless night sky; whether you want to perch on a boulder over crashing waves or eat your fill of pop-overs and ice cream - or especially if you want all of the above - then Maine is the state for you. After all, they do say: “Maine. The Way Life Should Be.”
