Hiking in Acadia NP

[mdod]

I was all excited to have worked out the one way travel arrangements for the NCL Boston- Quebec cruise on Oct 9th. Then I found out that I can't get a rental car in Saint John until 10 AM so we won't have much time to see the tidal changes AND there is no convenient access to rental cars in Bar Harbor either. I really don't want to limited to a 2 1/2 hr tour of Acadia. I was just about to bail out on the cruise when I found out that the Island Explorer will still be running in Bar Harbor.

 

The ship is supposed to be in port from 8-5. Given that we will have to tender each way and take the Island Explorer to Acadia, will we have any time to do a good hike or a combo of short hikes? If so, does anyone have any suggestions? We can handle strenuous hikes IF they're worth the effort but I'm not into gratuitous hiking. We don't care about shopping or eating while in port.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Are you sure the Island Explorer is running? It runs a reduced schedule from 9/1 to 10/12, and then it stops running http://www.exploreacadia.com/ .

 

Here’s the link for an Acadia National Park map:

http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=acad&parkname=Acadia%20National%20Park

 

Here’s a list of hiking trails

http://www.acadia.national-park.com/hike.htm#thike

 

Here’s a list of the same hiking trails but with better descriptions:

http://www.acadiamagic.com/acadia-hiking-trails.html

 

Here are some suggestion

 

the Bar Harbor Shore Path; I wouldn’t consider this a hike but a leisure walk but enjoyable, nonetheless. This may be what you would consider gratuitous hiking :rolleyes:. http://www.acadiamagic.com/ShorePath.html

 

Jordon Pond loop (need transportation to/from) (IE routes 4 or 5)

 

Ocean Trail which parallels the Loop Rd from Sand Beach to Otters Cliff (need transportation to/from) (IE routes 3 or 4)

 

Carriage road, entrance at Eagle Lake or at Jordan Pond (need transportation to/from) (IE routes 6/7 & 4/5, respectively)

 

You can actually walk from BH into ANP straight from the tender dock. Magnify the map to MAX and under the HA of the word HARBOR, there is the dotted outline of a trail that connects to the Loop Rd just above the word WILD of the Wild Gardens of Acadia.

 

BTW, the tender ride is about 5-7 minutes excluding waiting and loading/unloading.

 

Enjoy your cruise and visit to Bar Harbor.

[mdod]

Thanks for the information. We'll be there 10/10/09 so the bus wil still be running. This cruise has gotten me really excited about seeing New England and the Maritimes but I'm leaning more and more toward flying into Boston and driving up to Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We won't make it to Quebec but it's a lot more accessible. I doubt we'll ever get back to the area and I hate to be so close to so many gorgeous places and only get a glimpse.

[mdod]

Well, I went ahead and booked the cruise. My hsuband realy didn't want to do all that driving and then the price dropped to only $499 for an inside cabin and I couldn't turn it down. Especially since I already had my return trip from Montreal tickted on my FF miles. Now to figure out how to get the most out of what we can see! This will be helpful.

 

I just read that Sea Kayaking is supposed to be great there so I'm wondering if we should do that instead of more hiking. I'll have to look at the schedules and see if we can fit a loop drive on the Explorer in with a kayak tour.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Kayaks are rented next to the town (tender) dock in Bar Harbor.

[mdod]

Thanks Sailbad. That's convenient. Is that were the tours leave from too? I don't think we're experienced enough or know the area well enough to go out on our own. I have the names of a couple of places that give tours and it looks like they still go out in Oct...brrrr.