Essentials

Tour Acadia in a horse-drawn carriage via the network of historic gravel carriage roads closed to motorized traffic.

Experience many of Acadia National Park's loveliest sights from the comfort of your car as you drive along Park Loop Road .

Listen for the roar of Thunder Hole as waves rush into a narrow rock cleft at one of the park's most picturesque shoreline settings.

Hike the scenic Great Head Trail —just 1.4 out of more than 125 miles of park trails—past pink granite bluffs, through thickets of evergreen and birch trees and along a sandy beach.

Savor a freshly baked popover with butter and jam at Jordan Pond House, but don't ask for an order to go; the staff serves the delicious treats only one at a time directly from the oven.

Tuck into a lobster dinner at one of many Bar Harbor restaurants that serve this essential Maine delicacy. Upscale meals are offered at such places as The Reading Room Restaurant at the Bar Harbor Inn & Spa .

Stroll along the quaint, small-town streets of Bar Harbor past seafood restaurants and pizza joints; shops selling coffee, ice cream, fudge and souvenirs; and Victorian clapboard houses converted to cozy bed and breakfast inns.

Journey to the southern tip of Mount Desert Island where you'll find Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, a squat white tower perched atop a craggy coastal bluff—one of Maine's most photographed lighthouses.

Avoid the crowds by visiting rugged Schoodic Point in the park's Schoodic Peninsula district, reached via a scenic coastal road about an hour's drive from Mount Desert Island.