Driving the Park Loop in Acadia

Maine Week Travelog #2
Acadia National Park - Monday, 14 Jun 2021, 5:30pm.

After checking in to our motel in Bar Harbor, ME this afternoon we headed back to Acadia National Park since there would still be light for another few hours. We decided a good way to spend the late afternoon and evening hours was on a drive of the park loop road. Rangers had advised us it takes "an hour... plus however much you want to stop." We figured we could make it in 3 hours.

Our first stop came almost right away.



The stops on the park loop road aren't labeled, per se. Most of them are just... there. You pull over if you see something you like. We liked this view of Bar Harbor. Our hotel isn't in the picture; it's just off the map to the left of the ferry dock in the foreground.

Our next stop came only a mile or two later.



This stop wasn't even marked on the map. It was just a scene we passed while driving that made us say, "Wow, what's that?" Fortunately there was a small pullout with parking for 3-4 cars. According to the topographical map we bought, this big meadow is called, appropriately enough, Big Meadow.

Our third stop, Sand Beach, turned into more than a stop-and-shoot. We'd get our hike on. Continue reading in next entry.

Updated to add: In beginning our visit to Acadia National Park we have ticked another national park off our bucket list. One of our bucket lists is to visit all US national parks. Acadia makes #51 of 62 for us.

Sand Beach

Maine Week Travelog #3
Acadia National Park - Monday, 14 Jun 2021, 6pm.

I presume it was the same, very unoriginal people who named a big meadow "Big Meadow" (see previous blog) that named our next stop along the park loop Sand Beach. It's a... beach... with sand.

We stopped unsure of how long of a trek it would be down to the beach. After all, weren't we up in the mountains? Ah, these coastal Maine mountains are not very big. The beach was only about 30 stair steps down from the parking lot. 😅



While this beach certainly lives up to its name (it's a beach with sand) it doesn't live up to what a lot of people expect from a beach. The weather's cool this afternoon, barely 60F (about 15° C), the water is frigid, and signs warn that strong currents will pull you away from shore if you go in the water. So, it's not a place to swim or sun yourself. But it is nice for photography while keeping one's clothes on... which is all I wanted to do.



We walked the width of the pocket beach. On the far side was an inlet to a pond.



Beyond the pond is The Beehive, a mountain we plan to climb while we're here this week. The views are supposed to be great, and the strenuous trail with rocky stair steps and iron rungs sunken into the stone make it seem exciting.

Speaking of exciting, there's a rocky staircase up & out the far side of the beach....



From down on the beach we could see people high up on the cliff above us. We wondered how they got there. Well, this trail looks like how. Time to go exploring!