INFORMATION ON ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Blackwoods Campground is located on beautiful Mount Desert Island, in the heart of Acadia National Park, and provides a year round camping experience in a forested setting.  The campground has about 306 sites.  Privately operated coin showers are available across the roadway from the campground, and there are no hookups or utilities at the campground itself, though you can use the wall outlets in the restrooms to charge small devices like cell phones.  The free Island Explorer Buses arrive and depart from the campground on a regular basis throughout the day and evenings.  Cadillac Mountain is North of the north and the popular Cadillac South Ridge Trail begins across the road from the campground.  There is also a short path along the service road which leads directly to the ocean.

From May 1st through October 31, you will need to have a reservation.  You can call Blackwoods Campground at 1-800-365-2267 (International: 518-885-3639) to make a reservation.  Campsites are limited to one vehicle per campsite - other vehicles must be parked at a common parking area.  There is a privately run camp store right around the corner from the campground.

 Blackwoods Campground is located in the small village of Otter Creek along route 3.  It is the more popular of the three campgrounds that Acadia National Park operates on Mount Desert Island.  The town of Bar Harbor, with its many shops and dining places, lies just a short drive away.

FEE'S AND RESERVATIONS

Blackwoods    -----------------------------------------$20 night

For reservations call-----------------------------------877-444-6777

RECREATION.GOV

TTY
(207) 288-8800

Fax

(207) 288-8813

Write to

Acadia National Park
P.O. Box 177
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

 Blackwoods Campground Entrance Station GPS
     Latitude 44.310204; Longitude - 68.204045

Seawall campground in Acadia national Park is in a nicely wooded setting, and is open late May through September 31 of each year.  One major change is that all sites are now by reservation only beginning with the 2012 season.  The popular Seawall Picnic area with sweeping ocean views is just a ten minute walk away, directly across the road from the campground.  The campground is about 4 miles south of Southwest Harbor, along route 102A, in the village of Seawall, Maine, on Mount Desert Island.  Coin showers and a camping supply store are within a short walk away.  The free Island Explorer Buses arrive and depart from here throughout the day and evening, providing air conditioned bus runs to nearby sections of the National Park and villages as well as into Bar harbor, Maine.  A short distance to the southwest is the Wonderland trail and the Ship Harbor trail.

Just prior to the entrance to Seawall Campground  there is a naturally formed seawall in Acadia National Park, which offers breathtaking ocean views.  The rocks here are usually lined with park visitors taking photos of the crashing waves.

 FEE'S AND RESERVATIONS

For reservations to Seawall Campground call  1-877-444-6777

RECREATION.GOV

Fro questions call   207-244-3600

 Seawall Campground Entrance Station GPS:
     Latitude 44.240444; Longitude -68.304272

WildwoodStables Campground is located in a beautiful wooded setting in Acadia National Park, a very short distance from The Jordan Pond House, and just beyond the Jordan Pond Gate House along the Park Loop Road.  You must be bring horses into the National Park with you to stay at the campground, and space is limited to only ten sites.  Tents and RV's are allowed.  They also provide a stable service as well for a fee.  Wildwood Stables also offers all park visitors the chance to ride along its breathtaking carriage roads in a horse drawn carriage.  There are many carriage roads as well as nearby hiking trails, including the popular Jordan pond Shore trail.  

For fee's and reservations to Wildwood Stable Campground call

Phone : 1-800-345-4617 or 207-288-5103 OR (877) 276-3622
Fax : 1-207-667-9080

 RECREATION.GOV

CAMPSITES  -  $15 PER NIGHT

HORSE STALLS  -  $25

 Wildwood Stables GPS:

Latitude 44.314663; Longtitude -68.236661

Mailing Address :
PO Box 158
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Enjoy this video I shot of the carriage roads in Acadia National Park. There are over 27 miles of trails just like this, where you can ride a bike, jog, walk, or ride a horse. Horses can be rented at Wildwood stables inside the national park. As you can see from just the short video I shot, you will  want to take along a camera or two. The surface of these carriage roads are hard and smooth and you can really pick up some speed, so ride with care unless you want to end up taking a free trip on a life-flight helicopter. As the video shows, you will come to sign posts at every intersection that will direct you where each section leads and how long each section is. And as you ride, you will pass over and under stone bridges, pass by ponds and lakes, as well as pass through woods and valleys. Feel free to download a copy of the video as well.

CARRIAGE ROADS OF ACADIA

This was one of the coolest videos we have done.  Beginning on the Park loop road, one way section, we shoot video of the Bear Brook Picnic area, than scan the camera out across the beaver pond, then we take you to an actual bear cave, before scanning out across a vista for stunning ocean views. 

We then continue on to the Precipice for more stunning video, before continueing onto the Bee Hive.  We end at Sand Beach, with a moon rising up over the ocean as waves crash onto the beach.  View the video at the link for free, and feel free to download it as well.

VIEW SIX SIGHTS IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

There are so many things to see and on on a visit to Acadia National Park that you can become bogged down just trying to figure out where to begin your vacation.  Here are just a few of the more popular stopping places within the National Park you will want to check out.

THUNDER HOLE draws huge crowds in the summertime when the tourist season is at it's peak, yet many never get to experience the loud booming thunder that THUNDER HOLE has become famous for.   The link at the bottom of this section will take you to my article that tells you the right time to be at THUNDER HOLE to fully experience it. 

ECHO LAKE.  Echo Lake is located in Southwest Harbor, inside Acadia national park.    It is one of the few swimming places on Mount Desert Island that offers visitors to the National Park warm water swimming.   ECHO LAKE  is close to the Acadia Mountain hiking trail as well as Smugglers Den Campground.  The free Island Explorer Buses make regular stops at Echo Lake throughout the day and evening. 

 WONDERLAND.  Wonderland is not on everyone's radar screen, but no visit to Acadia National Park would be complete without a stop at this nature trail on Mount Desert Island.  The trail is fairly flat and follows an old fire road, coming out at a beach with views of Gott Island.   There are also some nice tide pools here as well that children would have fun exploring in search of sea life and shells.  The link below takes you to my article on wonderland which goes into more detail.

 BASS HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE.  The lighthouse is so popular is has become a setting for art lessons and the Kodak Company gives photography lessons there as well on taking great sunset photos within Acadia National Park.  BASS HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE is located in the town of Bass Harbor, Maine off  102A on the Lighthouse Road.    I have heard from many summer tourists whose vacation ended on a sour note because they could not locate the lighthouse.  The road to the lighthouse can be hard to find in part because it is located on a very sharp curve.  To find the lighthouse road, look for The  Bass Harbor Campground along 102A and turn onto the narrow road right at the sharp curve in the roadway.

 SAND BEACH.  By far SAND BEACH in ACADIA NATIONAL PARK is the top place on everyone's list of things to do when  on Mount Desert Island.   SAND BEACH is located along the one way section of the Park Loop Road which winds its way along the ocean side and can also be reached by the Schooner Head road just outside of downtown Bar harbor along route 3.  .  It is just beyond the National Park entrance fee station, and a short distance away from SAND BEACH is THUNDER HOLE and THE BEEHIVE.  The free Island Explorer Buses make runs throughout the day and evening throughout this entire area of the national Park.

 OCEAN DRIVE.  Some maps call this OCEAN DRIVE while other maps call it THE PARK LOOP ROAD.    There are scenic pull overs that offer some great views of the ocean, and my article at the link below tells of the many areas within the park you can access and explore as you drive along the LOOP ROAD in Acadia National Park.  Many of the popular hiking trails like Cadillac Mountain North  Ridge trail, The gorge Trail, Kebo Mountain Trail, The Jesup Meadow Trail, Champlain North Ridge Trail and many other hiking trails here on Mount desert Island  are all located along the one way section of the Park Loop road. 

 THE PRECIPICE.  Many are drawn to THE PRECIPICE trail, which is actually a technical climb that should be attempted by experienced climbers, as signs along the way warn.  And some fall to their death there as well.    But in recent years THE PRECIPICE has become better known for another reason, it's sheer cliffs have become home to endangered peregrine falcons.  During the daytime, Acadia National Park rangers can be seen in the parking lot explaining about the endangered falcons and pointing out the birds to tourists. The show these falcons put on help draw large crowds to mount Desert Island in the summer time, just to catch a sight of these rare birds. 

The Precipice is also home to two trails, and even though those two trails have been abandoned by the Park Service, people still seek them out and climb them.  Perhaps the most famous of the two trails is the Great Cave trail - if you Google it, you can find information and photos on it along with some of its history.  The other abandoned trail on the Precipice is the Hanging Steps Trail and you can do a online search on that trail as well.

JORDAN POND TEA HOUSE.  The entire JORDAN POND AREA is very popular in the summer months, and it is not only the famous JORDAN POND TEA HOUSE that draws in the crowds to this area of Acadia National Park, the area here is rich with many hiking trails as well as carriage roads.  .  The Tea House offers stunning views of Jordan Pond and THE BUBBLES, but behind the Tea House are over 40 miles of connecting carriage roads to bike and hike, along with many connecting hiking trails.  Across the roadway is the JORDAN POND GATEHOUSE, a historic building you will want to get photos of.  And a little further down the road is the WILDWOOD HORSE STABLES where you can rent horses for the day or take a guided horse drawn carriage ride along the scenic carriage roads.  You could spend an entire week in the JORDAN POND AREA of Mount Desert Island  and not see everything.

BEAR BROOK PICNIC AREA.  Want to get away from all the crowds and just spend a few hours in the quiet of Acadia National Park?  If you answered yes, than the BEAR BROOK PICNIC AREA is where you want to go.  Why would a picnic area inside the National park be a quiet place?  The answer is an easy one, it is poorly marked, with one small sign telling you where it is, and just as you see the sing, you have shot right past the blind entrance to the picnic area.  Another reason many never find it is just as you see the small sign, the BEAVER POND with breathtaking views of Champlain Mountain open up to you, so it is little wonder few ever find this part of Mount Desert Island.   

THE CARRIAGE ROADS.  There are many very popular starting points to access the more than 40 miles of inter connecting carriage roads.  One is at DUCK BROOK BRIDGE along the duck Brook road, many maps also call this road the Mills road or the New Eagle Lake Road, why I have no idea.  From Duck Brook Bridge you have easy access to Witch Hole Pond, the Breakneck Ponds, Eagle Lake, and the Hulls Cove Visitor's Center.  At the marshes along the way wild ducks and other wildlife can be spotted, usually at dawn or dusk.  

Eagle Lake Parking lot is another popular starting point for the carriage roads and there are bathrooms there.  From Eagle Lake you can access Aunt Betty's Pond, The Bubbles, Jordan Pond, or Witch Hole Pond.  A popular bike ride is to take the Aunt Betty Pond carriage road and follow it until you come to the Hadlock Lake parking lot, then follow the main road from there going left until you come to the beautiful village of Northeast Harbor.  

In fact, at any point you get tired of bike riding, simply flag down any one of the more than 30 free Island Explorer buses that service the entire island.  You can also travel to most of the island villages and take your bike along on the front or rear of the buses and get dropped off in any of the villages to explore by bike.

Check out the link below, if you want to find out more information on any of the places I covered above.

TEN THINGS TO DO IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Located between downtown Bar harbor and Eagle Lake, along route 233, the KEBO GOLF COURSE  can not be beat for it's outstanding course with mountain views.  More then a few Hollywood stars  have traveled here and taken to the greens and it was a hit with President Obama when him and his family vacationed here.  .  call 288-5000

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

When  Laura Bush  traveled to the National Park for a tour of Acadia, she chose The Chart Room to eat, with it's breathtaking ocean dining.  It is located in Hull's cove, on route 3.

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"THE THIRSTY WHALE"  is the place where the locals go for a meal and brew.  It is located on Cottage street

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