INFORMATION ON ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

No.  It depends on what time of the year you are there and what time of the day as well.  The best action is as the tide is coming in.  Best time of the year is spring and fall, when the ocean waves are larger and rougher.  And the thunder is really unbelieveable when a large storm comes up along the coastline. 

Drive along the one way section of the Park Loop road, until you pass under a stone bridge.  Continue up around the sharp curve, the roadway will become flat and straight.  Get into the left hand lane, and be closely looking for the entrance on the left hand side of the road, it is very easy to miss.

Most are high up and off the main trails.  One cave, however, is a very short distance from the edge of the road.  Drive from Bear Brook picnic area, past the beaver pond, and park at the large pull over right there on the left hand side of the road as your rounding the corner.  There is a large ledge wall across from the parking area.  Go to the far left, where the ledge comes down to the road level.  There is a dark spot a short ways back in the trees, that is the opening to the cave.  There is a well worn path to the entrance, but rangers are always tossing branches on it so people won't see the path.

Yes and no.  In the national park campground itself, no.  But almost across the road from the entrance to the campground there are coin operated hot showers.

Yes, but with limited items.  It is a small country store with very basic stuff like canned goods, bread, donuts, soda, that sort of stuff.  It is just from you come to the campground entrance.

Moose sightings on Mount Desert Island are also rare, but they do happen.  The majority of moose sightings in Acadia National Park usually take place in the very early dawn, in the marshes in Bass Harbor along route 102.  Other than that, your best bet to see a live Maine moose is at the Trenton Zoo along route 3.

Yes.  There are several packs which make Mount Desert Island their home.  One pack lives high up on Great Hill, a second pack lives out on the Crooked Road, and another pack of coyotes lives out by the marshes over by Wonderland in Seawall.  If your walking out of Wonderland or Ship Harbor at dusk or just after dark and begin to hear strange yipping sounds coming from the nearby woods, that is a pack of coyotes.

Your best chance to see a falcon is at the Precipice trail head parking lot located along the one way section of the Park Loop Road.  Rangers are usually there in the evenings pointing them out as the falcons dive off the high cliffs and streak toward the ground below.  Any Park ranger can tell you when to show up at the parking lot.

If you keep your eyes toward the sky, you can spot an eagle in many different locations, but your best bet might be over the waters of Eagle lake.  

Robinhood Park use to be a horse track and stables that was once located on land where Jackson Labs now sits.  Part of the Bear Brook Picnic area also once made up part of Robinhood Park, and to this day there is a trail connecting Jackson Lab to Bear Brook Picnic area, though it is not a marked trail.

Bar Island in Acadia national Park is so popular because twice a day you can cross over the sand bar to the island, either by car or by foot.  Four hours before low tide and four hours after low tide the sand bar is exposed.  After that, is slowly vanishes until the only way across is to swim or by boat.  So if you don't know when low tide is for the Bar harbor area, find out before heading to Bar Island for some exploring.  To reach the sand bar, at the corner of Main Street and West Street (down by the town pier), go left up West Street, and Bridge Street will be your first street on the right.  Look down the street, if it is low tide, you will see sand at the end of the street.  If it is high tide, you will see just water.

The town did have several wi-fi hot spots, including the Village Green.  This past year a piece of their equipment broke down, and it is very costly to replace, so for now, the town has decided to go without free wi-fi for now.  The COA on Eden street has wi-fi in the Library, and the Jesup Library on Mount Desert street also has free wi-fi service. 

Anemone Cave was abandoned by the park servie years ago, but you can still visit and explore this ancient sea cave today.  As your leaving  Bar Harbor and headed toward Otter Creek, turn onto the Schooner Head Road just before Jackson Labs.  You will come to a four way intersection, turn left into the Schooner Head parking lot. 

There is a path by a sign and fence, follow the path down to the cliffs below.  Where the path meets the cliffs is the roof of the sea cave.  There use to be railings to help you down to the opening of the cave, but the park service removed the railings when they abandoned the sea cave.  Enter cave at low tide.

You can also reach Anemone cave by driving along the park loop road - the one way section, and just as your driving up to the fee station, take that road to the left.  Drive through four way intersection and follow directions to cave above.

Most of the Phantom Trails found within Acadia National Park are actually abandoned trails, or trails the Park Service has closed and no long maintains.  Sometimes these trails are also called Ghost trails because some of them have begun to fade over time.  In recent years more and more hikers, in search of a greater adventure, have begun to seek out and hike these abandoned trails and more and more sites have appeared online showing how to locate these once popular trails.  Many of these abandoned trails once lead to historic sites, such as Anemone Cave, the Bear's Den, the Great Cave and the Hanging Steps.  These sites were once the gems of Acadia national Park but today lie abandoned.

If your a local you already know Compass Harbor has two beaches and is one of the best get aways on a hot summer day, but if your from away you may of never heard of compass Harbor, and for good reason.  The National Park Service doesn't want people to find it.  For this reason it has a very tiny unmarked parking lot with tree's blocking the view of the parking lot itself.  Even the trail leading into the woods is unmarked.  It is very sad since this location holds such historic value for the park as well as for the Island itself.  Old Farm was located here, the site of George B. Dorr's estate, he being the Father of acadia national Park.  Along the trail that does a large loop, you will arrive at what remains of his estate along with a very long set of steps that run through the woods to the ocean.  

To find Compass Harbor, drive along Main Street in Bar Harbor and head toward Otter Creek along route 3.  As you drive long main Street you will pass the YMCA and town ball fields, just before the roadway begins to go uphill look for a tiny unmarked parking lot on the left - that is  the start of the Compass Harbor Trail loop.