For most visitors interested in the outdoors, Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island is the top destination. It has more than 50 miles of groomed gravel carriage roads, where motorized traffic is banned. Nearly 120 miles of hiking trails traverse seven major barren mountaintops. There is much to see and do here, and plenty of places to explore. The island's many lakes invite paddlers and swimmers of all skill levels. Pocket cobblestone beaches in hidden coves await discovery by those who wish to avoid the crowds at Sand Beach. With thousands of motel rooms, a similar quantity of campsites, and plenty of private cottages and cabins to rent, Mount Desert Island easily accommodates the throngs of visitors, although traffic can get heavy in late July and in August. Towns surrounding Acadia brim with galleries and shops offering interesting wares from around the world. Bar Harbor alone boasts more than 100 restaurants. While many come back year after year to stroll Bar Harbor's shore path, gazing out at some of the more than 40 ocean liners that visit each year, others prefer to visit more traditional fishing villages such as Bass Harbor. Elsewhere along the coast in Hancock and Washington Counties you'll find picturesque fishing villages. To the west sits Castine, home to the Maine Maritime Academy and several historic sites. Just south is Deer Isle and Stonington, both home to busy commercial harbors bustling with lobster and fishing boats. Here, more and more galleries are tucked into the weathered buildings every year. Ellsworth is a major commercial center. Still, just a few miles from the inviting Main Street area of downtown, the waters of Green, Graham and Branch Lakes are popular recreational destinations. One of the undiscovered gems of this region is Schoodic Point, near Winter Harbor. Schoodic is part of Acadia National Park, and offers spectacular scenery and rough surf crashing into rocks on stormy days. Here is the most detailed guide to this unforgettable region of Maine. It is loaded with maps and color photographs as well.
