Clearly the word knows that Bar Harbor is a special place! Tourists swarm here from all over the…read morecountry every year. As a born and raised Mainah I do love visiting Bar Harbor too. It has that coastal charm and more seafood and ice cream shops than you can count. Thankfully when my wife and I visit we have family that live within walking distance of downtown so we can enjoy it with minimal complaints. We do love visiting before the craziness of summer happens or end of the tourist season in fall to have a little less crowding. Due to the nature of being a tourist town a lot of businesses are seasonal. I would be leaving out a huge part of Bar Harbor if I didn't mention Acadia National Park! A truly magical place to enjoy nature, an absolute must visit. Some of the areas like Cadillac Mountain may require some more planning with a reservation but book that in advance. Like any tourist town you'll find plenty of gift shops and touristy restaurants. Lots of seafood based as you'd expect but plenty of other varieties too. A downtown worth exploring and you can even visit the original Sherman's Books location as the oldest Maine Bookstore! A special town worth visiting with a coastal charm and beautiful beaches, hiking trails, and nature views!

On the outskirts of Acadia National Park it's a perfect home base. Plenty of touristy places…read moredowntown. A few decent Irish pubs but amazing oysters at The Barnacle with great Maine beers. Wonderful views of the ocean and coast. The best lobster shacks were on the outskirts of town. Loved our stay , but too many dam people downtown. 4.5 Stars

This is a tiny town center however it is very nice and relaxing. There are a number of great food…read moreplaces. This spot is for foodies. There is a well stocked hardware store. You will also find a few store for clothing/souvenirs. Parking is available free for two hours curbside and in a lot behind the hardware store. There is a common area to sit outside. Beat the other well known city in the area!

Beautiful quaint library. Could spend all day reading here. A highlight of our visit to Bar Harbor.read more

This is such a lovely little local library but a few things are lacking; public parking and more…read moreelectrical outlets so that people can plug in their laptops if they need to work, which I did. The librarians were super nice and made sure I was comfortable and had access to an outlet, this is a gorgeous old-school library with antique wood panelling and study desks upstairs which look out over the library. I hope the citizens of Bar Harbor can keep this place going because you just don't see these kinds of old heritage libraries around anymore and from what I understand, this place runs on donations. They also badly need to update their electronic collections and access to databases and such. Other than that, it was a wonderful place to spend an hour away from the maddening crowds and get some work done.

This was the first of three lighthouse we visited while staying in Camden and this one is probably…read moremy favorite of the three. It's unique in layout and they had a really cute gift shop off to the side. I love the short walk from the parking lot, location, and stairs. It's in the charming Owl's Head town and the drive in was beautiful. Definitely a place to visit if you are nearby and love lighthouses. Worth the effort and you can explore some of the small local towns and have lunch.

I did not see any owls at this state park, and I would think that the windy bluffs are not the spot…read morewhere you'd find one as they seem to prefer quiet areas. However, the views are majestic and entrance is free. There are ways to walk down to the beach, which is rocky as is typical in the region. The lighthouse itself is not regularly open for visitation, but there is a visitor center below it. The amount of trails and things to do is not enormous, but it is a great place to have open to the public to take as a sightseeing endeavor.

First time visiting this library in a few years, in the past I have come here a couple times during…read morethe book sales they have I believe yearly. You can certainly get some amazing deals on books, highly recommend checking that out some year for sure. This visit my wife and I just browsed the lower floor and it's a very vast selection of well cared for books. They had plenty of non-book offerings as well including a unique section I haven't seen at other libraries. They had a section of these kits (Discovery Kits according to their website) offering a variety of books and activity based things for kids. A cool unique offering that I am sure is a hit. Lastly they often to seem to have events which during our visit they had something going on with The Declaration of Independence. Did not partake but awesome to see them offering it and other events. Great example of what a Public Library can and should be!

This is worth a stop. Go to the 3rd floor where the historical society is. It is a beautiful space…read morethat overlooks the harbor. Library also has info about local events you might want to catch.

We came here to visit the national park, as the service center in the park hasn't opened yet, we…read morecame over here to get the map of Acadia National Park. When i walk in, the lady direct me to the map immediately! It's a breeze! I feel fortunate that we can pick up a map before we get into the park.

Breakwater and Marie Reed Park was the absolute perfect place to spend an end of summer Saturday…read moremorning. Just want to say from my experience I highly recommend grabbing some donuts from local Ruckus Donuts and a coffee from a local cafe and enjoying those down here at Marie Reed Park. After that enjoy the sights and make the trek to Breakwater! Parking is simple enough but due to how busy it may get do arrive earlier rather than later. It's a longer trip out to this lighthouse than most you'll come across but that trip is so worth it. Some advice would be to wear appropriate shoes and just be mindful of your steps to avoid cracks and/or tripping. During our walk out and back we spent a good amount of time taking in the views as well as watching for wildlife. Got to watch plenty of seagulls as well as cormorants which the first cormorant we spotted dove down and came back to surface with a fish. It's a little bit of a journey but well worth the effort if you love beautiful views and being by the ocean!

I'm so glad we did this, but it was challenging with our two-year old…read more There are signs warning you that this is not suitable for those with disabilities and that there are uneven rocks and large gaps while walking so you need to be careful. My toddler had a good time playing and exploring but, we ended up carrying her for most of it and it gets pretty windy which she didn't like. It's a unique walk/trail to the light at the end of the breakwater and walking about .7 miles or so on those large slabs of uneven granite was a very cool experience with the water lapping at each side and occasionally splashing. I'm glad we did it - but, be prepared for a bit of a workout.

Epic Rail 2.2-mile…read moreone-way trail on a former railroad bed. The Good: *Free parking in a dirt lot *Port-o-potty in the aforementioned lot *Crushed gravel trail that's pretty flat all throughout *Great views of the Passagassawakeag River The Meh: *Not a loop trail The Ugly: *Pretty much always near a road, so it's hard to get a sense of being in nature when you're always hearing traffic. Conclusion: Great place for a nice, easy hike and some great views.