Finally – after several years together in New England- we made it up to Acadia National Park. We camped at Mount Desert Island Campground, a private and slightly pricey (but well worth it) campground in Acadia. We had a hike-in campsite – which proved challenging to carry our belongings up the hill through the woods, with a dog, but the privacy and the views were well worth the effort.

Initially, we had made this reservation for the summer, then it was cancelled due to covid, then rebooked – and finally, rescheduled again, as by that point we had adopted our dog, but as dogs are only allowed at this campground during off-peak months. So – September of 2021 – we made it.

A short hike through the woods from our campsite brought us to the “Gathering Place.” Normally when camping, we like our slow mornings and make our own coffee and breakfast, but the Gathering Place had delicious, fresh pastries – something different each morning – and coffee. The prices were reasonable, and like a hotel, they’d add the cost of everything to your “tab,” by campsite number, to pay alongside your reservation total upon checkout. Now that’s some fancy camping.

In the summer, shuttles service both Bar Harbor and many of the popular trails throughout the national park, but during our visit in the off-season (post-summer but pre-fall foliage), we drove where we wished and had no issues with parking. Note: you do need to purchase a pass, which allows you to park wherever in the park. You can do this online in advance, or at the ranger stations in the park.

Our hiking adventures were fun and flexible in Acadia. With the small peaks, most hikes were quick, and we could bounce around and do a couple each day, stopping for excellent seafood around the many restaurants in Bar Harbor especially, but also Northeast and Southwest Harbors. In fact, we’d recommend the latter two areas – the food was just as good, prices were cheaper, and we never had to wait more than a couple minutes for a table. Bar Harbor is definitely worth spending at least one evening, though! The one night we attempted to dine in Bar Harbor had its struggles (definitely plan ahead and make reservations!). We ended up on the patio of a Irish pub that had good beer options and decent food.

For day one, after our hike, we hit up a bar for lunch and to watch Ohio State and Tennessee football games. Unfortunately, both of our teams lost in their final drives, but we made great friends and had a lovely time with tourists and local alike.

You can’t go wrong on any hike in Acadia. We chose Kebo Mountain, Gorham Mountain, Jordan Pond Trail, Flying Mountain, and others I failed to note. All were not too challenging and rewarded us with beautiful views. Jordan Pond is an easy, but quite long, hike around the lake, and we enjoyed that when our knees were tired! Jordan Cafe we missed out on – they shortened hours post-summer and only are open for lunch.

Beehive is a favorite, but not dog-friendly (lots of climbing, ladders, cliffs, etc!)

On our second day, we headed to the west side to Nor’Easter Pound and Market (Northeast Harbor). They have a huge outdoor patio that is dog friendly, and the food was great!

On the third day, after Flying Mountain Trail, as we were already on the west side of Mount Desert Island (Southwest Harbor), we headed to a restaurant called the Upper Deck. It was not dog-friendly, but our dog was exhausted from the hike, and the weather was cool, so she was happier to nap in the car and we were able to keep an eye on her from this casual, bright marina restaurant.

Resources:

To plan our hikes, we visited the Park Visitor Center. The line was quite long (so I hesitate to think what’d it be like in peak season), but it moved fairly quickly. There, we were able to tell the ranger what we were looking for and get some advice on the best moderate-difficulty and dog-friendly hikes. The ranger gave us a map and circled all the hikes we had discussed, which was very helpful!

Lez-Travel Rating:

Three rainbows for Bar Harbor and Acadia. Hopefully it’s fair to speak of the stereotype of my own people: a lot of gay women love dogs, and love hiking. We felt like we were in good company on the hikes and around town. No funny looks, and we saw plenty of other queer folk, among locals and tourists alike.