Victorian Villages of Mount Desert Island

Admire the natural beauty and charming villages along the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island, which French explorer Samuel de Champlain named for its bare mountains. Not far out of Bar Harbor, you will enter Acadia National Park, the first national park created east of the Mississippi River. Be sure to look for birds along the way, as species ranging from bald eagles to scarlet tanagers live here. Ahead lie the palatial summer residences of Seal Harbor, the so-called “cottages” owned by the immensely wealthy. Northeast Harbor is another destination that is picture-perfect, especially with its many sailboats, yachts and lobster boats. You will be treated to a different waterfront perspective as you drive along Somes Sound, a deep lengthy waterway that an ancient glacier carved out of the landscape. Although not technically a fjord because its topography isn’t extremely vertical, the sound resembles the fjords commonly seen in Norway.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Behold the quaint villages on the island’s “quiet side.”
• See lavish summer “cottages” once owned by the likes of John D. Rockefeller.
• Look for wildlife in Acadia National Park.
• Drive along a sound that resembles a Norwegian fjord.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.