SHORE EXCURSIONS

Behold the natural beauty of Acadia National Park from atop Cadillac Mountain and the elegance of northern New England’s grandest Gilded Age mansion. Being the highest peak on the eastern shore of North America, Cadillac Mountain offers spectacular views of Bar Harbour and the islands just offshore. Tectonic and volcanic activity formed the mountain eons ago and until receding glaciers sheared off its top it was much higher. While taking in the panoramic views, you will learn about the area’s history and some of the most influential people that lived in Bar Harbour. Financier George Sullivan Bowdoin was among them and his 1903 La Rochelle is an extraordinary example of the opulence of the time. The 35-room residence sprawls over 13,000 square feet and features a grand wishbone staircase, intricate crown moldings and period furnishings. Your guided tour includes the rare privilege of viewing the third-floor servant quarters, followed by free time to explore further.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Follow a scenic road up Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on North America’s east coast.
• Spend time exploring the summit and enjoying panoramic views of Bar Harbour and the islands.
• Tour the finest Gilded Age mansion in northern New England and explore it further on your own.
• Get a glimpse into the lifestyle of Bar Harbour’s ultra-wealthy, early 20th-century residents.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

This terrific tour combines the highlights of the Acadia National Park tour with a true "Downeast" lobster bake.

Starting off from the pier, your journey takes you to Acadia National Park, first passing through the quaint town of Bar Harbor to view some of the charming Victorian mansions built by America's rich and famous at the turn of the 20th century. Upon arrival at the Park, you will proceed along the 27-mile Park Loop Road taking in spectacular coastal, mountain and forest views.

Next, you will travel along the ocean's edge, passing Sand Beach, Schooner Head Overlook, and the High Seas Estate, a beautiful mansion built by a wealthy gentleman whose wife perished on the Titanic before ever stepping foot in her dream home.

Continuing on, you'll pass Thunder Hole (if there is parking available, you will make a brief stop here), the Otter Cliffs and the Jordan Pond House as you make your way to a scenic setting where the delicious treat of a true "Downeast" lobster bake awaits you. Pulled fresh from ocean water, you will enjoy typical Maine lobster drizzled with butter along with all the trimmings. For dessert, you won't want to miss one of Maine's local favorites, a mouth-watering piece of homemade blueberry pie. (Steak is available upon request for non-lobster eaters. Please advise your guide just before the tour departs).

At the conclusion of lunch, you will rejoin your coach and make the trip back to the pier in Bar Harbor.

Settle in for an immensely scenic drive along the 27-mile road that loops through Acadia National Park and stop along the way for photos at the most dramatic viewpoints. Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect that famously designed New York’s Central Park, designed the loop road. Although construction began in 1922, the mostly coastal road wasn’t completed for more than three decades. As you will see firsthand, it was well worth the effort. Depending on the conditions and time of day, you may stop at precipitous Otter Cliff, the Sieur de Monts Spring or Thunder Hole, a small inlet carved out of the granite rocks. If the tidal conditions are just right, the water will rush into the cavern below and violently spew out high into the air with a thunderous roar. Enlightening commentary will enhance your understanding of this first national park created east of the Mississippi River.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Follow the gorgeous 27-mile roadway that loops through Acadia National Park.
• Pass secluded beaches, panoramic overlooks and historical homes within the park.
• Stop for photos at a dramatic overlook such as Thunder Hole.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

Enjoy a leisurely drive on the gorgeous 27-mile road that winds through Acadia National Park and observe some of the most extraordinary offshore marine life in the Mount Desert Oceanarium. On the way to the park, you will travel through Bar’s Harbor’s meticulously preserved historic district, a setting that showcases the grandeur of Gilded Age architecture. While following the park’s winding loop road, you will come across scenic highlights such as Otter Cliff, the spewing blowholes at Thunder Hole, the only stretch of sand on the park’s rocky coast and the Bubbles, two rounded mountains that retreating glaciers shaped during the last Ice Age. You will delve even deeper into the natural world at the oceanarium, where a marine biologist guide may show you rare blue Maine lobsters, green crabs and sea cucumbers. A juvenile humpback whale skeleton can be seen in an outbuilding that was once a lobster hatchery.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Follow the gorgeous 27-mile roadway that loops through Acadia National Park.
• View some of the unusual local marine life at the Mount Desert Oceanarium.
• Admire the Gilded Age architecture in Bar Harbor’s historic district.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

OVERVIEW

Follow a circuitous road through Mount Desert Island and stop along the way at breathtaking spots that inspired some of America’s most gifted 19th-century landscape painters. The road winds through stunningly beautiful Acadia National Park, which adherents of the Hudson River School art movement painted in a style that Romanticism heavily influenced. Acclaimed artists such as Thomas Cole, Thomas Moran and Frederic Edwin Church were all captivated by the natural wonders, which look much the same today as they did in their time. You will pause at Sieur de Monts Spring, the overlook at dramatic Schooner Head and at serene Jordan Pond, a sheltered glassy lake that ancient glaciers carved out of the landscape. You will also drop by precipitous Otter Cliff and Otter Cove, which offers sweeping views of the sea and inland. At each stop, the guide will provide entertaining anecdotes about the artists that captured these majestic landscapes on canvas.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Drive along the spectacularly scenic Park Loop Road that winds through Acadia National Park.
• Pause at naturally beautiful spots that inspired some of America’s greatest landscape painters.
• Stop at coastal viewpoints, an inland lake and precipitous seaside cliffs.
• Hear enlightening commentary about the artists that painted Mount Desert Island.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

OVERVIEW

See how Bar Harbor has changed over time by visiting key landmarks that tell the story, beginning with the Bar Harbor Historical Society. While browsing the intriguing exhibits, you will gain an understanding of the indigenous Wabanaki people, the fabulously rich who built Gilded Age mansions in the late 1880s and how the Fire of 1947 – which burned for nearly a month, often out of control – instigated the rebuilding of the city that stands today. To add texture to the story, you will also see some of the historical buildings that reflect different architectural trends, including the Art Deco-designed Criterion Theatre, the Victorian-style Shore Path Cottage and St. Saviour’s, a 19th-century American Shingle-style church that boasts the largest number of Tiffany stained-glass windows in Maine. Urban oases such as the Village Green and seaside Agamont Park have also been prominent elements in Bar Harbor’s layout, which pays homage to the past while embracing the future.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Visit landmarks that show how Bar Harbor has evolved over the centuries.
• Delve into Bar Harbor’s fascinating past by browsing the historical society’s museum.
• Recognize how the architectural trends have changed since the opulent Gilded Age.
• See greenspaces that have played important roles in Bar Harbor’s history.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

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.

Snap selfies at the most photogenic spots in and around Bar Harbor, many of them iconic attractions that define the city. To ensure the best possible results, a selfie expert guide will offer tips so you can capture just the right angle, lighting and composition for every shot. Your pictures will be ideal for posting on social media and sharing in other ways.

As you walk and ride through Bar Harbor, you will pause at designated selfie stops that include:
• La Rochelle mansion
• Otter Cliff.
• Somes Sound
• Bar Island
• Village Green

HIGHLIGHTS

• Take inspiring selfies at the most photogenic attractions in Bar Harbor.
• Follow tips from your selfie expert guide to ensure the very best pictures.
• Learn the historical significance of the locales while enjoying their dramatic settings.
• Pose at Somes Sound, a deep waterway that an ancient receding glacier created.
• Stand before precipitous Otter Cliff, a dramatic vertical wall of granite along the sea.
• Walk along the scenic Shore Path that hugs the rocky coastline.

HELPFUL HINTS

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

Drive the serpentine road that leads to the top of Cadillac Mountain and enjoy free time at the summit to take in the panoramic views. The mountain is the highest peak along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place in the United States to see the sunrise from early October through early March. Its indigenous name – Wapuwoc – translates to “white mountain of the first light,” a reference to that distinction. As you ascend the mountain, the natural beauty of Acadia National Park will unfold. You will gaze out over pink granite cliffs and spruce woodlands. The higher you go the more spectacular the views, especially on a clear day. While walking about the summit, you will look out over Bar Harbour, the Porcupine Islands and Schoodic Peninsula. There is no better vantage point on Mount Desert Island. Later, you will enjoy magnificent views of the Victorian cottages and the Village Green in downtown Bar Harbor.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Follow a scenic road up Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on North America’s east coast.
• Spend time exploring the summit and enjoying panoramic views of Bar Harbour and the islands.
• See some of Bar Harbour’s most historical landmarks while driving through town.

HELPFUL HINTS

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