6 Best Things to Do in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

dog in front of lighthouse, boardwalk through fall foliage trees, man eating lobster roll

There are so many great things to do in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor itself has many great restaurants and shops, while Acadia is full of hikes and outdoor activities. Acadia National Park is also one of the most dog-friendly national parks in the US, meaning your favorite four-legged friends can join you for some (or even most!) of your adventures.

The other great thing about Acadia National Park is that, because it weaves in and out of towns, including the town of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, you can spend your morning hiking, then grab lunch (lobster roll, anyone?), before hitting the trails again in the afternoon.

Below is a map from the National Park Service of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island (MDI). This is where you’ll find the majority of the best things to do in Acadia, plus you’ll have easy access to Bar Harbor on the east side of MDI. (In the map below, Bar Harbor is highlighted in yellow.)

Our recommendation is to take advantage of the proximity to Bar Harbor from Acadia National Park and weave in and out of both during your trip! You can hike, bike, or drive through Acadia National Park in the morning, then spend the afternoon exploring the town of Bar Harbor (or vice versa).

To give you a starting point as you plan, here’s our pick for 6 must-do things to do in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park!

We spent three weeks in Maine during our 2022 Travel Season: a 5-month road trip through Ontario & New England.

For our visits to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, we were staying in Ellsworth (about 40 minutes from Bar Harbor). Ellsworth was great and has a nice downtown, but if you’re only visiting for a long weekend or week-long vacation, we recommend staying on Mount Desert Island, as close to Bar Harbor or Acadia National Park as possible. This will give you more time to explore and make it easier to enjoy multiple hikes in one day.

Want to beat the crowds? Like most places, it’s best to explore mid-week, early in the morning, or late afternoon/early evening if you’re looking to beat the crowds. If that’s not possible, but you still really want to find solitude in Acadia National Park, you may want to choose some of the still-amazing-but-less-popular activities, such as the Beech Cliff Ladder Trail, trails on the Schoodic Peninsula, or hike to Eagle Lake.

Below you’ll find our pick for 6 of the best things to do in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

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1. Drive Park Loop Road

Our favorite thing to do when first arriving at a new national park is to drive as much of its scenic drive as possible. For Acadia National Park, that means driving the Park Loop Road and stopping at various overlooks along the way.

Park Loop Road is a 27-mile drive through Acadia National Park and is a beautifully scenic trip around the east side of Mount Desert Island. Along this drive, you’ll be able to see and access many of the most popular attractions in Acadia National Park, including Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Otter Point, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Mountain. (You’ll have easy access to the Beehive Ladder Trail.)

To start driving the Park Loop Road, begin at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center and follow the signs.

RTL Tip: Hulls Cove is both the start and end of Park Loop Road if you’re driving into Mount Desert Island from the Ellsworth area. If the timing is right, you may be able to catch a beautiful sunset along Hulls Cove on your way back to your rental!

Dog-Friendly? Yes… especially if you park and hop out of your car at dog-friendly attractions, such as Sand Beach (during the off-season), Thunder Hole, and Otter Point. You can also walk the 4.5-mile round trip ‘Ocean Path Trail’ which connects all three of these attractions and is dog-friendly. The Jordan Pond Path, a 3.1-mile loop, is also dog-friendly.

2. Explore Downtown Bar Harbor

There’s so much to do in downtown Bar Harbor! Eat, shop, and even stroll across the Mount Desert Narrows to Bar Island if you’re visiting around low tide.

Here are a few things to consider doing and exploring in and near Bar Harbor:
- Have brunch at Cafe This Way (the outdoor patio is dog-friendly)
- Grab a drink on the lawn of Ivy Manor Inn (the lawn is dog-friendly)
- Spend an afternoon at Fogtown Brewery Bar Harbor
- Eat lobster at Bar Harbor Lobster Co. (the outdoor patio is dog-friendly)
- Shop along Bar Harbor Main Street (many stores along Main Street are dog-friendly, just ask!)
- During low tide, walk across the Bar Island Land Bridge to visit Bar Island (part of Acadia National Park, dog-friendly)

Dog-Friendly? Yes, many of the shops and restaurants in Bar Harbor are dog-friendly. Just know that, especially during peak season in the summer and fall, Bar Harbor will be busy with lots of other people and dogs.

town of Bar Harbor surrounded by fall trees — View looking towards downtown Bar Harbor from Bar Island

3. Hike in Acadia National Park

There are so many things to love about hiking in Acadia National Park, including how many short, gorgeous hikes you can find and how many are dog-friendly! This is great if you have a four-legged family member with you or you just want to enjoy as many hikes as possible during your trip.

Since most hikes in Acadia National Park are less than 5 miles (with the majority of the most popular hikes falling in the 1-3 mile range), you can double, triple, or even quadruple up your hikes and tackle multiple in one day.

This makes hiking one of the absolute best things to do in Acadia National Park. Plus, it’s truly gorgeous with many fun, unique hikes!

Here are 3 of our favorite hikes in Acadia National Park:

— The Precipice Trail: This one was both Jon's and my favorite hike of our trip. You feel like a kid again as you climb a mountain using iron rungs and ladders while taking in the most gorgeous views of Mount Desert Narrows. This is the most fun hike in Acadia National Park, but heads up: it’s also the scariest as you’re walking along sections with steep cliffs.

— Gorham Mountain Loop (at sunrise): We’ll share more about this incredible sunrise hike below. HIGHLY recommend waking up early for this one!

— Jordan Pond Loop: This is one of the most popular trails in Acadia National Park and for good reason: it’s a gorgeous 3.1-mile loop around Jordan Pond, with half of that trek taking place on a wooden boardwalk through the woods. It’s unique, mostly flat, and incredibly scenic!

Three hikes won’t do Acadia National Park full justice though. So if you have more time to explore on foot, make sure to read this post on the 10 best hikes in Acadia National Park.

RTL Tip: Want to tackle multiple hikes and gorgeous sights in one day? Check out our post with 5 ready-made road trips through Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We’ve done the work for you to know which hikes you can easily double or triple up!

Dog-Friendly? Many hikes in Acadia National Park are dog-friendly. That said, the popular ladder hikes will not be dog-friendly. Our favorite dog-friendly hikes include Jordan Pond, Jesup Path, and the Gorham Mountain Loop to Ocean Path. Since we were visiting in October, Lincoln also really loved Sand Beach (which is the start of both the Ocean Path and the Great Head Trail).

Note: Dogs are not allowed on Sand Beach from June 15th-September 8th. Click here for more information on dog-friendly areas in Acadia National Park.

4. Bike the Carriage Roads

One of the best, most unique things to do in Acadia National Park is bike along 45 miles of carriage roads. The carriage roads are closed to motor vehicles and used instead by bicyclists, hikers, and horse-drawn carriages. Check out the map below, courtesy of the National Park Service, for carriage road loops you might like to explore.

In full transparency, we didn’t bike the carriage roads in Acadia National Park and so don’t have any favorites to share with you. But we still wanted to include the carriage roads when sharing the best things to do in Acadia National Park because they are such a unique, gorgeous way to explore.

Plus, one of the things we love to do while traveling is to ask locals for their recommendations, and biking the carriage roads was shared with us as a local top thing to do… and the activity some would pick if they could only pick one thing!

If we’re able to revisit Acadia National Park in the future, I’d make sure we take a day to bike the carriage roads, renting bikes from somewhere like Acadia Bikes.

Dog-friendly? Yes. Pets are permitted on carriage roads.

5. Catch the First* Sunrise in the US

Another unique thing to do in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park is to catch the first sunrise in the US.

While catching the first sunrise is only technically accurate from roughly early October through March, catching the sunrise at spots like Cadillac Mountain or Gorham Mountain is one of the most beautiful things to do in Maine no matter the time of year. It’s worth the early wake-up call at least once during your trip!

Our favorite spot to watch the sunrise was Gorham Mountain. And this was actually a recommendation passed along by my sister who spent a month in Maine the year prior.

RTL Tip (courtesy of my sister): It only takes about 20 minutes to get to a great sunrise spot on Gorham, so start your trek about 30 minutes before sunrise. About 20 minutes into your ascent, you’ll come upon a few great spots to watch sunrise (and you should have plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the view in solitude). While you can walk to the highest point of the trail (about 25 minutes into your hike), we preferred the spot just before it. If you’re visiting during the fall, the spot just before the mountain peak was especially great for enjoying the foliage below!

Dog-friendly? Yes!

6. Enjoy a Lobster Roll (or Four)

We spent three weeks in Ellsworth, Maine with two main goals in mind: explore Acadia National Park and eat as many lobster rolls as possible.

Here’s a quick recap of a few different spots we tried:

C-Rays: Good bread, lots of butter, delicious lobster, clam chowder had smaller clams (con) but was creamy (pro), $30

Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound: The bread fell apart (con), but the lobster itself was better than C-Rays (pro), the clam chowder included whole clams (pro) but with a more watery base (con), $27

Seaside Lobster and Dairy Bar: We didn’t get a lobster roll from here (I’m shocked to report that Jon’s exact words were “I’ve had enough lobster for now”), but he did have the clam chowder, and I have to include it on this list because it was his favorite yet. Creamy base (pro) and small clams (con) but his s0-far winner for clam chowder. This is a great spot for the day you’re exploring the Southwest Harbor and Bass Harbor.

Bar Harbor Lobster Company: The clam chowder had mostly small clams with some bigger pieces (pro) and a creamy base (pro)… and it took the lead from Seaside. The roll from Bar Harbor Lobster Company came cold and while the lobster was good (pro) and the bread didn’t fall apart (pro), our preference is a hot lobster roll, so this one wasn’t a favorite. $31

The Travelin Lobster: The hot roll sauteed in butter from the Travelin Lobster… WOW. This lobster was far and away our favorite! And ultimately, The Travelin Lobster comes in at the top spot for both a hot lobster roll and clam chowder (although Jon said this tastes more like a bisque). It was the most expensive on the list, and we waited about an hour to order, but on pure taste alone, this was our winner!

The Bottom Line: You really can’t go wrong though with any option, as every single place on this list was delicious, and somewhere we’d happily return. If you’re in town for a few days, you might as well check them all out and make your own list. That said, if you only have time for one and want a can’t-miss recommendation, we highly recommend The Travelin Lobster.

If you’ve made the trip to Bar Harbor already, is your favorite spot for lobster on this list? If not, please leave us a comment below and let us know what you recommend!

RTL Tip: If you have time, consider a lobster tour with Lulu Lobster Boat. We didn’t take a tour, but my sister did while she was visiting the October prior and said it was great.

Dog-Friendly? The outdoor patios at Bar Harbor Lobster Co and Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound were dog-friendly.

Have time for more? Keep Planning Your Trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

Use the additional resources below to shorten your planning time and find the perfect adventures and activities for your trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park!

Here are 10 of the best hikes in Acadia National Park.
Here are 5 one-day Acadia itineraries to explore.

Visiting somewhere else in New England? Check out our 2022 Travel Season for inspiration throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, and Lake Placid.

Your turn! Please leave us a comment below

We’re always looking for inspiration, and would love to hear about your adventures too! What’s your favorite thing to do in Bar Harbor or Acadia National Park, or which of these activities would you most love to do? Please share with us in the comments below!

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6 Must-Do Things in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park