We may be camping on a fire ant hill (or in the vicinity of one). Over the past couple of days, we have both been bitten multiple times, and there seem to be ants everywhere we look. Other than that, today was an awesome day. We started off by visiting Cadillac Mountain, which although not very high at 1,530 ft, is the highest mountain on the Atlantic Coast. The summit offers a 360-degree view of Mount Desert Island, and it is spectacular. We’ve been lucky to have perfect weather as well.
Our second stop, and where we spent most of the day, was Jordan Pond. Jordan Pond is a public water source and is therefore kept pristine. It isn’t very deep, but it is one of the clearest ponds in Maine. For most of the afternoon, we hiked the 3-mile loop around the pond. At the far end of the pond, we scrambled up boulders to get to the carriage trail, which is for hikers and bikers only. Back in the day, Rockefeller built the carriage trails because he didn’t want cars driving throughout the park. Nowadays, they offer cyclists and hikers a different way to experience the island. He also built the many beautiful bridges along the trails.
As this is our last night on the island, we decided to go into Bar Harbor and check out the village. It’s a small village built around a marina. One unique feature is that during low tide, there is a sand bar that connects Bar Harbor to a nearby island, making it possible to walk to the island. By the time we got there though, it was underwater. After doing some souvenir shopping, we grabbed dinner at a local pizzeria and ice cream on our way back to the campground.
We spent two full days in the park but could easily have spent seven. This park really is a gem and has so many activities from hiking and biking to kayaking and sailing and even just relaxing on the beach. We imagine the winters are quite harsh, but the summer is an amazing time to visit.
We are turning in early tonight so that we can be up to catch the sunrise from the top of Cadillac Mountain. Stay tuned for pictures.
