Acadia All American Road
Acadia All American Road Must See Tour

Departure: Acadia Visitor Center In Hull's Cove, Maine
Destination: Northeast Harbor, Maine
Time to allow: 3 days

The most important thing to remember while traveling this Byway is to take your time. Since this route is on the coast and in a national park, brilliant views await at every bend and turn. Things to do and places to relax can be found in abundance along Acadia All American Road.

Day 1

  • Start: Acadia Visitor Center In Hull's Cove

    Before you start, pick up hiking guides, brochures, and pamphlets at the visitor center, which is at the beginning of the Byway. If you're planning on hiking, you'll want to know the difficulty of the hikes to plan accordingly. You'll also want to find out the cost of ferries to go out to the Cranberry Islands or to go whale watching.

  • Stop 1: Bar Harbor

    From previous stop: 5 minutes / 3 mi (4.8 km)
    Directions:

    Leaving the Acadia Visitor Center in Hull's Cove, take SR-3 (Bar Harbor Rd) for 2.9 miles. Turn left onto Cottage St to enter Bar Harbor.
    Suggested time at this stop: 8 hours

    Spend a day in the city of Bar Harbor, soaking in the relaxed atmosphere, eating at a fine or local-flavor charming restaurant, and exploring specialty shops. Some of the items the shops offer are so unique and distinctive that you'll never see their like again. There's plenty of nightlife: bars, clubs, concerts, specialty movie theatres (one is art deco, one has couches and pizza). You may even be able to catch one of the two annual music festivals, part of the annual film festival, or an opening night at an art gallery. There are so many hotels and other kinds of places to stay that you really have no end of choice.

  • End: Bar Harbor

    From previous stop: same location

    Lodging is available in Bar Harbor.

Totals for Day 1

Total Distance Traveled: 3 miles / 4.8 km
Total Travel Time: 5 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 8 hours

Day 2

  • Stop 1: Champlain and Dorr Mountains, the Tarn

    From previous stop: 8 minutes / 3.9 mi (6.2 km)
    Directions:

    Leaving Bar Harbor, take Holland Ave for 0.2, then turn left onto SR-3 (Mt Desert St). Drive for 0.4 miles, then turn right onto SR-3 (Main St). Follow for 3.0 miles, then turn left. Follow for 0.4 miles until you come to the Champlain Mountain.
    Suggested time at this stop: 3 hours

    The Byway runs through the valley between spectacular bald (granite capped) Champlain Mountain and Dorr Mountain. Spend the day hiking around Dorr and Champlain Mountains and the Tarn.

  • Stop 2: Acadia National Park Carriage Roads

    From previous stop: 13 minutes / 6.5 mi (10.4 km)
    Directions:
    • Leaving Champlain Mountain, follow the road for 0.4 miles.
    • Turn right onto SR-3 (Otter Creek Rd) and follow for 3.0 miles.
    • Turn left onto SR-3 (Mt Desert St) and follow for 0.5 miles.
    • Turn right onto SR-3 (Eden St) and follow for 2.4 miles.
    • Turn left onto Paradise Hill Rd, then turn right after 0.1 miles.
    • Bear left for 0.2 miles until you arrive at the Acadia National Park Visitor Center.
    Suggested time at this stop: 4 hours

    Explore off-road Acadia National Park on a mountain bike; take the 45 miles of Carriage Roads. They are safe, serene, gorgeous, and well-maintained.

  • End: Northeast Harbor

    From previous stop: same location

    Lodging is available in Northeast Harbor.

Totals for Day 2

Total Distance Traveled: 10.4 miles / 16.6 km
Total Travel Time: 21 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 7 hours

Day 3

  • Stop 1: Thunder Hole

    From previous stop: 10 minutes / 4.5 mi (7.2 km)
    Directions:

    Leaving the Park, follow the Byway south for about 2 miles. Turn left onto Park Loop Road, and follow for a little over 2 miles. Thunder Hole is just off the road.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    Thunder Hole is a chasm into which ocean waves crash with great booms and splashes.

  • Stop 2: Otter Cliffs and Otter Point

    From previous stop: 1 minute / 0.4 mi (0.6 km)
    Directions:

    Otter Cliffs are less than half a mile south of Thunder Hole.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours

    Otter Cliffs and the adjoining Otter Point are simply remarkable. You may want to don a jacket as you sit on the rocks and have a picnic lunch.

  • Stop 3: Great and Little Cranberry Island

    From previous stop: 20 minutes / 10 mi (16.0 km)
    Directions:

    Leaving Otter Point, follow Otter Cliff Road north for about 1.5 miles until it intersects with SR-3. Turn left onto on SR-3 (Otter Creek Rd) and follow for 4.4 miles. Turn right onto SR-3 (Peabody Dr) and follow for 3.0 miles, then turn left onto SR-198 (Harborside Rd). After 0.7 miles, turn left onto Harbor Dr. Follow for 0.2 miles, then at the roundabout, take the second exit. After 0.3 miles, you'll arrive at the ferry terminal.
    Suggested time at this stop: 4 hours

    Hop a ferry out to Cranberry Islands to explore, or take a ferry to whale-watch. You can see many other kinds of wildlife while whale watching: bald eagles, puffins, and peregrine falcons. While out near the water, you can ocean kayak or canoe, deep-sea fish, or take a windjammer cruise. Equipment may be rented, and there are plenty of guides available.

  • End: Northeast Harbor

    From previous stop: 3 minutes / 0.6 mi (1.0 km)
    Directions:

    Leaving the ferry terminal, drive south for less than 0.1 miles, until you come to a roundabout. At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Harbor Dr, and follow for 0.2 miles. Turn left onto SR-198 (Harborside Rd) and follow for 0.2 miles. (Road name changes to Summit Rd.) Turn left onto Joy Rd, and arrive in Northeast Harbor, Maine.

    A lovely and quaint historic rural coastal village, shoreline, islands, and a recreational waterfront. It provides passenger ferry access to the Cranberry Islands.

Totals for Day 3

Total Distance Traveled: 15.5 miles / 24.8 km
Total Travel Time: 34 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 7 hours