Happy Friday friends! I hope that your week is going well! Today I am excited to share with y'all about a beautiful drive and adventure on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National park that my mom and I did while on our cruise with Holland America.
We arrived in Bar Harbor early in the morning and were excited to set out on our shore excursion that we had booked for early in the morning and then spend the rest of the day exploring the cute town of Bar Harbor. I will be sharing more about this popular coastal resort town early next week, but suffice it to say that everything you hear about it being a delightful blend of coastal charm and quiet community is exactly correct. It was lovely and I definitely recommend spending time there! But in the meantime... Cadillac Mountain. *smiles*
Cadillac Mountain is within the municiality of Bar Harbor and is easily accessible from the town.
Cadillac Mountain, located in the beautful Maine Acadia National Park is the highest mountain and point along the North Atlantic seaboard. Interestingly, from October 7th through March 6th it is the first place to view a sunrise in the United States.
When we first met up with our tour guides (we took a small bus tour which had about 12 people in it) I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to see much due to the fog. We still went because even with not great weather you can see so much, but I was concerned it might not be as great as we had hoped. Thankfully I was completely wrong because the weather cleared and awarded us sweetly stunning views of our surrounding areas!
Our views were so lovely and we were so excited to be able to see and explore all that we could at the top. To get to the top we used the scenic Summit Road which opened in 1931. It is about 3.5 miles long and as you drive up it you see beautiful views along the north side. If you wanted to you could spend the time to pull off at several of the small observation points along the way.
One of the things that I so appreciate about this is that this helps to make the mountain accessible for everyone. I love hiking (as y'all know and can read about HERE!), but I also value the opportunity for everyone to be able to visit and see things that they might not be able to do if there was not this offered. After being sick for so many years, I love encouraging people to find spots and places where they can still have lovely adventures outdoors while traveling with a chronic illness.
When you get to the top you will see that there are so many different places to see and explore, but definitely spend the time to look out over both the east and the west.
Just a note that there is a short trail that is wheelchair accessibel for views of the Porcupine Islands and the Frenchman Bay. You can see a bit of the trail in the right picture in the set of pictures above.
Can you see our cruise ship? From the distance it almost looks like another island!
If you look out to the East you will see the Porcupine Islands and if you look to the Northeast you can see the business district of Bar Harbor. If you look to the West you can see Eagle Lake and Blue Hill Mountain. I loved having the opportunity to explore a bit and get off the "beaten trail" on our stop at the top. You can see a video of my exploring in the wind and a bit of rain on my IG stories HERE!
Interestingly back in the late 1800s there used to be a hotel on the summit of the mountain. It was called the Green Mountain House Hotel because Cadillac Mountain used to be called Green Mountain.
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read today! Please let me know if you have any questions about Cadillac Mountain or our cruise with Holland America! It was simply lovely! You can read about all of our adventures on our cruise with Holland America by clicking HERE!
Happy Friday friends!
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