Lodging
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Lodging |
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| Getting There | Lodging | Restaurants | Hiking | Cruises | Attractions |
Lodging at Acadia is a challenge. First, it's expensive. You just have to budget for it in advance. Second, you need to make reservations as much as a year but certainly several months in advance, as in May for October. Many people have been coming here for generations and just roll their reservations over every year. Your options include camping in one of the two official national park campgrounds, small cottages and cabins, bed and breakfasts, inns, lodges, motels and hotels. There is no backpacking or "wild camping" allowed in the main park on Mt. Desert Island. Even on the islands or on Schoodic Peninsula, you can only camp in designated camp grounds. And of course they involve ferries or an hour drive around Frenchman's Bay to Schoodic Peninsula. You need to decide in advance what you plan to do. If you want to go out on any of the cruises (windjammer, whale, seal, puffin or lobster), eat out in restaurants, and/or shop in the art, jewelry, rock or souvenir stores, you should stay in Bar Harbor. Parking is a major problem, and if you have to spend 60-90 minutes searching for a space every time you come into town it's going to get annoying fast. If deep sea fishing is a priority, you should stay in Northeast Harbor. That's where the fishing charters depart from. It's about a 40 minute drive from Bar Harbor. The cabins and cottages tend to be 1940s or 1950s models, small and basic but clean and updated. They're almost all on Route 3 from 10 to 30 minutes from Bar Harbor and the park. These little "motor courts," usually arranged in a horseshoe around a central office, were the standard back in the years just following World War II. So they have a nostalgic flavor. You could show your children or grandchildren how their grandparents used to travel. You also need to balance driving time against cost. The further you get from the park and Bar Harbor the more affordable lodging is. But driving in every day gets tiresome. |
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Everything considered, our top recommendation for places to stay is The Crocker House on Hancock Peninsula. Yes, it's a 40 minute drive from Bar Harbor. But it offers huge compensating advantages. It's a beautiful 1884 home that was completely renovated in 1922. The 11 rooms are very comfortable and there's a cozy reading nook downstairs with locally made furniture. Deer and Wild Turkey roam the grounds and the peninsula. Wifi is OK upstairs, good downstairs. The complimentary breakfast includes the usual choices plus the Omelette Of The Day. The house is surrounded by Frenchman's Bay on three sides. Nearby is the famous Tidal Falls, where the huge tides cause a water fall in both directions as the tide comes in and out. The area has a heavy population of Mink, Otter, Starfish, Eagles and Kingfishers. Hancock is also close to the Schoodic Peninsula and Schoodic Point, which many think is the most scenic part of Acadia National Park. The cost is quite reasonable. We stayed here for a week for $1700, which is $242.86 a night. And you get to eat dinner here at the best restaurant in the area. The restaurant is so good people drive in from Bar Harbor, Bangor and Augusta just to eat here. (More about this on our restaurant page.) But as a guest, it means after a long day of adventuring you don't have to go out and find a restaurant. You just have to go downstairs, then, after dinner, just go back to your room without getting your coat on and driving back to your place of lodging. If you've been hiking, kayaking, sailing, biking or any other form of strenuous exercise, this is a great advantage. |
| Salt Cottages are on the water in Hulls Cove, just five miles from Bar Harbor and two miles from the Hulls Cove Visitor Center. These are 1940s units that have been totally updated within the last few years. There are two very good restaurants next door and a gas station and convenient store a block away. There are studio, one and two bedroom cottages. Studios run about $388.94 a night ($2722 a week) with increases for holidays or peak season. The Island Explorer shuttle bus stops out front. A large tidal flat is just across the highway (it's visible in the photo at right), exposed and covered back up twice a day. There's a heated pool, firepit and hot tub. You need advance reservations because these stay full. |  |
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Tide Watch Cabins are next to Charter House Restaurant and run by the same people. They look directly down on the tidal basin, so you may find yourself at eye level with Seals, Gulls or Swans. Front row cabins run $250 - 389 a night, with back row cabins $149 - 250 a night. So front row cabins should run from $1750 to $2723 a week. You need advance reservations because these stay full. The very good Charter House Restaurant is 10 steps away and the Lobster Bake Restaurant is across the street. The park shuttle bus stops out front. You'll be gone most of the day adventuring over in the national park, but the rise and fall of the tide is dramatic as the basin in front of you ranges from very full to completely dry. The only drawback to these cabins is the constant heavy traffic just behind you on Route 3. It never stops. These are also in Hull's Cove, five miles from Bar Harbor and two miles from the Hull's Cove Visitor Center. |
| If staying in Bar Harbor is a priority, Edenbrook Motel is your best bargain. High on the hill a 20 minute walk from the waterfront, Edenbrook is a 1950s motel that underwent a multmillion dollar renovation in 2022. The rooms are basic but beautifully updated and the rate of $218 a night ($1500 a week) is the best you'll find. The pillows and beds are new and comfy. There's no breakfast but coffee shops and good breakfast restaurants are a 10 minute walk. The rooms do contain refrigerators and micro waves and a top floor room has views of the water. The staff here is very attentive and the famous Island Explorer Shuttle stops at the entrance en route into Bar Harbor and back to the Visitor Center, from where you can catch other shuttles to various points in the park. Like everywhere here, you need reservations several months in advance. |  |
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There are several excellent Bed & Breakfasts in the town of Bar Harbor. We recommend the Mt. Desert Island Inn on Route 3 as it turns to enter the dowtown. It has several excellent balcony rooms with views out to the water, the breakfasts are outstanding, and you're only steps away from restaurants and shops and two blocks from the water front. You'll pay $300-400 a night, or $2100-2800 a week, but that's a little less than most Bar Harbor lodging. (If you can come during the off season you can pay considerably less than this.) The Inn was built in 2018 so everything is new. There's a late afternoon Happy Hour on the porch or in the garden, with snacks and beverages (not to be confused with the kind of Happy Hours hosted by bars). Both the porch and garden beg for you to spend an hour or so relaxing after a long day of adventuring. If you're a big Bed & Breakfast lover, this will quickly become either your favorite or one of your top two or three. |
| If you're coming to celebrate a special occasion or just won the lottery, you should seriously consider the Bar Harbor Inn on the waterfront downtown. This is not only the best lodging in Acadia; it's the best in the whole state. Rooms look out on the water across to the Porcupine Islands. The four masted schooner docks out front and you get to watch the crew raise its sails every morning. The restaurant is one of the finest in the state, but be sure to make a reservation for dinner each day because it's popular. Of course you pay for this excellence. Rooms are $500 a night and $3500 a week. And you still have to reserve them months ahead. The famous Shore Path begins right out front. The park shuttle Island Explorer stops here. There's a pool, hot tub and spa and afternoon coffee and cookies. The continental breakfast is one of the best we've ever had and we travel for a living. Parking in Bar Harbor is always a problem so staying here solves that as you're in walking distance of the whole town. |  |
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If your main interest is fishing you should seriously consider Kimball Terrace Inn in Northeast Harbor, a classic fishing village halfway around the coast of the park. All the deep sea and nearshore fishing charters depart from this harbor. As you can see in the photo, the Inn looks directly onto the marina so you walk right across the parking lot to your boat. There's a restaurant in the Inn and several more in town. Rooms are $300 a night in peak season and $275 in Spring and Fall. Bar Harbor's only 12 miles away but on a narrow winding road with heavy traffic it takes 30-40 minutes. The park shuttle ("Island Explorer") stops here, so you can take it to Jordan Pond, Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor and all the hiking trailheads. Unlike Bar Harbor, which has become a tourist town, Northeast Harbor is still a quaint fishing village. The original writers imagined the mystery series Murder She Wrote happening here (they named it Cabot Cove) but it was filmed in Mendocino, California. |
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