Acadia National Park will always hold a special place in my heart as it's the first solo trip to a national park I took after my husband passed away. And what a wonderful experience it was. It's such a beautiful park and I found it easy to get around. I tried using the shuttle system at first, and it was very nice and convenient but I like to do things on my schedule so I ended up renting a car. It was easy to get around the park and I had no trouble parking. There was no reservation system in effect in Fall of 2017 for Cadillac Mountain when I was there so I was able to drive up to the top. The pop overs at Jordan Pond were SO good! Bar Harbor, is definitely one of my favorite gateway towns. And then there's the fresh lobster in Bar Harbor and on Mount Desert Island! That's a bonus!
I've watched several of your videos of different National Parks and in every one you mention how crowded and busy the parks are. I'm curious, are you visiting during peak times and encountering the crowds? I've visited several national parks over the years, Acadia, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone (twice), Zion and others and haven't encountered crowds. I usually visit during shoulder seasons wanting to avoid crowds and have been so fortunate to be able to enjoy the parks without the hassle of crowds. Do you think the crowds you are encountering are because when we were going through COVID people realized our national parks were a good way to get ouside and be active? And now more people realize they are a true national treasure? Most of my national park visits, except for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, were pre-covid. Even when I visited the Smokies in November 2022 crowds weren't really a problem. I'll be visiting Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks next month. I'm so excited!
To help people plan their trips and to write my hour-by-hour itineraries, I visit the parks during the busiest times of the year. And the parks can get extremely busy and crowded, which is why I mention it in my videos! But if I'm not working, I prefer to visit the parks during the off-season when the parks are less busy!
I listened to the podcast that your husband inserted song lyrics. It definitely wasn't fair to you. He is always saying weird and random things in the podcast. It would be hours long if you had to stop every time he said something strange.
You can't drive on the island, but they do allow you to drive along the bar if you want. It's risky, though -- you've got to watch those tide levels closely!
As usual, fabulous advice! We did seven of the things on your list when visiting two years ago, and they were all wonderful. Will have to make sure to check out the others (except the Beehive Trail, eeks) on the next trip. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge!!
