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Arcadia Park, ME questions

briana

New member
I'm heading up to Arcadia National Park at the end of August from Massachusetts. We are planning to camp at or near Arcadia for two nights, any suggestions of places to camp would be great. On the water with cell phone service would be a plus. We will slab it just North of Hampton NH, then stay on Rt 1 North trying to stay as close to the coast as possible, we will probably try to jump off Rt 1 to some of the small roads that go right along the Ocean. We plan to be at or near Arcadia at the end of day one (about 425 miles). Day two we will ride some of the roads around Arcadia maybe head North on some more coastal roads towards New Brunswick. Are there any must ride roads or must see sights that i should Know about. We will have all day 2 to explore the area. Day 3 we will have a few more hours to explore and then we will slab it home to Mass. I like to ride a spirited pace, i like twisty roads.

Thanks.

Brian
bdanderson72@hotmail.com
 
Acadia National Park

Brian,

Acadia is a great place to go, but I'll offer some friendly advice and suggest you move your visit back a little and go in early September. If you are planning to camp in the park if you don't have reservations, I'd check on availability ASAP because the park fills up and stays full at this time of year. The town of Bar Harbor is full of people and cars and is often very congested during the summer months. Once the kids go back to school it opens up a lot more and is much nicer in my opinion. If you want to camp by the ocean there are lots of campgrounds available, but again at this time of year without reservations you could have a tough time. If you want to camp in the park you'll need a park pass which is not expensive and allows you to ride anywhere in the park. The must ride in the park is to the top of Cadillac Mountain which allows you a phenomenal ocean view of all the islands in Frenchman's Bay. There are also lots of nice rides around the island and to Southwest Harbor which are pretty good as well. You might check the Ride Maine guide for resources in the area (ridemaine.net). There are some spectacular rides along the coast, but I'd recommend checking out the scenic byways that are in the Western Mountain regions too. Route 11 and Route 201 are both really nice too. If you take route one to Acadia, stop at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge along the way and go to the top of the observation tower, the view is amazing. If you go during August 20-22 you might go up the coast to the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival where you are guaranteed to find the best piece of blueberry pie you've ever eaten. Have a fun and save trip, Don
 
We stayed just outside of the park at Soames Sound Camp Ground. Soames Sound

Is this close enough to the water for you?:D

IMG_2393.jpg


The camp ground was nice and it was great waking up literally on the water. But this site is at the bottom of the hill. (There are several other waterfront sites but this is the only one on a platform directly over the water. Unless you like to hike, you need to ride up the hill to the rest rooms/shower. Also, there were no trash receptacles near by. We found this rather inconvenient. Shower facilities were very clean but you need shower tokens at a cost of $1 for 5 minutes.

Overall, it was a beautiful site but given the price and inconvenience, it's not for us if we ever return to the area.
 
Here's another shot of that campground.

I agree with waiting until September if you can. Any weekend except Columbus day, but during the week in late August is always a possibility. Weekends are rough. I get to MDI a half dozen times a year and usually stay at the Colony motel in Hulls Cove. Straight out of 1955, but clean and reasonably priced.

I camped here a couple of years ago, but don't recall if there was cell service or not. It's still pretty spotty on MDI for all carriers, but AT&T is putting in a few new towers. This place only has a few spots on the water and it's a steep dirt track to get to them. http://www.ssvc.info/

4773615905_cf0fa708e0_b.jpg
 
Taking Rte 1 from NH to Acadia will take up approx your entire vacation.
Painfully slow, tourist traffic, little towns with lights.
Not sure where you are starting from, but you might consider a more inland route, we recently took Rte 2 home from that area, ending up in the Conway NH area, aside from Conway itself, it was nice east/west option, avoiding the congested coastline.
 
Taking Rte 1 from NH to Acadia will take up approx your entire vacation.

This can be very true! btdt

I usually take the interstate to Augusta from Boston. Then, Rte 1/3 from Augusta to Bar Harbor isn't too bad (yearround) but the earlier in the day, the better.

MDI is the same way, you have the place to yourself for the first 4 hours of daylight, even in July and August, the exception being the crowd of sunrise peepers on Cadillac Mt., but I think most of them go to bed after it comes up. You can definitely find solitude on that island anytime of year if you look hard enough.
 
I have Sprint and I did have service at Soames Sound. Oddly enough, my husband has Nextel (owned by sprint) and he did not have service.
 
Blackwoods campground in Acadia loop B. This is a two minute walk to the steep cliffs that you can sit on and look at the ocean. Great place to camp have camped there five times. Only 7-8 minutes out of Bar Harbor have clam chowder on the pier restaurant best in Maine to me anyway. Ride up to Lincoln Maine the road to Baxter State Park is great and you can get on the Golden Highway (even though motorcycles are not allowed) ploice don't patrol, Moose everywhere on this road but very large logging trucks coming out of Canada also. Enjoy
 
Route 1

I agree with the comments on terrible traffic and congestion on Route 1 in the South. If want to get there fast take the interstate highway to Augusta and then go toward Bar Harbor through Ellsworth. A good place to get on Route 1 in Maine would be Brunswick, you'll see some nice water views along the way after you get through Brunswick and Bath. The nice part starts after you go over the bridge in Wiscasset, as I said before the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Tower is worth a stop. Route 1 in Southern Maine is mostly bumper to bumper traffic with tourists looking for outlet stores at this time of year, Unless you want to see Nedick Light in York Beach, Maine, Portland Head light in Cape Elizabeth or Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth, I'd skip Route 1 in Southern Maine completely.
Enjoy, Don
 
i have a copy of the Maine Camping Guide.

PM me your address and I'll send it right out to you.
 
Thanks guys, i will stick with the slab until i get much father North and then cut over to RT1. Coming up from Just outside of Boston. Thanks for offering the ME camping guide.

Brian Anderson
31 Cordaville Rd
Ashland, MA 01721
 
Thanks guys, i will stick with the slab until i get much father North and then cut over to RT1. Coming up from Just outside of Boston. Thanks for offering the ME camping guide.

Hey Brian, Bar Harbor is just a bit over 300 miles from Ashland (not 425), and to Newstar, Sprint and Nextel use different frequencies and don't necessarily share towers.

Also of note, Sprint and Verizon have roaming agreements and both use the same CDMA frequencies. If one works, the other usually will too, assuming you keep the PRL in your phone updated (preferred roaming list). Some phones will let you do this on your own (buried in the menus) and some phones require a visit to the tech in your local carrier's retail store. PRLs change regularly and your phone will usually work in more places if you keep it updated.
 
I agree with Tom, stay on the interstate until Augusta, then Rt 3 to Ellsworth.

Lamoine Beach State Park for camping on Frenchmen's Bay. Approximately 20 minutes from Bar harbor. Ten or so to Ellsworth.

Rt 182 from Franklin to Cherryfield is a very nice m/c road.

Rt 186 to Winter Harbor and Scoodic Point. Scoodic Point is a seperate section of Acadia National Park. Fewer visiters. Very Pretty. Corea is worth the small detour when in the area.

Sorrento at the end of Rt 185 is pretty also.

Jasper's in Elllsworth and Helen's in Machias both offer good food at reasonable prices.

Stay off Rt 200 north of Franklin, road suface is very poor condition. It gets my vote for worst state road in Maine.

To the west is Castine, Blue Hill, and Stonington. Nice Suspension bridge connecting Deer Isle. It pays to get off the state roads when going thru the above mentioned towns and taking the side roads/streets to get right down on the water. Stop for a few, take a deep breath, a long look, and enjoy.

Welcome and enjoy your stay,
Mark
 
Jasper's in Elllsworth and Helen's in Machias both offer good food at reasonable prices.

Ahhhhh, food! Best breakfast in Bar Harbor (bar none!) is at 2 Cats on Cottage Street. Jordan's Restaurant is also good and has the benefit of being open at 5 AM all year. There is also a Helen's Restaurant location in Ellsworth. You have to at least look at the pies even if you don't order any. Hillfire Grille in Ellsworth is also good. Restaurants on MDI can be very pricey. Be careful. A lot of these places are only open June to October and try to make a killing on the tourist trade.
 
Ahhhhh, food! There is also a Helen's Restaurant location in Ellsworth. .

Oooh! +1 on Helens! We were looking for a breakfast place and were directed here by the flag holder while stopped for road construction. Homemade donuts!!
 
...and it may be touristy but the lobster stew and popovers at Jordon Pond House were fantastic!
 
All The information has been great, thanks all.

I'll be in Acadia from July 15 - 18th heading to Bar Harbor from Moosehead lake, maybe, big maybe Baxter if my buddy can still meet me with is truck to see the park for a day :(

Since this is a ntl park, I suspect the answer is NO, however maybe some local advice might point a direction.

Are there "GS/GSA" rides? something off paved roads and maybe a little less "summer traffic".

Safe Riding
Ron
GSA/09
 
ADV Maine Riders

Check out this thread on ADV. A few of these guys emailed me suggestions for good GS roads but unfortunately, I can no longer find them to forward to you.
 
The Colony

Here's another shot of that campground.

I agree with waiting until September if you can. Any weekend except Columbus day, but during the week in late August is always a possibility. Weekends are rough. I get to MDI a half dozen times a year and usually stay at the Colony motel in Hulls Cove. Straight out of 1955, but clean and reasonably priced.

I camped here a couple of years ago, but don't recall if there was cell service or not. It's still pretty spotty on MDI for all carriers, but AT&T is putting in a few new towers. This place only has a few spots on the water and it's a steep dirt track to get to them. http://www.ssvc.info/

4773615905_cf0fa708e0_b.jpg

We've been staying at the Colony for years, nice people. If you go up the hill past the laundry and maintenance sheds there's an interesting historical marker about Cadillac. The cell service has improved a lot over the years. I used to have to go over the Trenton bridge to use my T-Mobile, now it works on the island. If you have Verizon the service is good in most of Maine.
 
Breakfast

Ahhhhh, food! Best breakfast in Bar Harbor (bar none!) is at 2 Cats on Cottage Street. Jordan's Restaurant is also good and has the benefit of being open at 5 AM all year. There is also a Helen's Restaurant location in Ellsworth. You have to at least look at the pies even if you don't order any. Hillfire Grille in Ellsworth is also good. Restaurants on MDI can be very pricey. Be careful. A lot of these places are only open June to October and try to make a killing on the tourist trade.

I would add the breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn Bar Harbor Regency. A little pricey but good food, all you can eat and a beautiful view of Frenchman's Bay.
 
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