there are two, and both offer their up side and their down sides. Keep in mind that this is a national park run by the feds, expect to be greeted by all smiles, but once your checked in, the gloves come off. If even your tire is touching some grass, you will get a stern warning. And no parking more then one car at a site, or that will bring about a warning. And they are very strict about food or food items being left outside your tent or Rv - you will be warned if you do. If your not actually seated by your fire, that too can bring about a warning. You can tie a rope between two trees for a clothes line, but signs discourage you to do so.
because people were breaking branches off trees, they passed another rule of no picking up wood or fallen brances off the ground. And don't be tempted, because they do watch. They make their rounds in a marked car, as well as on scooters, and yes, in unmarked cars as well. And we have seen them walking along the tree line watching sites from a distance. I think its just the nature of a ranger to be like this, so don't take it personally.
The downside of all this is that each warning carries points, with different points asigned to different warning. Two to three warnings will get you thrown out of the campground. And once that rangers checkin station closes, your on your own until the next morning. So if, as happened to us one year, you get several people on motorcycles pulling into a nearby site, and they decide they are going to rev their engines until 2 in the morning, there is no one for you to go complain to. Now I will break down the two campgrounds...
BLACKWOODS CAMPGROUND
Okay, this is mainly by reservation, and you had better make your reservations early spring, because this place fills up fast. They offer flush bathrooms spaced throughout the campground with running water. There are electric outlets in the bathrooms where people do recharge their cell phones and such - though I'm not certain that is allowed. If you are bothered by outside lights, I sugjest you request a site away from the bathrooms, as the outside lights are on all night. Or you can do as a friend of mine did, just go over and unscrew the bulb.
and the bathrooms have screen doors which tend to bang when they close, so keep that in mind. Each site has a fire pit, and a picnic table. Plenty of room to easily park two cars, but new rules only allow one car per site. The RV sites are close together with not much screening between the sites, if any at all. As far as the tent sites go, I don't care for many of them, only because I know how good the sites are at the other campground in Seawall.
Again, many of the sites have some screening, but not much. And no showers. Across the roadway from the entrance to the campground there are privately owned pay showers. And a short distance from that a small store. In the campground itself, there is a marked trail that leads to the Cadalac Mountain Southridge trail, many people hike it, but I can tell you the better trail up the mountain is the Northridge trail, much easier going with very few roots to trip over. Its located along the one way section of the park loop road. On the other end of the campground is a service road. No cars allowed, but do hike down it, as it comes out on the park loopp road with breathtaking ocean views and high cliffs. There are signs back here warning you of the cliffs and how people have died here, those signs are there for a reason.
Walk against traffic downhill and you will come to a stonce bridge that on most good days is lined with people fishing. If you go up the road and walkk with the traffic, you will come to a wooden narrow stairway on the right side of the road that leads down to LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH - it is a pebble/rock beach, and the stones here are unbelieveable smooth and perfectly round. Again, get caught carrying any away and you will end up with a date in federal court.
I have lived here like 15 years and have never once heard of any bear reports at Blackwoods, but you will get the bear warning as to leaving food items around.. Raccoons are the main animals here. They prowl from site to site looking for food.
as you drive the wooded lane that leads in and out of the campground in early morning or at dusk, you are likely to spot a deer or two. There are some moose on this side of the island, but you won't see themnywhere near Blackwoods. And I've never seen a fox or cyotoe here either.
Now here's the park of this campground that really bugs me - there are times when there are many empty sites here, and yet the sign by the roadway says there are no vacancys. Why? So one year I asked, and was told the following..."The just don't want to be bothered with the paperwork. If you livew local and want to pop in, we'll fix you up with a site, but we really don't want to be bothered with signing people in all the time."
so there you have it - if you don't have a resvation, even if they have 100 empty sites, your most likely not going to get one of them.
The only real downside here, besides needing reservations, is that the sites are not as screened as I like them to be. And Downtown Bar Harbor is only about a 10 minute drive away. And from late June through september, about every half hour a free Island explorer shuttle bus takes people into town.
SEAWALL CAMPGROUND
This is the real gem in the parks crown. I love this place. Most of the campsites are well screened from the next. The natural seawall is just around the corner from you, and the Seawall picnic area is just across the street. S small ice cream stand is on the far side of the seawall, as is a small camp store. And even though they don't allow you to pick up loose wood and branches to burn anymore from the nearby ground, they keep a huge pile of free firewood. Load up with as much as you want. Most of the time the pile is high, but the locals come in with pickup trucks and carry off bunches of it as well, to bundle and sell in their front yard. Why oh why does the park allow this practice, I don't know, but they should stop it. The wood pile is found up by the RV section off to the side. There is running warer spouts scattered throughout, and the restrooms are cleaned twice a day. People also use the outlets inside the bathrooms to recharge their cell phones and such. For whatever reason, the rangers warn you about staying at seawall, saying that the mosquitoes over there are unbelieveable. I have stayed at both campgrounds many times over the eyars, and I see very little difference, bug wise, between the two. All the strick warnings that apply to Blackwoods also apply here.
The one difference is that there are bears in this area. Over the years there have been bear sightings at Seawall picnic area as well as at seawall campground. And though I myself have never seen one here, I have seen them over by Bass harbor, along the lighthouse road at dusk.
You may spot foxes or cyotoes in the area as well, and the field near the entrance is famous for having several deer in it at dusk.
Another neat thing about this campground is that besides having no reservations (first come, first served, so show up early) is that they also have a walk in tenting area, for people that really want to be secluded. You park your car and walk through the paths leading through the woods and pick out your site. So what happens if you show up here after the checkin station closes for the night - no worry, they h
leave instructions for you to go find an empty site and get registered in the morning...you have to love that. Now the RV sites here are not very well screened, and are pretty close together. I did not mention it on the Blackwoods piece, but both sites offer an open amputhearter with free nightly shows put on by the rangers. The lighted pathways point the way. And even though you can only have one car per campsite, there is plenty of nearby parking - so its really not a big issue. Now the Island explorer bus does offer free service from here to Southwest harbor and Bar harbor, about every hour until 9pm, but this bus run is usually very packed, with many runs being standing room only. That may not seem too bad, but consider all the stops the bus has to make, and your standing for over an hour each way if you fail to get a seat.
Here's the trick that the locals do...as soon as the buses approach people begin to form a line or small crwod. No one can get onto the bus until everyone getting off has gotten off, so as soon as the last few people exit the bus, just step in front of everyone else and board the bus. Now you will get some people saying out loud, what's their rush, the buses are free. And its usually those very people that end up standing for a long trip and saying "now I see why they were in such a hurry to board the bus."
And yes, dispite what the rangers tell you, there are moose on the quite side of the island, I've seen them. Keep a close eye on the marshes and bogs on that side at early morning or dusk. The Seawall campground is in Seawall, just past Manset along route 102A.
Monday, April 6, 2009
BASS HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE
Okay, this lighthouse is located on the quiet side of the island, in Treemont, in the village of Bass Harbor. It is very easy to miss the turnoff completely, as it is located on a hairpin curve, and many become confused by the route 102/102A thing. Here's how to find your way to the lighthouse.
Once you pass through Town Hill and Southwest Harbor, you'll start up a hill that rounds a curve, with signs pointing to Manset and Seawall to the left. Turn off 102 at this point, onto 102A. Yes, 102A does loop around in one huge circle, connecting once again to 102, and many tourists end up feeling like they are running in circles, just remember, 102 and 102A are two different roads.
You will pass through Manset shortly after turning onto 102A, taking any of those roads on the left will take you down to the Manset harbor with its ship building factories. A small ferry and mail boat can be caught here for a ride out to the otter Cranberry islands.
Stay on 102A and you will come to the famous natural seawall, in where else, Seawall. Make a stop here for great pictures. Ducks will be in the pond to the right, huge crashing waves on the left. A very short distance ahead on a sharp curve, to the right is the entrance of Seawall campground, run by the park service. No reservations accepted here, first come first served, so can in line early in the morning if you want a tent or RV site. I will have much more on the two park campgrounds in another writeup.
On the left side of the road is the entrance to the Seawall picnic area which also overlooks the ocean. A very nice spot many of the locals come to often. As You continue down 102A you will soon come to the Wonderland trail and parking lot. Not a very large parking lot, and on most days you end up having to park along the side of the road. Thye trail itself is an old fireroad, which ends at a beach., where the trail then does a short circle along the ocean and through the woods, back to the beach. It is not unusual for some people to illegally camp out in the woods here, as there are many paths leading off from the fireroad into the woods. To either side of the beach are little coves that are fun for children to explore.
Warning - even though there are many nice smooth round rocks here, getting caught removing them will get you a date in federal court.
Once you pass the wonderland trail you will shortly come upon the Ship Harbor Trail with its parking lot. Again, on many days you will have to park on the roadside here as well. There is a non-flush bathroom here - hold your nose, do your business and get out as quickly as possible is all the advice I can say. The trail itself goes in so far, before forming a large loop. Right leds through the woods and fields, left pretty much follows the edge of the ocean overlooking ship harbor. Both trails meet again at the entrance of ship harbor. A very nice spot for taking photos.
Once you pass Ship Harbor, you will go through some curves and then come upon the Bass Harbor Campground. It is located on both sides of the road and you can't miss it. For a $5 fee you can get day use of their heated pool.
Now don't blink, because as your passing the campground, you will approach a very sharp curve, with a narrow road to the left. This narrow road is your turnoff - and leads you to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. If you have an RV you will have to park it along the dirt shoulder and walk the quarter mile to the lighthouse, as RV's are not allowed down the road - the parking lot is too small for them. Yes, finally, a place with flush bathrooms...ummm, now the bad news, even though they are flush toilets, these bathrooms are some of the foulest smelling in the entire park.
At the parking lot, what many never realize is that there are actually two footpaths at the lighthouse. The one at the far left of the parking lot leads downward and comes out by the side of the lighthouse itself, with great views of the ocean below. The Bass Harbor Ferry can also be seen making its runs from Bass Harbor to Swans Island. Its good size, as it carries cars and trucks as well as people.
To the far right corner of the parking lot, just beyond the bathrooms, is the trail that leads to a long, steep wooden stairway that winds down to the rocky ledges below the lighthouse. Watch you step, its a long way down. Once on the ledges themselves, follow the path, In two places you can turn off the path for great ocean views, but you have to keep following the path in order to get some very good views of looking up at the lighthouse. On many summer evenings you will find artists down here painting or groups of people on a kodak film tour, taking photos of the stunning sunset.
as you were driving in you should have noticed the large sign warning you to be out of the area by dusk. The reason is that a family lives in the lighthouse, and the park doesn't want people in the area after dark. And yes, they will hand out tickets if your caught in here after dusk.
Once you leave, either get back on 102A and return the same way you came, back towards Southwest Harbor, or Go straight ahead, explore Bass Harbor, then continue until the road rejoins 102. Right takes you back to ?Southwest harbor, left takes you toward Bernard, a small fishing village and home to Thrustons Lobster pound. All the locals eat here...so don't miss it.
Once you pass through Town Hill and Southwest Harbor, you'll start up a hill that rounds a curve, with signs pointing to Manset and Seawall to the left. Turn off 102 at this point, onto 102A. Yes, 102A does loop around in one huge circle, connecting once again to 102, and many tourists end up feeling like they are running in circles, just remember, 102 and 102A are two different roads.
You will pass through Manset shortly after turning onto 102A, taking any of those roads on the left will take you down to the Manset harbor with its ship building factories. A small ferry and mail boat can be caught here for a ride out to the otter Cranberry islands.
Stay on 102A and you will come to the famous natural seawall, in where else, Seawall. Make a stop here for great pictures. Ducks will be in the pond to the right, huge crashing waves on the left. A very short distance ahead on a sharp curve, to the right is the entrance of Seawall campground, run by the park service. No reservations accepted here, first come first served, so can in line early in the morning if you want a tent or RV site. I will have much more on the two park campgrounds in another writeup.
On the left side of the road is the entrance to the Seawall picnic area which also overlooks the ocean. A very nice spot many of the locals come to often. As You continue down 102A you will soon come to the Wonderland trail and parking lot. Not a very large parking lot, and on most days you end up having to park along the side of the road. Thye trail itself is an old fireroad, which ends at a beach., where the trail then does a short circle along the ocean and through the woods, back to the beach. It is not unusual for some people to illegally camp out in the woods here, as there are many paths leading off from the fireroad into the woods. To either side of the beach are little coves that are fun for children to explore.
Warning - even though there are many nice smooth round rocks here, getting caught removing them will get you a date in federal court.
Once you pass the wonderland trail you will shortly come upon the Ship Harbor Trail with its parking lot. Again, on many days you will have to park on the roadside here as well. There is a non-flush bathroom here - hold your nose, do your business and get out as quickly as possible is all the advice I can say. The trail itself goes in so far, before forming a large loop. Right leds through the woods and fields, left pretty much follows the edge of the ocean overlooking ship harbor. Both trails meet again at the entrance of ship harbor. A very nice spot for taking photos.
Once you pass Ship Harbor, you will go through some curves and then come upon the Bass Harbor Campground. It is located on both sides of the road and you can't miss it. For a $5 fee you can get day use of their heated pool.
Now don't blink, because as your passing the campground, you will approach a very sharp curve, with a narrow road to the left. This narrow road is your turnoff - and leads you to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. If you have an RV you will have to park it along the dirt shoulder and walk the quarter mile to the lighthouse, as RV's are not allowed down the road - the parking lot is too small for them. Yes, finally, a place with flush bathrooms...ummm, now the bad news, even though they are flush toilets, these bathrooms are some of the foulest smelling in the entire park.
At the parking lot, what many never realize is that there are actually two footpaths at the lighthouse. The one at the far left of the parking lot leads downward and comes out by the side of the lighthouse itself, with great views of the ocean below. The Bass Harbor Ferry can also be seen making its runs from Bass Harbor to Swans Island. Its good size, as it carries cars and trucks as well as people.
To the far right corner of the parking lot, just beyond the bathrooms, is the trail that leads to a long, steep wooden stairway that winds down to the rocky ledges below the lighthouse. Watch you step, its a long way down. Once on the ledges themselves, follow the path, In two places you can turn off the path for great ocean views, but you have to keep following the path in order to get some very good views of looking up at the lighthouse. On many summer evenings you will find artists down here painting or groups of people on a kodak film tour, taking photos of the stunning sunset.
as you were driving in you should have noticed the large sign warning you to be out of the area by dusk. The reason is that a family lives in the lighthouse, and the park doesn't want people in the area after dark. And yes, they will hand out tickets if your caught in here after dusk.
Once you leave, either get back on 102A and return the same way you came, back towards Southwest Harbor, or Go straight ahead, explore Bass Harbor, then continue until the road rejoins 102. Right takes you back to ?Southwest harbor, left takes you toward Bernard, a small fishing village and home to Thrustons Lobster pound. All the locals eat here...so don't miss it.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
SO YOU WANT TO LIVE HERE
Well, don't begin packing just yet, as housing is scarce and what housing projects are here have a one to three year waiting list. I will go into a few of the projects and give you a kind of rundown on them...
EDEN APARTMENTS - this, like many of the projects is run by the Bar Harbor Housing Authority, which handles much of Hancock county. This is really the hidden gem - because it is really not a housing project like any you've seen before. Its located on the Woodbury Road, just off West Street Extention, and a stones throw fro m the entrance to Acadia national park. As you can see by the three photos above, this project is truly in the country, yet minutes away from downtown. And it is not unusual to spot deer and foxes in the area.
the buildings themselves are made up of 6 duplexes which make up a total of 12 unites. Each unit has its own driveway, which can easily hold up to 2 to 3 cars. Each unit has its own large front and back lawn area, and many of the units also have a large area of lawn to the side as well. There are woods to the backs of the units, and only two private houses across the roadway, mostly hidden by trees and brush. Each unit also has its own fenced in area in the rear where little ones can play.
The housing mows the lawns. Each unit has coin washer and dryers - .50 to dry and .75 to wash. I've lived in several other projects, and these units are pretty large. They have wall to wall carpets, and most units are single story (one duplex is two story, this offers 3 bedrooms on both sides.)
The other duplexes are two beedroom units. There is only one garbage dumpster, so you have to walk or drive to it. It sets right beside the maintance garage near the center of the project. There is also one small playground on site.
The two family units offer a large walk-in closet, which I use to use as a small office. The kitchen area itself is small, but plenty of room for what you use it for. The dining room is on the other side of the kitchen, with a service opening through the wall to pass plates and food from the kitchen to the dining room. How cool is that. Many families over the years have used the dining room as an extra bedroom and placed the dining table in the corner of the living room. We did this as well until we got into a 3 bedroom.
The units are in the process of getting major redos, everything from kitchen cabinets to new doors and weatherized windows and new roofing. The housing encourages people to plant flowers, so you can put in an area for flowers. We even plant a row of vegatables along the side of the house. Before I forget, in winter, the housing also plows the yards.
Rent here is based upon 30% of your income. So its affordable for everyone, kind of.....the one major drawback is each unit is heated with electric heat, and you pay the electric bill. I live in a 3 bedroom unit, and each year there is one month where the bill is highest. Last year the highest month was $350, and this winter, with rising electric rates, the highest was near $400. The state has a heap program which will cover (if you qualify) the worst month. January is usually the worst month on your electric bill, Dec drops to about $250 and it gets better each month after.
Now if your income is really low, the housing will pay some or all of the rent and heating costs. And if your already living here and lose your job, they will pick up the rent and heating costs, but you will have to do some hours of community service for them doing that.
New siding and windows to be added soon should help out with the heating costs. I think I covered about everything. At one end of the street is the road leading into the national park, as well as a few condos and some country homes, on the other end of the street is the Kebo golf course, and the school a short distance away.
Oh yeah, one street over, still part of eden apartments, are two duplexes that offer one bedroom apartments.
The Bar Harbor Housing Authority can be reached at 207-288-4770
ACADIA APARTMENTS
This project was purchased and turned into employee housing, it is no longer a housing project.
BIRCHWOOD APARTMENTS
Located on the quiet side of the island (and I do mean quiet side) there are actually two projects here, divided into three sections. As you turn into the project, the first 6 units are at the bottom of the hill. There is also a small playground here, and a small park with benches across the driveway which overlooks the main road and post office.
As you drive to the top of the small hill, you turn left into a large parking lot with about 12 units overlooking the parking lot. Thses are for elederly or disabled folks. The apartments at the bottom of the hill are for family or disabled. Now instead of turning left, at the top of the hill, you turn right into that parking lot, and your at the second half of the family, disabled units. These units are older units, but still very nice. The units as you drive in are newer units. Okay, don't know much about the elderly units, other then they have a common laundry room, and are hot water heated. Heat is included in your rent, so that's nice. You can have a small pet, but it will cost you - inquire with the housing as to how much.
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| BIRCHWOOD APARTMENTS - BASS HARBOR, LOWER SECTION |
Family units, top and bottom, washer and dryers in each unit. .50 to dry and .75 to wash. There are only two three bedroom units here total, one at each end of the upper units. There are about 8 units to the upper section, all in one section, with small front lawns, and common parking area. Rent is based on 30% of your income and heat is also included in your rent. Wall to wall carpets, except in bathroom and kitchen areas, the kitchen itself is small, but the living rooms are large, at least in the 3 bedrooms units.
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| BIRCHWOOD APARTMENTS, BASS HARBOR - UPPER SECTION |
No mail is delivered here except to the elderly section. You will have to get a PO box across the street, or you won't get mail. This is a very quiet project, with the Bass harbor lighthouse about a mile down the road in one direction and a food store (lot huge) about 3/4 of a mile in the other direction. About another 4th of a mile is a second store. Both offer pizza counters, some meats, and the the stuff you would expect to find in a small store. The nearest large food store is in nearby Southwest Harbor, the surefine store. The Bass harbor Ferry is also within a short walk of the project, as are several small restarants.
Tjhese units are heated by hot water pipes. Housing pays for the heat. The bigest drawback to this place, besides not being too close to a major food store, is that there are no back doors to any of the units. The back of each unit has a very large picture window in each of the living rooms. The fire department is just around the corner and the local school is about 3/4 of a mile away. These units are surrounded by woods all around, and as you drive up to the top of the hill to reach the upper units, if you drove straight ahead instead of turning into one of the parking lots, it would lead through the woods, passing a few private homes, and come out at a small pond.
This road is posted, but many of the locals use it to reach the pond.
For more info, contact the Bar Harbor Housing Authority at 207-288-4770
OTHER PROJECTS RUN BY THE BAR HARBOR HOUSING AUTHORITY
Malvern-Belmont estates - located right in downtown, easy walk to everything. This is elderly and disabled only, and the housing authority has their offices here as well.
Rodick-Lorriane - located right by the school, very close to downtown, this also is an elderly-disabled project.
MAPLE LANE APARTMENTS - Located on the quiet side of the island, it sets on a dead end road close to downtown area. This is a family and disabled project. I believe the rent is based upon 30% of your income and the units are two bedrooms each.
Norwood Cove Apartments - located in Southwest Harbor, again, these are elderly apartments.
RIDGE APARTMENTS - I believe this also is an elderly.disabled project. It is just outside of town in a deep woods setting.
Union River Estates - located off island, in the city of Ellsworth. Don't know much about it. You would have to inquire. Don't know if this is the one, but the housing does operate a small housing project in Ellsworth.
Okay, almost all of these projects I've listed are run by other housing authority names, but in fact, it is the bar harbor housing authority that manages all of them except Acadia apartments. Just call and tell them the apartment name your interested in and they will handle it.
Bar harbor has at least 2 to 3 cab companies at any given time, and the quiet side of the island has 1 to 2 cab companies. From june through late septem,ber the island explorer buses will take you just about anywhere where you want to go on the island for free. And there is also the commuter buses that run from Bar Harbor off island to Ellsworth and Bangor, as well as other towns. And if your disabled in any way, there is island connections, which will arrange for free rides to doctors as well as shopping for food or even off island to the shopping centers in Ellsworth.
The housing authority also offers a service to shopping and doctors as well, they charge by the hour...inquire as to the price.Shortly I hope to post pictures of the projects as well as the surrounding area around them...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
EXPLORE 98% OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK FOR FREE
Yup, I know it sounds too good to be true, but believe me, many people do just that. How? Very easy. First, Acadia is unlike any of the other national parks. It is not one large piece of land, it is broken up into many smaller sections, with private land and town roads in between all those pieces that make up the park.
You may also want to do a little reading up on the geology of acadia National Park, so I will post a link to a cool site on this subject, The Geology of Mount Desert IslandA Visitor's Guide to the Geology of Acadia National Park http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/bedrock/acadia/igneous.htm
A second reason that makes seeing the park for free so easy is the fack that the park has only one, thats right, one, fee station, and it is very easy to steer clear of it while enjoying the bulk of the park.
In fact - once you pull out of the visitors center off route 3 in Hulls Cove, and continue onto the park loop road, if you don't turn onto the one way section of the loop road, you will never even see the fee station. They placed it mid way along the one way stretch because that stretch of roadway follows the edge of the ocean, for the most part, with spectacular views.
So what sections of the park are free? Pretty much the entire park/ In fact, the entire length of the two way section of the park loop road, which includes the Summit road to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the Bubble Pond area, Eagle Lake area and all the carriage roads, Duck Brook Bridge and all its carriage roads, The Jordan Pond House area with its carriage roads and hiking trails, the Wildwood stables where you can rent a horse or horse drawn carriage, and looking beyond you can access Ship's Harbor and Wonderland trail systems and the much photographed Bass Harbor Lighthouse.
Bass Harbor Lighthouse is very hard to locate if your new to the area, so I will give you a tip on how to find it. Check out the link to view the lighthouse now http://lighthousegetaway.com/lights/maine7.html . You can get stunning pictures of the sunset here in the evening. Go to Southwest Harbor, on route 102. Drive through the village and as you head toward Tremont, you will approach a sharp curve in the road as it rounds the corner, and a sign for route 102A to the left. Turn onto route 102A and pass through the villages of Manset and Seawall. As you pass the Ship Harbor parking lot, you will be entering the village of Bass Harbor. A short ways down the road you will come upon the Bass Harbor Campground.
Here is a link to the Bass Harbor campground. http://www.bassharbor.com/ . Once you get to the campground, there will be a very sharp curve in the roadway, turn left onto that narrow country road, it should have a small sign saying Bass Harbor Lighthouse. The parking lot is small and RV's are not allowed down by the Lighthouse, so park at that sharp corner and walk down to the lighthouse if you have a RV.
Even the very popular Echo Beach with its warm waters is free. In fact, the only place you ever come into contact with a fee station is at one place, along the one way section of the park loop road.
But by avoiding the one way section you also will miss out on seeing the nature center and wild gardens, as well as the bear brook picnic area which overlooks a pond.
So here's a little trick all the locals do as . Drive down the one way section, when you see the signs for the wild gardens and nature center, you can even pull in and enjoy what it has to offer. They have just recently begun to ask for a small fee for a guided tour of this area, take my advice, keep your money, the area is so small and well marked, you don't need a guided tour.
Once your done here, get back onto the one way section, shortly after passing under the stone bridge, you will round a sharp curve - keep your eyes open to the left hand side of the road, and you will see the Bear Brook picnic area. The entrance is very easy to miss, so be looking for it. They have flush toilets and running water, and most of the time, the sites are pretty empty, again, because the entrance is very easy to miss.
There are also hiking trails all along the one way section, so feel free to stop and do some hiking. Once you leave the picnic area, continue on, there will be a couple of pull overs on the left hand side where you can stop and take in the ocean views. As you continue on, you will begin to drive uphill, and the fee station will come into view. Don't panic, approach the fee station, in the left lane, and just before the station, on your left will be a road, turn onto that road to avoid paying the fee. In a very short distance it comes to a four way intersection.
To head back toward Bar Harbor and town, turn left. To reach the schooner head parking lot go straight, it does a loop back to where you are now at. There is a hiking trail here that leads through the woods and to the cliffs with stunning views. If your brave and its low tide, there is also a huge cave down below to explore.
Now if you, like many of us locals, want to enjoy a day at sand beach, or explore the thunder hole area or otter cliffs area, it can all be reached by turning right, and continue down the road. There is a parking lot on the left with hiking trails to great head, which overlooks sand beach, but this parking lot is usually pretty full. As you drive on, the road will end at a dead end, with a rangers trailer on the left hand side. People turn around here in the yard. Before you reach the end of the road, you should see many cars parked along the side of the road. Just park, and walk to the end, and where the road ends, a paved path begins. This path will take you through some woods and into the sand beach parking lot. Okay, I am now updating this, the park service has now cracked down on people using this short cut to reach sand beach and thunder Hole for free. As you drive down this last stretch of roadway, you will come to the Great Head parking lot. You can no longer drive further down the road, as it is blocked off and has signs telling you not to drive or go beyond this point. So you will have to park at the parking lot and walk around the blockade, and down the road for some distance before coming to the paved path discribed above.
Now, if you want to explore thunder hole and the otter cliffs area, go over by the changing rooms, and there is a path which leads to thunder hole, and across the road from thunder hole is a large parking lot, way up in the far corner of the lot is the thunder hole gift shop. The same path leads beyond thunder hole all the way to the otter cliffs. And the total walking distance is not all that great, most small children will have no problems with it.
Yes, by doing this, you will miss out on some of the ocean views, but look at all that money you just saved. And here's the bonus, to see the entire stretch of ocean, catch a free ride on the Islander explorer that leaves the village green every half hour. They will read a message just before the bus departs telling you if you don't have a park pass you should get off the bus now and cross the street and purchase one at the rangers hut by the green. Don't worry none, they don't check people for their passes, it would take too long. What they do instead is the honor system, the bus approaches the fee station, and gets waved through.
You may also want to do a little reading up on the geology of acadia National Park, so I will post a link to a cool site on this subject, The Geology of Mount Desert IslandA Visitor's Guide to the Geology of Acadia National Park http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/bedrock/acadia/igneous.htm
A second reason that makes seeing the park for free so easy is the fack that the park has only one, thats right, one, fee station, and it is very easy to steer clear of it while enjoying the bulk of the park.
In fact - once you pull out of the visitors center off route 3 in Hulls Cove, and continue onto the park loop road, if you don't turn onto the one way section of the loop road, you will never even see the fee station. They placed it mid way along the one way stretch because that stretch of roadway follows the edge of the ocean, for the most part, with spectacular views.
So what sections of the park are free? Pretty much the entire park/ In fact, the entire length of the two way section of the park loop road, which includes the Summit road to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the Bubble Pond area, Eagle Lake area and all the carriage roads, Duck Brook Bridge and all its carriage roads, The Jordan Pond House area with its carriage roads and hiking trails, the Wildwood stables where you can rent a horse or horse drawn carriage, and looking beyond you can access Ship's Harbor and Wonderland trail systems and the much photographed Bass Harbor Lighthouse.
Bass Harbor Lighthouse is very hard to locate if your new to the area, so I will give you a tip on how to find it. Check out the link to view the lighthouse now http://lighthousegetaway.com/lights/maine7.html . You can get stunning pictures of the sunset here in the evening. Go to Southwest Harbor, on route 102. Drive through the village and as you head toward Tremont, you will approach a sharp curve in the road as it rounds the corner, and a sign for route 102A to the left. Turn onto route 102A and pass through the villages of Manset and Seawall. As you pass the Ship Harbor parking lot, you will be entering the village of Bass Harbor. A short ways down the road you will come upon the Bass Harbor Campground.
Here is a link to the Bass Harbor campground. http://www.bassharbor.com/ . Once you get to the campground, there will be a very sharp curve in the roadway, turn left onto that narrow country road, it should have a small sign saying Bass Harbor Lighthouse. The parking lot is small and RV's are not allowed down by the Lighthouse, so park at that sharp corner and walk down to the lighthouse if you have a RV.
Even the very popular Echo Beach with its warm waters is free. In fact, the only place you ever come into contact with a fee station is at one place, along the one way section of the park loop road.
But by avoiding the one way section you also will miss out on seeing the nature center and wild gardens, as well as the bear brook picnic area which overlooks a pond.
So here's a little trick all the locals do as . Drive down the one way section, when you see the signs for the wild gardens and nature center, you can even pull in and enjoy what it has to offer. They have just recently begun to ask for a small fee for a guided tour of this area, take my advice, keep your money, the area is so small and well marked, you don't need a guided tour.
Once your done here, get back onto the one way section, shortly after passing under the stone bridge, you will round a sharp curve - keep your eyes open to the left hand side of the road, and you will see the Bear Brook picnic area. The entrance is very easy to miss, so be looking for it. They have flush toilets and running water, and most of the time, the sites are pretty empty, again, because the entrance is very easy to miss.
There are also hiking trails all along the one way section, so feel free to stop and do some hiking. Once you leave the picnic area, continue on, there will be a couple of pull overs on the left hand side where you can stop and take in the ocean views. As you continue on, you will begin to drive uphill, and the fee station will come into view. Don't panic, approach the fee station, in the left lane, and just before the station, on your left will be a road, turn onto that road to avoid paying the fee. In a very short distance it comes to a four way intersection.
To head back toward Bar Harbor and town, turn left. To reach the schooner head parking lot go straight, it does a loop back to where you are now at. There is a hiking trail here that leads through the woods and to the cliffs with stunning views. If your brave and its low tide, there is also a huge cave down below to explore.
Now if you, like many of us locals, want to enjoy a day at sand beach, or explore the thunder hole area or otter cliffs area, it can all be reached by turning right, and continue down the road. There is a parking lot on the left with hiking trails to great head, which overlooks sand beach, but this parking lot is usually pretty full. As you drive on, the road will end at a dead end, with a rangers trailer on the left hand side. People turn around here in the yard. Before you reach the end of the road, you should see many cars parked along the side of the road. Just park, and walk to the end, and where the road ends, a paved path begins. This path will take you through some woods and into the sand beach parking lot. Okay, I am now updating this, the park service has now cracked down on people using this short cut to reach sand beach and thunder Hole for free. As you drive down this last stretch of roadway, you will come to the Great Head parking lot. You can no longer drive further down the road, as it is blocked off and has signs telling you not to drive or go beyond this point. So you will have to park at the parking lot and walk around the blockade, and down the road for some distance before coming to the paved path discribed above.
Now, if you want to explore thunder hole and the otter cliffs area, go over by the changing rooms, and there is a path which leads to thunder hole, and across the road from thunder hole is a large parking lot, way up in the far corner of the lot is the thunder hole gift shop. The same path leads beyond thunder hole all the way to the otter cliffs. And the total walking distance is not all that great, most small children will have no problems with it.
Yes, by doing this, you will miss out on some of the ocean views, but look at all that money you just saved. And here's the bonus, to see the entire stretch of ocean, catch a free ride on the Islander explorer that leaves the village green every half hour. They will read a message just before the bus departs telling you if you don't have a park pass you should get off the bus now and cross the street and purchase one at the rangers hut by the green. Don't worry none, they don't check people for their passes, it would take too long. What they do instead is the honor system, the bus approaches the fee station, and gets waved through.
Monday, March 30, 2009
GREAT HILL
This is actually a piece on LOST ACADIA, and I will add more in the future. If you were to look at a very old map of Acadia that showed the old trails, and looked at Great Hill, you would see that way back the hill was criss-crossed with hiking trails. For whatever reason, the National park "abandoned" all the trails on Great Hill. But if your a local, and do some searching, you can locate where some of these trails once ran.
The easiest of these trails to locate, and the most worn down one, as many locals still hike it, is located along the park loop road. You begin at the visitors center, just off route 3 in Hulls Cove. Drive along the park loop road, - you will pass over a very high, long stone bridge. I would suggest you park here and get out and walk along the sides of this bridge, for the views are unbelieveable, and yes, this bridge is indeed very high up - once back in your car, continue on. You will pass over a second stone bridge and pass the turnoff that heads back into town, As you continue along the park loop road, you will very quickly come upon a pull-over. Continue on to the next pull-over - its a large pull over with a sign that tells the story of the great fire that swept through the park.
This is where you want to park. Directly across the roadway is a stone ledge. Towards the left side of the ledge where is goes low, to meet up with the trees, there is a worn path that begins there, going up to the top of the ledge. Looking away from the roadway, you will see an opening through the trees. The worn path leads through that opening, and continues up over bare rock and dirt, making its way almost straight up to the 1st peak. Be day you can see cruise ships in the harbor below, and by night you can watch airplanes take off and land at the Bar Harbor Airport.
Note - 2/3 of the way up you will come upon a very huge boulder that just seems to be ready to roll down the hillside. This makes for very good pictures. Again, for the most part, the path here is well worn, and where it passes over stretches of bare rock, just be on the lookout for tiny rock piles that quickly point the way to where the path continues on dirt.
Todays weather - very dismal with light rain to a mist.
The easiest of these trails to locate, and the most worn down one, as many locals still hike it, is located along the park loop road. You begin at the visitors center, just off route 3 in Hulls Cove. Drive along the park loop road, - you will pass over a very high, long stone bridge. I would suggest you park here and get out and walk along the sides of this bridge, for the views are unbelieveable, and yes, this bridge is indeed very high up - once back in your car, continue on. You will pass over a second stone bridge and pass the turnoff that heads back into town, As you continue along the park loop road, you will very quickly come upon a pull-over. Continue on to the next pull-over - its a large pull over with a sign that tells the story of the great fire that swept through the park.
This is where you want to park. Directly across the roadway is a stone ledge. Towards the left side of the ledge where is goes low, to meet up with the trees, there is a worn path that begins there, going up to the top of the ledge. Looking away from the roadway, you will see an opening through the trees. The worn path leads through that opening, and continues up over bare rock and dirt, making its way almost straight up to the 1st peak. Be day you can see cruise ships in the harbor below, and by night you can watch airplanes take off and land at the Bar Harbor Airport.
Note - 2/3 of the way up you will come upon a very huge boulder that just seems to be ready to roll down the hillside. This makes for very good pictures. Again, for the most part, the path here is well worn, and where it passes over stretches of bare rock, just be on the lookout for tiny rock piles that quickly point the way to where the path continues on dirt.
Todays weather - very dismal with light rain to a mist.
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