Wow! The last time we had been to Bar Harbor was during a northeast motorcycle trip in 2010. We’ve been trying to get back for several years but schedules and other vacations have taken priority. Instead of renting a house or hotel room for this trip, we decided to take the camper and stay at Bar Harbor Campground. For those that don’t know, this is an adventure of itself….the campground does not take any reservations so you have to see what’s available when you get there!?! While this added to some nervous conversation ahead of time, we hoped for the best and figured we could stay a night in a Cracker Barrel or Walmart if need be. The campground told us ahead of time to get there early and there was “usually” availability. Luckily the kids look at everything as an adventure and love camping, so they are pretty indifferent on where we stay the night as long as they get to sleep in their bunks. My in-laws were also going along on this adventure and they were driving their Class B sprinter and planned on stopping with us along the way.
After our last trip in the trailer (Virginia Beach) we had some warranty work done to replace the slide-out computer board because it malfunctioned and we had to operate the slide manually. While the trip to Bar Harbor from Maryland started uneventfully, we planned to stay the night somewhere around Massachusetts to break up the trip. After staying at a quiet Cracker Barrel in Milford, CT we awoke the next morning and the in-laws decided to get a jump start and head out early. After packing up and getting ready to leave ourselves, we discovered that the slide-out was broken…again, ugh! No worries, I was now familiar with how to crank it in manually but it turns out the manual crank had vibrated loose somewhere along the way and we were stranded with the slide in the “out” position. After some panicked calls to insurance, AAA, and the RV dealer that normally works on our camper back in MD, we were able to switch the plugs from the “slide” switch to the “awning” switch and use the awning button to retract our slide. Not ideal but it did get us back on the road and out of a bind. The dealer thinks it was a bad computer board that they installed and it has to go back in for more warranty work now. After getting a later start than planned, we didn’t arrive at the campground until about 5pm even though we were hoping to get there by lunchtime. Upon arrival we found out there were tent sites for us to park on but no more trailer hookups. The campground recommended staying at a tent site and then wandering the campground early the next morning to find someone packing up, we could then put some of our gear on their site and “reserve” it for ourselves once they left. It was a very crazy set-up but I will say that it worked and we ended up with a great campsite for us and our in-laws the next morning. Once we got checked into our permanent site, I cut a small hole in the bottom insulation on the camper. This exposed where the manual slide linked to the motor and I was able to put in a new cotter pin…now at least we have the manual slide control back!
We’ve been to Bar Harbor three times now and it never disappoints. For someone that loves seeing the sand and being at a beach, the rocky outcroppings and cliffs of Acadia Park are an incredibly different sight. The kids had a blast exploring new terrain and seeing nature in a little different way. Their highlight was playing on all the rocks along the cliffs at Thunder Hole and the summit of Cadillac Mountain. We walked on the sandbar out towards Bar Island, but unfortunately we were too close to high tide so we couldn’t go all the way across. At low tide you can walk to the island and explore, just be back before high tide or you will get stranded until the next tide change. You also have to buy a park pass for each vehicle to enter Acadia National Park, the passes were only $30 per vehicle and granted access for the whole week. Separately, if you want to drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain (highly recommend) there is a separate pass for a nominal fee and you have to reserve your time…the park is trying to limit congestion on the road leading to the summit. There are also options to go to Cadillac Mountain summit at sunrise, the first place to see the sunrise in the continental United States, but these book extremely quick so plan ahead.
While in Bar Harbor we also went whale watching, it was a long boat ride and got quite chilly but the kids loved it and we saw a bunch of whales! The boat had a great lounge area inside with snacks/drinks and had plenty of seating outside. We also went back to Thunder Hole and Indian Point, played mini-golf at Pirate’s Cove, and had a great time hanging out around the campground. Bar Harbor Campground had an okay playground, the heated pool was great, and the small camp store had enough items in case we were in a bind. They also have a short nature trail near the campground where you can pick fresh blueberries!
Hope got to try outdoor rock climbing for the first time. She climbs frequently at local gyms and is on the Movement Climbing Team, but this was her first outdoor climbing adventure and she loved it! Atlantic Climbing School was a top-notch outfit and we had a great experience with the staff in store as well as our guide. We stopped in on Saturday and were able to book a time with a personal guide to go out Sunday morning. After picking the guide up in downtown Bar Harbor, we drove 15 minutes into Acadia Park and got to spend about 3 hours climbing at Otter Cliffs. There were a variety of climbs for all difficulty levels, the guide was encouraging and was great at working with Hope. The scariest part of the climb was that we are used to climbing up the wall and then repelling down, at Otter Cliffs we started at the top, repelled down the face of the cliff, and then had to belay/climb back up.
From Hope:
I loved this experience and I strongly suggest going if you like to rock climb. This was so so so much fun and I liked that it was right by the water. In the morning the water was covered in mist or fog, Otter cliffs has beautiful scenery and is super fun. The animals were cool and I spotted a snake there! I think that there were a lot of variety of climbs, I suggest the climb “in the groove” it was super fun. What are you waiting for…Gooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I was able to get some local runs in around Bar Harbor and the campground, not as scenic as the beach but it was still nice to be away from the humidity of the mid-Atlantic. From Bar Harbor Campground there are no paths/trails to run on, but the road traffic wasn’t terrible and I was able to run the 5 or 6 miles into Bar Harbor. Once you get within a mile of town there is a multi-use path and eventually sidewalks….the scenery is spectacular along the water. The local coffee shops were delicious, my recommendation would be “Pink Pastry Shop” for a great iced coffee and delicious cupcakes! We also love Jordan’s for breakfast, the blueberry pancakes are amazing and the blueberry muffin and yogurt parfaits also looked great!
Stay tuned for a future post about our crazy adventure on the way home!!!
2 responses to “Bar Harbor, Maine – 2023”
[…] promised, the trip home from Bar Harbor was definitely eventful. We started packing up from Bar Harbor Campground and a friendly couple […]
Even with some delays and difficulties getting home, Bar Harbor and Acadia were beautiful. I’m so lucky I get to tag along on these adventures ❤️