Bar Harbor

Visiting Bar Harbor and not stepping foot in Acadia National Park would be like touring Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and not eating a single piece of candy. We will outline a couple of our favorite points and trails here, but we certainly encourage to explore on your own!

Cadillac Mountain is perhaps the most famous (and tallest!) point in Acadia. As a matter of fact, Cadillac Mountain is the first place that you can watch the sunrise in the United States from October through March. We encourage you to drive up to watch the sunrise (bring a blanket, it's cold!) and then brag about it to your friends!

Beehive Mountain was Scott's favorite mountain to climb as a kid -- it's certainly not for the faint of heart! The fastest route to the top includes a series of iron wrungs and ladders that you have to traverse, but the views are certainly worth it. Maddie and Scott conquered Beehive together on their first trip to Acadia.

Jesup Path is where to go when you're looking for a stroll... plus it's about as picturesque as it gets for all of you leaf-peepers out there. You may recognize some of the trails from our engagement photos!

Jordan Pond is ground zero for pop-overs and a must-stop while you're strolling through the park. Sit outside if the weather is nice, but watch out for the bees that try to pick at your lunch!

Anemone Cave isn't even a part of Acadia National Park anymore, but still a cool place to visit if you're up for a quick adventure. This is a cave full of sea anemones -- which apparently Maddie is an expert in from her days working at the science museum in Seattle -- but make sure you visit this spot at low tide or else it will be filled with water!

Food + Drink

As you know, Maddie and Scott don't eat seafood, which is heresy in Maine. That said, we'll jaunt down some of our favorite spots and make sure you find a big, juicy lobster during your visit!

Smokey's is a shack-on-the-side of the road that we found on our first roadtrip down east, but we've gone back every trip since. Park your car next to the smoker in the back, grab some wetnaps, and order yourself a finger-licking, stomach-filling good meal. (We will caution that Smokey's is seasonal and closes around Columbus Day every year, so check if it's open before you go!

Steak is our love language and Jack Russell's Steak House & Brewery speaks it fluently. Settle in at Jack's for a nicer meal, a great glass of wine, and a filet for the ages.

Just find yourself some fudge and/or ice cream downtown while you're here. You're on vacation. Your diet can wait. We reccomend taking a photo of the ice cream-eating lobster outside of Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium.

Booklovers unite! Maddie has a favorite bookstore in Bar Harbor and it's Sherman's. Filled with every book and tchotchke you could need on a visit to Maine, there's no doubt in our mind you'll walk away with at least one miniature lobster trap to stick on your fridge back home.

Reel Pizza! They serve you pizza and they show you movies! It literally does not get better than this -- and they've been doing this before fancy chains like Alamo Drafthouse and Netflix and chill. Scott has fond memories watching the original Oscar-snub here, Dogtown and Z-Boys, when he was a kid and more recently, Scott and Maddie watched The Big Sick here while munching on ironically-named 'za. C'est romantique!