[Acadia National Park, Sep 2024]

The 27-mile Acadia Park Loop road will present a unique challenge – which stops to make and which to save for later? Many visitors begin their visit to the park with the scenic drive. It helps you get oriented and it is a great introduction to this park’s beauty. Any park loop maps you get your hands on, like the one below I picked up at my hotel, will list many different stops. I don’t recommend doing them all in one go.

The park loop map I picked up at my hotel

Some of the stops can be skipped entirely, and some are better accessed via the hikes I recommend in my 3-day Acadia National Park itinerary. In addition, you will be driving the park loop road multiple times to get to trailheads, so you will have a chance to stop at any places you might have missed the first time. To make the most of your very first trip on Acadia’s Park Loop road, here are the 5 stops I recommend.

Stop 1: Frenchman Bay Overlook

This is the very first stop on the scenic drive, less than half a mile from the visitor center. You will get your first glimpse of the Porcupine islands, the Schoodic peninsula beyond that and the head of Bar Harbor on the very right.

Stop 2: Wild Gardens of Acadia

At the Wild Gardens of Acadia, you can see over 400 native plant species in thirteen sections designed to represent natural plant communities found within Acadia National Park.

Each section represents a habitat, and it was great to see these different communities at a small scale. I loved the mountain summits, the beach and the coniferous forest.

Stop 3: Sand Beach

This small stretch of coast is the largest sandy beach in Acadia and is surrounded by dramatic cliffs. It is one of the most popular stops in the park, so be prepared for parking to be a challenge. In addition to frolicking in the sun or splashing in the water (beware of currents), you can also enjoy spectacular star gazing from this spot. The Gorham Mountain Loop trail, one of the hikes on my 3-day itinerary, starts here.

Stop 4: Hunters Head and Little Hunters Beach

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger contrast from Sandy Beach. Little Hunters Beach is all cobblestone! They are a result of glacial activity and powerful waves. We could hear them tumble over each other when the surf came in and out.

Stop 5: Cadillac Mountain Summit (reservation required)

At 1530 ft, this is the highest summit on the eastern seaboard and, from October to March, the first place in the country to see the sunrise. Reservations are required May to October. We chose to see the sunset here rather than sunrise. We made our reservation for one hour before sunset, and we began our park loop scenic drive 2.5 hours before that. This allowed us plenty of time to enjoy the stops above and make our entry time. The views from Cadillac Mountain are, indeed, incredible.