After spending a week around Bar Harbor on a fabulous all inclusive trip (joke – shout out mom and dad), I can safely say that Bar Harbor is an incredibly special place! Being from Connecticut, I have explored my fair share of New England. But no other place I have visited has felt like this! The picturesque sea town with great shopping, the stunning nature that made me feel like I was transported across the world, I had truly felt nothing like it! I absolutely LOVED Bar Harbor, and I hope you will do! Here are my top things to do in Bar Harbor – both activities and restaurants!
Sea & Kayak Tour
The activity that was surprisingly the best thing that I did in Bar Harbor was going on a kayaking tour around Frenchman bay! While I don’t dislike kayaking, it is not my favorite activity. The last time I kayaked, I was in a single and was going against the current the entire time, resulting in a much harder workout than anticipated.
During this tour in BH, I was in a double seated kayak with my brother, and the waters were super calm! It did not feel like too much of a workout, and I thoroughly enjoyed being on the water. The BEST part of this was all of the wildlife we saw! I saw TWO bald eagles, a BABY SEAL, and other people saw a porpoise (I did not). I had so much fun looking for animals and birds. We learned about how the lobstermen live and work by their own rules, lowkey like the mafia, and stopped at an island beach to look for sea glass + explore!
We had gone on a lighthouse and puffin boat tour, which before the trip I thought would have been my favorite activity! It was entertaining, but it was quite hard to hear the person explaining everything, and all of the wildlife was so far away, binoculars were a necessity. This I knew going into the trip, but once I went on the kayak tour and got to see everything close up with my own eyes, I was blown away! The kayaking totally surpassed the boat tour and all my expectations and I would 10000% recommend it.
South Bubble Trail
Hiking is half the fun of visiting and is one of the best things to do in Bar Harbor! Acadia is stunning and has tons of great trails, one of which that’s quite popular, is the Bubble Trails. You can get to these trails from the Jordan Pond Trail, which is a peaceful loop around the water. If you’re standing at the Jordan Pond House, looking at the water, the entrance to the Bubble Trails are at about 1 or 2 o’clock. As you walk around the pond, you can easily see the peaks of these two trails, they are large round hills that look like bubbles. There are two you can choose from, or do both – the North and South Bubbles.
My family chose to climb South Bubble Rock, and we chose the first entrance, when going counter clockwise around the lake. This trail was, as I described it, a medieval stair master machine. There were hundreds of steps going up until you reached the top. I was happy we went up and down this side, as the other trail was also steep, and had ladders you had to go up and down. I would not have enjoyed going down those personally!
The view from the top was gorgeous! And the Bubble Rock was pretty cool, like how does it stay there? This was one of my favorite hikes we did and I would definitely recommend it!
Cool As A Moose + Shopping
I am a tough critic when it comes to shopping for souvenirs, specifically t shirts and sweatshirts. Personally, I want to buy something that will last! I want something that’s good quality, thick, and has a aesthetic design on it. Cool As A Moose checks all those boxes for me! There is not a Gildan shirt to be found, everything is made of a thick, high quality material. The designs are fun and stand out from the other shops. While they are a tad more expensive, I think for the quality of the product, it is completely worth it.
Also, I enjoyed shopping at Debbah’s. They have a range of sweatshirt and t shirt brands, as well as adorable knitted sweaters. There are some really fun shops to go through in Bar Harbor, but these two were my personal favorites!
The Gorge Trail Up Cadillac
Half of my family decided to hike up Cadillac Mountain. We planned on going up the North Ridge Trail, but couldn’t get parking at the entrance, so somehow found ourself on the Gorge Trail. It was like its name, a hike up the center of a gorge with two side of a river bank getting higher and higher as we climber. The Gorge Trail provided a much harder hike than we initially anticipated, but it was super cool. You hike this path of laid rocks up and up, that you think, damn how long did this take to make? You hardly see the sky until you get to the Summit Trail (which has some scrambling). It was a great workout and quite tranquil as we hardly saw any other hikers going this way.
This trail was tough, but super rewarding! We took the North Ridge Trail back down, which had stunning views! After a hard trail up, taking the North Ridge Trail down was great and relaxing.
Sand Beach
While half of the family hiked up the Gorge Trail, a few members had the foresight to know it would be tough, and they relaxed on Sand Beach. We met up there post hike. The beach was beautiful! A bit crowded, but the water stole the show with the stunning blue color. While it was too cold for me personally to swim, that didn’t stop my father and brother who are big cold plunge fans. If you are also not a cold plunge fan like me, I think the beach is still a fun stop as it reminds you that in the US, crystal clear, beautiful water does actually exist! Seeing the beach from above can be enough, or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can put your feel in.
Explore the Schoodic Peninsula
I saw a Tik Tok about how less than 5% of the people who visit Acadia, visit the Schoodic Peninsula. This inspired us to go take a look around. Once we arrived, it was like we had a natural park to ourselves! There were very few people exploring this area. We had a blast hopping from rock to rock, taking in the views.
Restaurants
Sugar Bakery
The house we rented was in Trenton, Maine, so we were a little outside Bar Harbor. There was this bakery nearby that we got a bunch of items from to share, and it was so delicious!! One of the best things was the quiches – they were so cheesy and creamy; it was probably the best quiche I have ever had!! All of the pastries were delicious and looked perfect. If you’re looking for a sweet breakfast spread, this is the perfect place to stop by!
The Early Bite
Another phenomenal breakfast spot is The Early Bite, which is in Bar Harbor. We stopped here twice, once before our lighthouse and puffin tour, the second time before our kayaking tour. Both times it was so good! I got a bacon, egg white, and cheese with salmon lox and guac on an everything bagel. The flavors together make me salivate just thinking about them. This breakfast dish was PACKED with protein, so I was satisfied and full of energy for hours to come.
We got blueberry pancakes to share, which were yummy of course. My cousin tried one of their special dishes, a “craffle”, which is a waffle made with croissant dough. She enjoyed it! In fact, everyone enjoyed their food immensely. I would highly recommend starting your day in Bar Harbor at The Early Bite!
Jordan Pound House
After doing the Jordan Pond Trail and hiking South Bubble, we had to stop by the Jordan Pond House to try one of their famous popovers! I had no clue what a popover was, and frankly, my cousin was dying to try them which is the only reason we got them. But as soon as I tasted one, I was so happy we made the stop. They are these light and fluffy biscuits, that kind of look like a big hallowed out muffin. You load them up with jam and butter inside and they are delicious! Like the perfect brunch treat.
I really enjoyed them, but apparently the bees love them too. In the seating area around the popovers, there are no less than 5 bees swarming every table. We did not like this, so we took the popovers back to the car to eat in the AC and without any bees! This was a fantastic choice and it made them all the more enjoyable.
The Lobster Pound
Of course, no trip to Maine is complete without having a lobster roll! Before this trip, I had never had one, and I left having two! The best one I had was at The Lobster Pound. Here I tried my first hot lobster roll, which was delicious, especially with the addition of their home made aioli! The food, great, the ambiance, also great! You are in this large camp ground-esque area with tons of picnic tables, yard games, and string lights strung overhead. There’s also an ice cream boat that sells creamy ice cream, so it’s easy to spend some time here, eating quite well!
Casa Jalisco
This one was a total, unexpected surprise. While in Maine, it was my younger brother’s birthday. For both of us, Mexican is the best type of food to exist. After trying to get into two restaurants in Ellsworth that were fully booked, I stumbled upon Casa Jalisco on Google Maps. With great reviews, we decided to try the place out.
It turned out to be a great choice, because it was some of the best Mexican food I have had in the States! I have been to Mexico City, so I know good Mexican good. Little did I know you can get some, so high up in the country! Everything here was fantastic. I got this monstrous burrito covered in queso and red and green salsa. It. Was. So. Good. If you are looking to switch up the cuisine on your trip to Bar Harbor, you need to stop by Casa Jalisco!!
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