Where to Stay in Acadia National Park

Bar Harbor is where everything happens. Main Street runs the show, lined with restaurants, gear shops, and whale-watching operators. The Village Green sits at the center, a 2-minute walk from nearly every inn on Cottage Street. Shore Path starts at the town pier and traces the rocky coastline for a mile. Bar Island connects to town at low tide via a natural gravel bar at Bridge Street and disappears completely at high tide. The park's Sieur de Monts entrance is 3 miles south on Route 3, a 10-minute drive. Hulls Cove Visitor Center sits 3 miles north. Parking inside the park costs $35 per vehicle in summer, but the Island Explorer shuttle runs from downtown to every trailhead from late June through Columbus Day. Book two months ahead for July and August. Prices spike 40 percent the week of Labor Day.

Best for

first-timersnon-driversfood loverswhale watching

Walk times

Shore Path coastal walk 4 min
Town Pier whale watching tours 2 min
Village Green restaurants 1 min

Skip if: You are traveling in July or August on a tight budget. You will pay a steep premium for convenience and share every trail with hundreds of other visitors.

Local tip: The free Island Explorer shuttle stops at 6 downtown locations including Village Green and the town pier. Leave your car at the hotel, skip the $35 park vehicle fee, and take the bus to every trailhead.

High season June through September. Shoulder season May and October runs $80-180.

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$168per night

Southwest Harbor

The quiet side. Cheaper, less crowded, and still connected.

Mid-range $100-$220/night

Locals call this the quiet side and they mean it. Southwest Harbor sits 20 miles from Bar Harbor via Route 102, which loops around the western half of Mount Desert Island. Clark Point Road leads to the working harbor where lobster boats outnumber kayaks. Main Street has a handful of restaurants, a general store, and the Wendell Gilley Museum of Bird Carving, worth an hour of your time. Echo Lake Beach is a 5-minute drive north on Route 102, the best freshwater swimming on the island and rarely crowded before 10am. The western Acadia trail network starts nearby, including the Acadia Mountain and Beech Mountain trails. You will drive to Cadillac Mountain and Jordan Pond, both about 20 minutes away. What you save in price versus Bar Harbor, you spend in gas. The tradeoff works if you have a car and hate crowds.

Best for

budget travelershikersfamilies with carsrepeat visitors

Walk times

Working harbor dock 5 min
Wendell Gilley Museum of Bird Carving 3 min
Main Street restaurants 2 min

Skip if: You do not have a car or you need walkable nightlife. The Island Explorer connects here but routes are limited and less frequent than Bar Harbor.

Local tip: Echo Lake Beach on Route 102 is the best swimming on the island. Arrive before 10am on weekdays and you will have most of it to yourself. The water is cold until mid-July.

30 to 40 percent cheaper than Bar Harbor for comparable rooms. Shoulder season $60-130.

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$112per night

Northeast Harbor

Upscale and intentionally low-key. The best gardens in Maine are here.

Mid-range $160-$380/night

Northeast Harbor sits on the eastern side of Somes Sound, the only true fjord on the East Coast of the United States. The town is small, wealthy, and intentionally understated. The marina on Sea Street fills with sailboats and wooden yachts from June through September. Two free gardens sit within walking distance: Thuya Garden (climb the stone steps off Route 3) and Asticou Azalea Garden across the intersection at Routes 198 and 3. Both are free and rarely crowded. The Asticou Trail connects the village to Jordan Pond, about 4 miles one way. Bar Harbor is 12 miles north on Route 3, a 20-minute drive. This area draws fewer day-trippers than Bar Harbor, which means restaurants do not require reservations on a Tuesday night. Prices run 10 to 15 percent higher than Southwest Harbor but the quiet and the marina views are worth the difference.

Best for

couplesgarden loverssailing enthusiastsprivacy seekers

Walk times

Asticou Azalea Garden 8 min
Northeast Harbor Marina 4 min
Thuya Garden stone stairs entrance 12 min

Skip if: You need dining variety or want to walk to multiple restaurants in one evening. Northeast Harbor has maybe three good dinner options and they close early.

Local tip: Thuya Garden is open sunrise to sunset, free, and almost nobody goes before 8am. The stone staircase entrance off Route 3 is the one most visitors drive past without stopping. Best quiet hour on the island.

Premium for character and quiet. Best value in shoulder season May and October.

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$179per night

Hulls Cove

Right at the park entrance. No town, no crowds, all trails.

Mid-range $120-$260/night

Hulls Cove is the underrated choice. The main Acadia National Park Visitor Center sits right here on Route 3, and the fee station is a 1-mile drive in. This is not a traditional town. Route 3 is the main artery, with inns and B&Bs spread along both sides heading toward Bar Harbor to the south and Ellsworth to the north. Bar Harbor's Main Street is 3 miles south, a 7-minute drive or a 20-minute bike ride on the park carriage road network. The Island Explorer shuttle stops at the visitor center every 15 minutes in peak season, connecting you to every major trailhead without driving or paying the vehicle fee. No restaurants within walking distance, but the Village Restaurant on Route 3 does a solid breakfast. Morning hikers love this location because Cadillac Mountain summit is 15 minutes from your door at 6am before timed entry crowds arrive.

Best for

early-morning hikersroad trippersfamiliespark-first travelers

Walk times

Acadia National Park Visitor Center 3 min
Island Explorer shuttle stop 2 min
Village Restaurant breakfast 6 min

Skip if: You want to walk to dinner at night. Hulls Cove has almost no walkable evening dining and you will need a car or shuttle for every meal after 5pm.

Local tip: The timed entry reservation for Cadillac Mountain Summit Road, required from late May through late October, books up weeks in advance. Reserve at Recreation.gov before you leave home, not when you arrive.

Slightly cheaper than downtown Bar Harbor for comparable quality. Limited inventory overall.

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$134per night

Bass Harbor

Remote, real, and the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.

Mid-range $90-$180/night

Bass Harbor is for people who read the whole guidebook and then ignored half of it. The village sits on the southwestern tip of Mount Desert Island, 26 miles from Bar Harbor via Route 102. Bass Harbor Lighthouse is here, the most photographed lighthouse in Maine, perched on pink granite ledges at the end of Lighthouse Road. The walk down to the rocks takes 5 minutes from the parking area. Bernard Road and the working waterfront have a few lobster shacks and one decent seafood restaurant. The Seal Cove Auto Museum on Route 102 is surprisingly good, worth 2 hours on a rainy day. Most Acadia trails are a 25 to 40 minute drive. You will see almost no tourists in the evening, but you will drive everywhere. The ferry to Swans Island leaves from Bass Harbor, a 40-minute crossing to an island with no traffic lights. Book 6 to 8 weeks ahead for July.

Best for

solitude seekersphotographersrepeat visitorsferry trip planners

Walk times

Bass Harbor Lighthouse 8 min
Working waterfront dock 5 min
Bernard Road lobster shacks 15 min

Skip if: This is your first visit to Acadia. You will spend too much time driving and miss the main park highlights. Come back for Bass Harbor on trip two.

Local tip: The lighthouse view is from the rocks below, not the top. Walk Lighthouse Road to the end, take the short rocky path down to the water, and go at golden hour. The pink granite turns orange in the last 20 minutes before sunset.

The most affordable area on MDI. Very limited inventory so book early regardless of price.

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$101per night