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We left our house at 8:00 am Tuesday morning taking the back roads at a diagonal to catch up with Route 95 North in Biddeford Maine. We took exit 44 onto Rt 295. From there we headed up to Freeport Maine and found a great breakfast spot called Freeport Cafe. Many locals patrons and great service and food. Parking is tight but we found space for our thirty footer.
The cashier was interested in our trip and as we chatted she recommended taking Rt 3 to the Bar Harbor area and suggested a stop at Fort Knox and the Penobscot bridge and observatory. This was a great tip and well worth the stop. We got off Rt 95 at Augusta and picked up Rt 3/202 which turns into Rt 3/1 in Belfast. Continuing towards Bucksport, follow the signs to the entrance to Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows bridge observatory. You actually have to go past the bridge for about a half mile and the entrance is on the right. The first tower is 400 feet high and has an elevator to an observation deck. The view was amazing. We did not have time to check out the Fort, but it looked very interesting as well.
Rt 3/1 combines with Rt. 1A in Ellsworth, which is the last town with shopping, restaurants, fast food, and a Walmart before you get to Bar Harbor some 25 miles later. This is a good place to check your supplies, have a good meal, buy fuel and take care of any Internet business.
Rt 3 will bring you onto Mount Desert Island where Acadia National park begins. There are many places to purchase camp wood and many places offering Lobster and BBQ along the final stretch onto Mount Desert Island. We stopped at this Lobster/BBQ place in Trenton. You could smell the smoke from the hardwood BBQ from the parking lot. Steam was pouring out of the outdoor kettles where they boil lobsters and fresh picked corn on the cob. There was seating outside under umbrellas that were in the middle of picnic tables. We opted for brisket sandwiches with corn. It was great.
From the cafe head to main street and take al left. You will be able to get your 10 thousand steps in with a stroll down the hill popping in and out of the shops on your way to the waterfront. Lobster boats and lobster buoys dot the bay. This is where a New England post card becomes reality. We booked a 2 hour guided tour with Olies Trolleys as an expedient way to get an overview of the attractions. From there we could plan out the places we might want to revisit longer. The tour stopped for 15 minutes at Thunder hole, Sand Beach, Jordan Pond, past many houses of the rich and famous, and to the top of Cadillac Mountain. We learned about the history of Bar Harbor and the National Park from our well informed guide.
We caught the shuttle back to the campground and enjoyed a fire and did some organizing.
We followed the GPS through Acadia National Park. The park is forest covered hills mixed with sudden ocean views. We arrived at Blackwoods Campground and checked in at the gate. The National Park rangers are very polite, professional and helpful. The roads in the campground are narrow and paved. We found pull through site, A56.
A somewhat narrow, wooded pull through site with a fire ring and picnic table. Even though the campground is heavily wooded the sites are very close together. Our fire ring and our neighbor’s fire ring were only 50 feet apart and the rear of our camper and the rear of the camper across the street from us was about the same. A little too cozy but at times entertaining. Blackwoods does not offer any services at the sites, but does maintain a nice restrooms and water stations close by. They have a dump station at the entrance. They offer programs like hikes and bird watching with the rangers everyday. One evening they had a string orchestra playing a free concert in the amphitheater. Blackwoods is on the free shuttle route which makes stops at most of the popular attractions on the island.
We caught the bus and rode it to Bar Harbor to spend the day. Bar Harbor is filled with shops, restaurants, and sights to enjoy. We ventured to a breakfast place called “This way Cafe.” This place had lots of charm. Indoor and patio seating was buzzing with the chatter of people from all over the world.
We moved to our next camping spot on the other side of the bay after two nights in Blackwoods. We moved to Schoodic Woods. Schoodic is a new campground that is still in the national forest. They have huge private sites with water and electric, but no sewer hookups. But not to worry the restrooms here are super clean and well equipped. This is the place you want to be if you enjoy the quiet. It was so quiet you could hear yourself breathing.
They have a shuttle bus as well, but it only covers their side of the bay. You can get to a small town that offers a couple of restaurants and a general store. We took the shuttle to the docks and took the ferry across the bay to Bar Harbor. It was a picturesque ride through the lobster buoys and past a couple of lighthouses. Well worth the $26 round trip ticket. The ferry runs most of the day with the last return trip around 5:00pm.
Schoodic ranger station was pristine and the rangers friendly and helpful.
Time to head home-already?
The week flew by and we are already making plans to return a couple of times in 2018. I want to check our Bar Harbor Campground on the north side of the island. It’s no reservation, cash only, but it looks great.
On our way back we went through the town of Ellsworth. We were looking for another great dining experience and we were not disappointed. We found Union River Lobster Pot from a search on the GPS. Only open from 5:00-8:30 each night. We arrived around four and found a spot across the street to park the RV. The lobster pots in front of the restaurant were already steaming as we made our way by them to the Adirondack seating on the lawn overlooking the river. What a view!
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