Acadia National Park
Joe and I were supposed to do a trip to sea kayak Baja. Neither of us could get away for a full week by the time the dates came around, so we decided to go ahead and hit Acadia for a few days.
Acadia is the first national park east of the Mississippi river. We took the 10 hour drive up to Maine to check out the trails and waves in the park. I'm not sure my photos do the place justice, but it really was a cool place to check out. You certainly don't need a great deal of gear since all of the trails are basically day hikes (they don't allow camping in the park).
Plan
- Wednesday
- Wake up and leave Jersey City @ 4:30am
- Drive from Jersey City to Acadia (10 hours), Maine in 1 shot
- Thursday
- Hike Ghoram Mountain Trail to the Bowl to Beehive and back
- Friday
- Hike Cadillac Cliffs trail to Jordan Pond and back
- Saturday
- Sea Kayak the coast
- Sunday
- Drive home
Cost
- Gas
- This will obviously depend on where you're coming from, time of the year or current cost of gas, and what you are driving.
- Since we drove my tank (Ford Explorer) from Jersey City, we filled up about 4 or 5 times at $50 -60 per pop. So that's about $250 split between us.
- Food
- We ate like pigs on this trip. We ate steaks (good T-Bones) the first night. Then we woke up and had eggs, sausage, potatoes, toast, coffee and pancakes at a local diner. Then we grilled chicken the next night. Then a big fat boy breakfast again. Then beer and all kinds of seafood at a nice pub. Oh did we fatten ourselves up. But we could not help ourselves. They have good food up there in Maine.
- I would venture to say I spent about $150 for food. Like I said. PIGS. I'm so ashamed.
- Campgrounds
- We stayed at Blackwoods Campground.
- There are approximately 306 camping sites. Showers are nearby but there are no hookups or utilities provided in the campground. The Island Explorer Shuttle Bus has a pickup and drop-off point here during the season. Cadillac Mountain is directly north and the ocean is a short walk to the south.
- The campground split between us was $40 for the 4 nights, 5 days.
- Reservations are suggested from May 1 through October 31 of each year. If in the U.S., call Blackwoods Campground at 1-800-365-2267 (International: 518-885-3639) beginning in February to make your reservations or use the following: Online Campsite Reservation Service.
- Camping in Acadia National Park requires appropriate registration and payment of both entrance and recreational use fees (camping). Campsites are limited to two tents, six individuals, and one vehicle.
- From December 1 through March 31, Blackwoods Campground is open for primitive camping only and is closed to automobiles. Campers are required to hike in from the campground entrance.
Lessons Learned
Newspaper stuffed in wet boots is like magic
It helps to dry them 300% faster and keeps the mildew mod smell out. It's amazing.