Are you a lover of the autumn atmosphere and beautiful fall colors? Same! This is why this year, for fall, we decided to take a trip to Acadia National Park, and we couldn’t have timed our trip more perfectly! Somehow, we managed to visit the area right during peak fall foliage season, and it was everything I was hoping for and more.

We spent about a week on the East Coast from October 15th to 22nd, typically the end of the fall tourist season. During our week, we went on several stunning hikes, ate delicious meals, experienced fun local activities, and made incredible memories.

Visiting Acadia National Park during the fall is incredible, but being prepared makes it even better! Here is a quick list of things to pack or keep in mind if you plan to head out there in autumn.

• During our trip, there were several times when we would eat somewhere or visit a store, and it just happened to be their last day open for the season, so make sure to note when certain restaurants or other attractions close for the year.

• It will rain on and off a lot, so always have waterproof hiking shoes (this saved my feet) and keep a light waterproof jacket in your pack.

• Try and plan not to hike the more extreme hiking trails on rainy or extremely windy days unless you are a very experienced hiker. These trails include the Precipice, Beehive, and Bubble Rock trails.

• The temperature will range between 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit, so plan for some layers. I think it reached almost 70 degrees in only one day, but it was still windy.

• Plan for crazy traffic and parking on the weekends during peak season. If you visit on the weekend, maybe try and plan to hit the less touristy areas if possible, or you will be waiting in crazy traffic lines and crowded by people on the hiking trails.

• There are many areas of the park where you will have zero cell service for quite a few miles, even at the most popular destinations, so make sure to grab a map from the park stations when you can.

Those are just a few tips, but you’ll find more advice on more specific destinations throughout this blog post. With that said, let’s begin!

October 15th

For our first day flying in, we landed at about 4 p.m. and didn’t arrive in Acadia until later that evening, so all we did was stop to get some groceries and then settle into our Airbnb.

The Airbnb we stayed at was way bigger on the inside than we thought it would be. This was a large, yet at the same time, cozy cottage. It had a full-sized kitchen, which was excellent throughout the week, a TV connected to all our streaming services, and plenty of storage space. One downside was the lack of extra blankets when we wanted to hang out in the living room. There was also a slight mold problem in the bathroom and a lack of cleaning supplies. Overall, the price and location were fantastic! Throughout the week, we could travel to and from our Airbnb reasonably quickly, giving us more travel time. Each evening, we watched episodes of “Over the Garden Wall” & “What We Do in the Shadows,” which both are perfect fall shows to watch to set the cozy or spooky vibes.

Please use this link to check the Airbnb, “The Art Studio, a charming authentic retreat.”

October 16th

The 16th was our first official day exploring, and we packed our schedule to the brim!

To start our day, we explored the downtown area of Bar Harbor, and even though it was crazy busy with tourists from several cruise ships, it was still adorable to walk around. Below are a few photos from the path we walked near the shoreline.

The Precipice trail was our first scheduled hiking destination, but it was sooooo packed with other tourists that we decided to come back and hike this later in the week. Just check out this short clip of the cars parked on the road because the parking lots were already packed. This line went on for about a mile.

As we continued our drive along Park Loop Road, we stopped at Little Hunters Beach (mainly because it was the first spot where there was parking), which is a tiny cove to stop at when you want to stop at the beach but also avoid all the other tourists. It turned out to be the perfect stop to sit and enjoy the ocean waves away from crowds.

After taking in the sounds and smells of the ocean, it was time to head to some lake views at Jordan Pond. By this point, we were both fairly hungry, so we made a reservation at the Jordan Pond House restaurant and ate dinner overlooking the lake. To be honest, the food was… okay… I think you’re mainly paying the higher prices for the location and view. It was still a fun experience to cross off the list, but if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on food, it’s safe to skip this one.

We spent the remainder of our evening hiking on the south side of the lake, and It was such a romantic evening hike.

October 17th

On our second day, we got up fairly early and headed straight back for Jordan Pond to take advantage of the empty parking lot and trails. This time, we hiked the north side of the lake and headed for Bubble Rock. It stayed pretty foggy all morning, so we weren’t able to get a view of the lake when we reached the peak of Bubble Rock, but it was still a great hike to the top.

After the bubble hike, we made our way over to Pemetic Mountain, when we reached the summit, the fog finally cleared, and we saw some great views of Jordan Pond and the surrounding mountains.

Before we went on vacation, we had just finished watching the new season of “The Rings of Power,” which, by the way, is a terrific show, and there was something about the hikes on this day that just made me feel like I was in Middle Earth hiking with the halflings or the elves. It made it all very magical, and I hope my photos portray that feeling.

All these hikes took up most of the day, so we drove down to Bass Harbor Head Light Station for our last stop. We planned on coming back to this spot again later in the week, so this stop was mainly to get an idea of where to get the best photos. I'm not going to lie, I also took a nap in the car for about 40 minutes when we arrived. Some of these photos were also brought along a short hiking trail on Ship Harbor, just a few minutes down the road from the lighthouse.

On our way back to the Airbnb, we were starving, so we spontaneously stopped at Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound! This place was quite a gem! It's so cute and pretty great food. I ordered the fabulous scallop roll!

October 18th

This was one of our rainier days on the trip, but we didn’t let that stop us!

We made a quick stop at Thunder Hole, which was interesting but not a top pick for me. We probably didn’t go at the right time to hear the super loud thundering sounds; it was reasonably crowded, and we couldn’t see much.

Along our drive the previous day, I saw this amazing view that I just had to stop at for pics, and I’m so glad we did! The fall colors were excellent, and this little pond in front of the mountain was perfect. I’m not going to list the location because I think it’s more fun sometimes when you find these little gems along your drive by surprise.

The next stop ended up being one of our favorites on the trip and became a spot we would end up coming back to a few days later for a photo shoot. This was at the Wild Gardens of Acadia. It is not a very well-known spot, but if you go there during the fall color peak season, you will come across a trail of bright yellow birch trees that have a spectacular view. Definitely gave off a feeling of walking in a magical land.

After this, we spent the majority of the day in Bar Harbor. If you’ve never seen this town, it is literally a bookish lovers’ coastal dream! It’s so cute, cozy and romantic.

Our first food stop was at Bar Harbor Lobster Co., where I ate the best lobster sliders of my life! Seriously I’m not kidding when I write that these rolls were freaking incredible!

Once we were filled up with good food, we walked the streets for a few hours, checking out all the unique shops. As you can see from the photos, it was a very splendid stroll around town.

If you’re ever in the area, you also have to make a stop at the Rebel Lobster Speakeasy! This little hidden cocktail bar was so fun, and the bartender made the experience unforgettable. The shop and speakeasy is a local family-owned business, and if there is anything about the island that you want to know, you can find the answers while sipping a delicious drink.

The day ended with a few more stops in town at a few shops and one more late-night snack and drink at the Oyster Bar, which was once again another absolutely adorable spot in this absolutely adorable town.

October 19th

Our fourth day of hiking was focused on exploring some of the carriage roads. These are wider trails that are used for carriage rides through the park and horseback riding, but we just hiked them. I also think that the carriage companies were closed for the year when we arrived.

We started our hike at Little Long Pond Carriage Road and basically hiked a huge loop up into the hills and came back down on the south side of Little Long Pond. Along our hike, we came across quite a few picturesque spots that we would also end up coming back to later in the trip.

In one of the smaller towns, we stopped for lunch at the Colonel's Restaurant and Bakery, which also happened to be their very last day open for the season! Just our luck! I had their very yummy clam chowder and lobster BLT.

Since we were already on the lower part of the island, we decided to go back to Bass Harbor Head Light. It was good that we got there a good hour or two before sunset because this place is packed when there is a chance for good sunset pics. Reece was definitely much braver than me with the spot he picked!

It was amazing to have this be the view that ended our day of adventure.

October 20th

On one of our drives through the island, we spotted two different beautiful little creek locations that we eventually had to go back to take morning photos, and that is how we started this day. I also won’t give away these locations and leave it up to my fellow adventures to find. The fog was much more spectacular in person and was the perfect definition of a crisp autumn morning.

After watching the sunrise over this ideal little spot, we continued on our journey to go hike on the Beehive trail and head to the summit of Champlain Mountain.

On our way down, we mistakingly took a wrong turn and ended up much further than planned, but sometimes that is just part of the fun, or misery, depending on how far you have to make it back to the car.

Finally, we reached the car again! We tried to get good sunset photos at Jordan Pond, but unfortunately, the sunset was not as vibrant as it had been the day before. So we called it a day, headed into Bar Harbor, and ate a cozy meal at the Project Kitchen and Social Bar. It was lovely to eat outside next to their little garden and share some warm food and good drinks.

October 21st

Friday was a day packed with epic experiences!

We were super lucky and were able to get tickets to see the sunrise at the top of Cadillac Mountain. From this spot, you get to be the first people in the United States to view the sun rise over the horizon! Tickets sell out very quickly for this during the fall season (literally within a matter of minutes), and they only go on sale two days beforehand. If you are one of the lucky few to be able to do this, make sure to pack very warm clothing, blankets to sit on and wrap yourselves in, and a small flashlight to see where you are hiking since it will be dark, obviously, when you get there. All the best viewing spots also go fast so make sure to get there right at your ticket start time.

Before our next epic destination, we grabbed a quick breakfast at the 2 Cats Bar Harbor. If you’re a fan of a very filling and tasty breakfast, then I suggest you head to this place, only if you like the best, though.

Then, finally, we hiked the Precipice Trail! This was a bit of a tough hike. When we arrived at the trailhead, there was a park ranger stationed to ask hikers if they really knew what they were about to get themselves into. There are rocks to climb over, ladders to climb, and cliffs to hike on the edge of. It is really a unique and challenging experience, and maybe not best for first-time hikers. I was also glad we didn’t do this hike when it was super busy and/or rainy. There are plenty of stunning views on the way up, and I am very grateful that we were able to do this hike.

After this hike, we spent the remainder of the day doing photo shoots at some of our favorite spots we had seen on the trip, and they were all so adorable!

For my portraits I decided to go with my fall hearth witch outfit which I felt fit this outdoor scenery perfectly!

Then, we headed back to Bar Harbor for another great dinner at Side Street Cafe. Just look at those good drinks and that tasty lobster! I miss it so much!

October 22nd

Now, we come to the end of our journey. However, our flight was thankfully later in the evening, so we had time to go check out a few sights in Portland.

Of course, we had to stop at the Portland Head Lighthouse!

Also, the other reason I wanted to stop here was that the Bite Into Main food truck is there, and I had been dying to try their lobster rolls ever since I saw them on “Somebody Feed Phil,” another great show, by the way. And oh my gosh, these lobster rolls lived up to my expectations! So fluffy, warm, and buttery and it made all my lobster-eating dreams come true. It's definitely a solid tie between Bite Into Maine and Bar Harbor Lobster Co.

A bit of time was also spent just walking some of the main shopping streets in Portland, where I bought my dog a lobster toy.

Before we knew it was time to hop on a flight and fly home to the Midwest.

Traveling to Acadia National Park during the fall season is an experience I will not soon forget. Both the sunny and rainy days were beautiful, and the views were breathtaking. This would have been an easy two-week stay if time would have allowed. I would recommend this trip to any avid hikers, autumnal enthusiasts, or seafood lovers. When you go, take time to talk with a few of the locals and take in every sight you see.

If you would like to see more photos from our trip, click the link below!