New England's Gem: Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park

Check in with your Road Scholar group leader in the breakfast room across from the motel lobby between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. The Bar Harbor Villager is located in downtown Bar Harbor and is within short walking distance to downtown shops and attractions. We'll have our first gathering at 4:15 to get to know each other and to receive an introduction to Acadia National Park. We’ll give you a capsule look at Mount Desert Island, “the jewel of New England,” and show you the possible routes we’ll be hiking this week in Acadia National Park. Mount Desert, known for its dramatic scenery and universal appeal, is the second largest island on the east coast. Please be at the motel's cafe (across the lot from the office) by 3:45 so we can walk to our destination and begin promptly.

At a restaurant in downtown Bar Harbor, we’ll have a plated meal with beverage choices of coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Walking back to the motel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. (The minibus will take those who prefer not to walk.) Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

A continental breakfast will be available at the motel.

We'll head out to Oldfarm, the ruins of the home of George B. Dorr, considered the “father” of Acadia National Park. We'll learn the fascinating story of how the park was founded and how it came to be the only park in the entire national system in which the land was donated rather than purchased by the government. We'll also be able to see nearby Compass Harbor, a delightful shoreside area offering spectacular views. This small harbor is off the beaten path in Acadia and known primarily to locals. Next, we’ll ride the YWCA for a presentation on topics of interest to the program by a local expert from the Mount Desert Island Historical Society.

At a scenic spot, we’ll have bagged lunches with the selections we made previously.

We’ll get back aboard our minibus as we prepare to encounter stunning scenery along Acadia’s Park Loop Road, including the famed Ocean Drive section. We’ll stop at Thunder Hole, where — under the right conditions — the sea sends flumes of spray skyward and produces a booming sound. We’ll also visit the glacially carved Jordan Pond nestled between mountains that features a gorgeous panorama looking towards the Bubbles, twin peaks rising out of the water on the north end of the pond. We’ll end the afternoon with a scenic drive up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States. When the serpentine road was built in the 1930s, it was considered the best-engineered mountain road in the world. From the summit, we’ll marvel at the 360-degree views and look west towards Blue Hill as the day comes to an end.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Free time.

A continental breakfast will be available at the motel.

Using authentic gear and live lobsters, a local lobster expert will show us how Maine’s most famous sea creatures are caught and what the future of the industry looks like. We’ll then meet a “Vanderbilt maid,” who will take us on a delightful stroll through Bar Harbor, highlighted by tales from the Victorian “cottage era,” when Bar Harbor was among the world’s most exclusive and illustrious resorts.

At a scenic spot, we’ll have our bagged lunches.

We’ll ride through picturesque Somesville, the oldest settlement on Mount Desert Island. From there, we’ll take in the sights of the western side of Mount Desert Island — the “back side” or “quiet side” as many natives call it. At the Maine Granite Industry Museum, we'll participate in a fascinating session on granite cutting by a local granite quarrying expert. We’ll have a chance to lend our hands in prepping and cutting. The museum houses tools used by the quarrymen, blacksmiths, stone cutters, and stone carvers, as well as many historic photos and related documents. Moving on, we’ll visit Southwest Harbor and stop at Seawall, a natural rock formation that offers some of the loveliest ocean views on the island. We’ll then meander in and out of Acadia National Park and areas that many tourists never see. Returning to Somesville, we’ll visit sites that will reveal more about local history and culture including the so-called Monet Bridge, one of the most photographed spots in the state of Maine.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

At leisure.

A continental breakfast will be available at the motel.

After an early breakfast, we'll be treated to a morning bonus: a field trip to Sieur de Monts Springs, one of Acadia's little-known secrets. There, accompanied by a well-versed naturalist, we'll traverse the mile-long nature walk, a wonderful way to begin our day. Then we'll head to Northeast Harbor for our boating adventure. We'll board the “Sea Princess” a sightseeing/nature cruise vessel in Northeast Harbor. We'll tour explore the Great Harbor of Mount Desert and make a stop on Little Cranberry Island, one of 14 offshore Maine islands that maintain a year-round population. Then we'll cruise into Somes Sound, the only fjord on the east coast of North America, where we'll view dramatic cliffs rising out of the sea.

Lunch on your own.

The afternoon is free to explore Mount Desert Island or any of the other nearby coastal areas which catch your fancy. We’ll be happy to point you in the right direction for the activities you choose.

At a local restaurant, we'll enjoy an old-fashioned Down East shore feast, featuring the state’s most well-known crustacean — Homarus americanus — the North American cold-water lobster (alternatives available).

At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure after our lunch and graduation tomorrow.

A continental breakfast will be available at the motel.

We'll wrap up our program’s educational activities with two presentations at the YWCA. A professor from Bar Harbor's College of the Atlantic will talk about winter habitat and how animals on Mount Desert Island adapt to harsh conditions. Another local expert will share his collection of antique postcards and share stories of Victorian era Bar Harbor.

At Grant Park, overlooking Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands, we’ll take part in a brief “graduation” ceremony and savor our memories of a learning adventure on the magnificent Maine coast. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time.