On our third excursion, we found a quiet corner of Acadia.  The Schoodic Peninsula lies about 20 miles east of Mount Desert Island, where Bar Harbor and the primary chunk of Acadia National Park are located.  Schoodic is a quieter place, without the height and drama of large mountains and freshwater ponds, but with the same juxtaposition of rocky headland and cold ocean.  It is apparently also a great place to watch the sun set behind Cadillac Mountain, but we never saw this – we got to enjoy fog instead!

We started the morning with some needed housekeeping – laundry and a haircut for the boys, both in adjacent shops, and also right next door to a great little diner serving up big breakfasts!  Then, Schoodic.

We drove to the top of Schoodic Head, a little more than 400 feet above the ocean, and hiked from foggy, exposed granite slabs down the Anvil Trail to the ocean.  A short road walk then got us to the Alder Trail, which led through flat wildflower meadows around the base of the head.  At this point, we had to split up – the trail down Anvil was steep and rugged enough that nobody but me was looking forward to the climb back up, so the family continued along Alder to a gravel access road while I hiked back up the Schoodic Head Trail to retrieve the car.  Total: 2.6 miles, and at least 4 different habitats and ecosystems!

GPS data can be found here.

After our hike, timing was good to get back into the primary section of Acadia while the majority of the crowds were off at dinner.  We enjoyed a just-before-sunset walk about 1/3 of the way around Jordan Pond, enjoying the views of the Bubbles, and watching mergansers fish in the shallows.

A great day!  A video summary is included below.  Next installment will include a lobster hatchery and some wandering to more remote places east of Acadia.  Thanks for following along!

Get Out There
Troy
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