Boston/Acadia National Forest Trip

[soulcougher73]

So my wife and I are thinking about heading to the New England area finally from Sept 2nd to the 10th. I've been a life long Red Sox fan but never been to Boston so i definitely want to hit up a game. They are back in town on the 4th so that will be the game i go to.

My rough trip plan so far is to spend the 2nd through the 4th in Boston exploring the city. Then head up to Acadia on the 5th, but enjoy the Maine coastal towns and take my time. Stay in Bar Harbor i guess hotel wise and visit Acadia on the 6th and 7th. I have an aunt that lives in southern Vermont id like to finally visit while she is there. So i was thinking about driving through NH and VT for the 8th and 9th at a touristy pace. Hopefully see some fall colors, but it could be a few weeks early on that. Then head out of Boston on the 10th back home.

For anyone that has been what are some cool things to do in Boston, good places one should eat, etc? I've always enjoyed US History so i'm sure ill want to do the historical stuff for sure.

Any places along the Maine coast that are must sees? Great places to get some fresh lobster?

Things one shouldn't miss inside Acadia?

Or any other fun things to see within these rough geographical area?

Sorry for the word salad. Never been the best at getting words out of my head for others to read easily lol

 

[repoman0]

Boston is a great walking city, especially around that time of year. You can easily walk the length of it in an hour, which I used to do all the time before I moved to Cambridge. The Freedom Trail is obviously touristy but a great way to see a lot of history and will take you through a lot of cool neighborhoods and areas, so I recommend spending a day walking around using that as your guide. Make sure you roam around Beacon Hill for a bit, the harbor, Copley Square (love the church / Hancock building combo and that nice square/park area). Tons of good food around ... the best Italian I've found is in fact not in the North End as you might expect but is a little place called Grotto in Beacon Hill.

Think about stopping in Portsmouth NH for a day as well on your drive. Classic New England flavor, very pretty and good for walking and has tons of great food. Portland Maine could be a good stop as well, lot of people love it though I haven't spent a lot of time there.

I have been camping at Acadia a handful of times over the past few years and will be there the weekend after you leave. Try to check out Cadillac Mountain for the sunrise. It can be really pretty, here's a pic I took there last year:

https://500px.com/photo/198600167/atlantic-sunrise-by-alex-t?ctx_page=1&from=user&user_id=21117465

We woke up at 2AM with headlamps to hike it, but you can drive it too

 

[soulcougher73]

Thanks repo. Good info. Yeah we love hiking too so maybe ill bring our headlamps along with us. That is a beautiful pic. Id like to try kayaking along the coast of Acadia if possible. We own kayaks but wont be bringing them with us obviously. Never kayaked the ocean before though.

 

[Scarpozzi]

My mother is from Maine....she used to work in Bar Harbor as a server.

I've been a few times on family vacations. The lobster pounds you pass when you approach Mt Desert Island are the best place to get lobster...and lobster rolls. Typically, the eating is outdoors, but a few have covered porches. I've not been up there for a number of years...I'm sure it's not changed too much. In town, there are a few options, but you can eat lobster like that anywhere. I'd go for the lobster pounds for authenticity and price..

You've gotta do the tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House...make it a priority. Also, get up for sunrise on Cadillac Mtn....do the carriage roads and stick your feet in the water up there... Pack for winter...September can sometimes be chilly. If you do the whale watching tours, I've had it dip to the 40s on the water in July....September can sometimes feel like Summer starts fading out and it feels like late October in the rest of the country... Pack a few layers to prepare.

As for places to stay in Bar Harbor, there aren't many options, so book early or you may end up paying upwards of $300/night when the cheap places sell out. Years ago we didn't pre-plan our trip and were trying to stay somewhere cheap, my wife and I stayed at the Mount Desert Street Motel....I thought she was going to kill me...

Camping...I've stayed at Blackwoods campground a few times. I think it's probably no more than $30/night. September camping in Maine....ahh...awesome if it's not raining.

 

[repoman0]

No problem -- you might want to go kayaking in the Charles too if you're into that. There are a few rental places near the science museum just over on the Cambridge side ... very pretty if you push off there.

By the way I would not expect any fall colors in early September, so probably best to avoid going out of your way to try to see them.

 

[repoman0]

One more thing I remembered ... leave some time to go to Santarpio's pizza in east Boston before you go to the airport!! If you're driving it's right on the way a couple minutes before you get there. If you're not getting on the plane covered in charcoal, you have failed

 

[soulcougher73]

One more thing I remembered ... leave some time to go to Santarpio's pizza in east Boston before you go to the airport!! If you're driving it's right on the way a couple minutes before you get there. If you're not getting on the plane covered in charcoal, you have failed

Lol. I'll look into it thanks. Love a good pizza

 

[Thebobo]

Not to be a forest nazi but it's Acadia National park Sounds like a nice trip never been to Maine always wanted to.

 

[soulcougher73]

Not to be a forest nazi but it's Acadia National park Sounds like a nice trip never been to Maine always wanted to.

I did nazi that coming

 

[NuclearNed]

Go to the Schoodic Peninsula. It has really nice rocky shoreline & doesn't have the traffic of the main portion of the park.

I think it was on the east side of the main part of the park where Mrs Ned & I found some nice sea caves with great tidal pools full of yummy, er, beautiful ocean creatures.

 

[FerrelGeek]

Great advice, guys! I second all of that. Sunsets on Cadillac Mtn are nice too. Camden, ME was nice as I recall as well as Booth Bay Harbor.