Ogunquit Beach
Ogunquit, ME · Southern Maine Coast$$
Ogunquit, Maine, has one long spit of white sand with the Ogunquit River behind it, and three ways onto it: Main Beach, Footbridge Beach and North Beach. A bridge across the…
Photo: Adam Chivers / CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Beaches
Acadia National Park
About
From October 7 to March 6, the sun reaches Cadillac Mountain, in Acadia National Park on Maine's Mount Desert Island, before anywhere else in the country. In season the summit road takes a vehicle reservation, sold online only and never at the park. On foot or by bike you don't need one. The North Ridge Trail to the 1,530-foot top is 4.4 miles round trip. In summer, when the Sand Beach lot is routinely full by 9 a.m., you can leave the car free at Hulls Cove Visitor Center and ride the fare-free Island Explorer, which usually runs from mid-June to mid-October. At Thunder Hole the boom comes one to two hours before high tide, and the spray can top 40 feet.
Highlights
Cadillac Mountain, highest on the eastern seaboardThunder Hole, where waves boom against the rocksPrecipice and Beehive iron-rung trailsBiking or walking the historic carriage roads around Jordan PondPopovers and tea at Jordan Pond HouseDriving the 27-mile Park Loop Road along the coast
