1st trip to Bar Harbor ,,need some help

Traveling to Bar Harbor for a long weekend from June 30truJuly 3rd.

Travel with my wife and 19 month year old. Coming up from New london ferry on fri night looking for a place about midway to stay...was thinking Portland ME any suggestions(sights i must see)? Are there any activities that for my wife and child to due if i wanted to get away for a 1/2 day hike(would love to hear suggestions)....Looking to spend some time in arcadia are there any hikes that i could due with the baby ??? backback rentals that carry child? ...thanks for the help

1st trip to Bar Harbor ,,need some help

Portland/Freeport is a little more than the 1/2 way point but it puts you above the heavy traffic that you could hit on 95 further south on a weekend. Portland is a great city and lots of fun but might be challenging with a 19 month old. The carriage paths in Acadia are wonderful with a small child. The one that goes by the Breakneck ponds is very pretty and the ponds will be quite nice that time of year. There are even places where a little one could dip their feet. LIttle Long Pond off Rt 3 is also a great place for small children. Easy hike along another carriage path. You wind up by an old boat house and a lovely, shallow beach that young children love to swim in. Not sure if there are rentals for baby-backpacks or not but if you can get one some of the not too strenuous trails can be done. We hiked Great Head when our daughter was 18 months old and my husband had her in the backpack the whole way. A few spots required some balance but it worked out just fine. You can pick up a trail map at the park welcome center. It will tell you distances, difficulty etc. Also, just walking along the shore path in Bar Harbor is very nice and there are lots and lots of interesting things for children to see. Have fun.

1st trip to Bar Harbor ,,need some help

The ';old boat house'; on Little Long Pond actually is a swimming house used in the days when the Rockefellers still lived on that part of their property. The Rockefeller family still owns the property---it is managed by Greenrock Co.---and it is open to use by all except for bicyclists.

Actually, there are so many hikes and walks you can do with your wife and child that you don%26#39;t need to run off alone and feel the incredible guilt that would come. ;)

If you have a good pair of boots and a baby backpack, there are more trails than not which you can take your family on. I%26#39;ve had both my kids on my back in a pack as early as yours. Also the carriage roads are excellent for walking, biking or even pushing a stroller.

Here%26#39;s a rental place we used for baby items: http://www.acadiababyrigging.com/

Check some of the older posts in the forum. There should be several that cover specific hikes with kids.

Enjoy.

There are several hikes---easy and otherwise---outlined in the Overview section at the top of this page. The Acadia National Park forum also is a good source for past discussions of hikes.

There are two low-impact hikes that I would recommend: Wonderland and Ship Harbor. They are within a mile or so of each other; both are located on the southern end of the island.

One other thing---as of last evening I can attest that blackflies are still active. Repellent or protective netting for the infant would be a good idea.