Road trip from Ottawa to Bar Harbor with kids

Hello! We%26#39;ll be driving with our 3 and 5 year old boys on our first trip to Bar Harbor from Ottawa, Canada the last week in June.

We%26#39;re driving through Montreal, down to St Johnsbury VT the first day, then on to Bar Harbor the next day. We%26#39;re spending three days in BH and then following our tracks back.

First, can you tell me if there are any don%26#39;t-miss roadside attractions along the way?

Second, in BH we%26#39;re planning on doing some limited hiking (I%26#39;m also 10 wks pregnant), Pirate Golf and a whale-watching tour while in Bar Harbor. Any other suggestions for fun stuff for little kids?

Finally, we haven%26#39;t yet booked the final hotel in our return voyage. We%26#39;re looking at breaking the trip into two manageable bits and were considering the Fairbanks Inn in St Johnsbury. Any other suggestions for towns and/or hotels in that region?

Thanks in advance!! Can%26#39;t wait to get moving.

Road trip from Ottawa to Bar Harbor with kids

Ever thought of going back a different way? Through Burlington, take the ferry across Lake Champlain, then onto Lake Placid and then north back to Ottawa. It would be another boat excursion, possibly doing Ausable Chasm, or driving up Whiteface Mtn for a great view, High Falls Gorge, and then into an Olympic town, Lake Placid. Would seem to beat the ';re-tracing our steps';, flat-lander approach. ???

Mileage-wise, it%26#39;s virtually the same, if you have the time.

Alpine slides, over in Stowe, Mt Mansfield area. Time usually is an issue.

Road trip from Ottawa to Bar Harbor with kids

RE: hiking (low impact). At 10+/- weeks, presumably you won%26#39;t be into extreme verticality and a lot of scrambling over rocks.

With that in mind, consider the following hikes/walks.

Near Bar Harbor, there is the Great Meadow Loop as well as the series of (pretty much flat) trails that comprise the Jesup Path-Sieur de Monts-Tarn-Stratheden network.

On the other (quiet?) side of the island, there are two trails---Wonderland and Ship Harbor. Actually, you could combine both, but that would mean some scrambling along the rockly coast from Wonderland over to Ship Harbor.

Some of these are covered in a little more detail in the Overview section (top of page) of this forum.

As for the little ones, there is an Oceanarium on Rte. 3 between the Trenton bridge and Bar Harbor which has kid-friendly things.

Hi Dani

I just wanted to post a note about the whale watching trip. My husband and I took our 5 and 3 year old daughters last September. It%26#39;s a long cold trip out to where the whales are and a long cold trip back (a little over an hour each way). The scenery was nice for my husband and I, but the girls were bored. By the time we saw our first whale, both were asleep!

I would suggest taking the kids on LuLu%26#39;s Lobster Boat. We%26#39;ve done this trip a couple of times. Captain John is very knowledgeable about lobstering and he takes you on a scenic tour as well. It%26#39;s about 2 hours long and the boat doesn%26#39;t leave the calm waters of Frenchman Bay (which may also be nice for you if you are experiencing any morning sickness - I was also six months pregnant on the whale watching trip).

The Acadian Nature Cruise is also a great trip - it%26#39;s only two hours and the boat takes you along the coast and out to Egg Rock Lighthouse where you see seals, ducks, maybe dolphins, puffins, and eagles.

If you have your hearts set on seeing whales, don%26#39;t let me discourage you. The ones we saw were amazing and beautiful. I just wanted to throw out a little warning if you haven%26#39;t been before.

On a side note, I took the girls hiking up the South Bubble Trail and it was pretty easy for both of them. There are some rocky spots, but they managed fine. The views from the top were fun and they felt like they had climbed a mountain. The boys may also enjoy going to the little beach in Seal Cove or exploring at the Seawall Picnic area. It%26#39;s also a very nice walk across the sand bar and up to the summit on Bar Island. It%26#39;s an easy walk (about a mile) with wonderful views of Bar Harbor and the mountains behind. Just be sure to check the tide chart before you go!

I hope you enjoy your visit to Bar Harbor.

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions! We%26#39;ve now altered our route so that we%26#39;ll travel through NY, to the Ausable Chasm and across Lake Champlain to VT on the way out, and then go back through Montreal on the way home.

Thanks, too, for the warning about the whale watching tours. I must admit, I have a strong fear of deep water, and the idea of being out of sight of the shoreline leaves me a little breathless, but I was working on challenging that fear for the whale watching tour. Maybe I%26#39;ll go with the Lulu Lobster boat instead... something to consider, anyway.

And thanks for the hiking suggestions, too. I%26#39;ve printed everything out and will bring everything along with us when we go.

in the bath tub