Questions here have often pondered the wisdom of staying in busy Bar Harbor. Some have called it a ';tourist trap.'; Some have dismissed it, claiming to want to see ';real Maine.'; I live in Bar Harbor. This week I had the opportunity to explore Belfast, just down the coast, and have lunch there. I guess Belfast might be considered more ';real Maine'; and less touristy.
But the downtown area of Belfast made me appreciate Bar Harbor all the more. Of the small towns in Maine, I think Bar Harbor and Camden are by far the prettiest. The main street of Bar Harbor is flanked by two small parks. Each has a fountain, park benches, plantings, and criss-crossing walks. Very peaceful.
The mix of stores and restaurants in Bar Harbor are all very well-kept, often with flowers spilling from window boxes in the summer. A stroll along the four block business area is always pleasant, with interesting items filling the store windows. Tempting menus are displayed. There is a good choice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The usual chain restaurants are conspicuously absent from the scene. An ice cream cone or a cup of coffee is readily available and can be taken to one of those park benches to enjoy the ocean breezes and watch the busy harbor scene which has a nice mix of lobster boats, sail boats, kayaks, and a cruise ship on some days.
All this is to say, that I can%26#39;t really imagine why a traveler would want to forego the pleasures of Bar Harbor in order to stay or visit some less-accommodating town under the misguided idea that ';real'; people don%26#39;t live and thrive in Bar Harbor.
Reflections on a tourist town
I couldn%26#39;t agree with you more!! I read the posts on TripAdvisor every day and this is the first time I%26#39;ve posted a reply. I can never understand the people that write in that Bar Harbor is too touristy or too crowded. This is the best town I%26#39;ve ever been to. My husband and I visited Bar Harbor several times a year until we finally moved here last year. We couldn%26#39;t be happier. We live right downtown and love every minute of it.
Now that we live here, our biggest problem is that no where else can compare! Now where do we go for vacation? At least once a week, one of us says ';I can%26#39;t believe we live here!';
We also think that Bar Harbor and Camden are the prettiest towns in Maine. We always recommend our visitors drive up the coast and enjoy the scenery. It may take a little longer, but it%26#39;s worth it - especially in the warmer seasons when you can stop at all of the great antique shops along the way.
Happy Traveling Everyone!
Reflections on a tourist town
We%26#39;ve lived here almost eleven years and now it%26#39;s only once a month that we say ';I can%26#39;t believe we live here.'; ;-) You%26#39;re right that it%26#39;s hard to take a vacation because few places compare. But we%26#39;ve found that the coast of Norway and the Highlands of Scotland are nice. Even there, we think: I can%26#39;t believe we live just across the Great Pond from here and share all this beauty, albeit on a smaller scale.
All those reasons are exactly why I want to begin my married life there. Bar Harbor is the most beautiful town I%26#39;ve been to on this side of the Atlantic. I do enjoy St. Augustine, Florida, but not as much as Bar Harbor. And it%26#39;s residents are what make the town so great! So, thank you!!!
We have our first trip to Bar Harbour, and the coast of Maine, coming up this July and we are thrilled about it. We can%26#39;t wait!
Thanks to everyone for their wonderful advice about the park, places to see, restaurants to eat at, hikes to take in, and bike paths to travel on.
If we cross each other on the street or in the coffee shop - thank-you bonniemaev, for your insight and dedication to your town.
Can%26#39;t wait to be there.
I grew up in the Chicago area and then northwestern Wisconsin. I went to undergraduate school in Wisconsin and to graduate school in Nebraska and Wisconsin-Madison. I spent my professional career in (briefly) northern Alabama and then eastern Tennessee. I have travelled in most all of the states of the USA and several foreign countries. When I moved here several years ago, it was like coming home. Although someday, circumstances may dictate otherwise, I really can%26#39;t visualize living anywhere else.
The tourist flock to the Acadia region because it%26#39;s--duh--so lovely. Why avoid somewhere specifically because everyone else thinks it so beautiful?
Besides, if crowds drive you nuts, take a hike, just not on the tip top of Cadillac Mtn. :) There are dozens of lovely trails where you can enjoy the beauty and serenity of Acadia and see maybe two other people per hour max.
Nice post bonniemaev. While we havent experienced ';the crowds'; first-hand, I can certainly understand why many people want to visit BH. Its beautiful! We usually visit in late June as it is our preference to take vacations during off-peak times partly due to costs but also due to personal preference. Usually towards the end of our stay, the amount of people increases. Even when that happens we will hit a trail and still only see a few hikers. I often wonder how much ';crowds'; there truly are in BH. Is it fair to say its more of a relative term?
I do get confused by the %26#39;real maine%26#39; label. I remember vacationing in %26#39;real maine%26#39; as a kid and I was bored to tears. There is nothing to do in %26#39;real maine%26#39;. BH is a perfect combination of real Maine and being inviting for visitors. The charm of BH for us is the scenery, the laid-back feel, the warmth of the town and the people we have come to know and Acadia. While we like Camden too, it has a completely different vibe. BH is more our style.
Its nice to read that you people living in BH love it so much. My wife and I plan on joining you in about 15 years. ;)
-- Funny you mention Belfast (and a pre-emptive apology to any Belfast lovers out there). We stopped there one year for breakfast. It has a nice %26#39;Main St.%26#39; and a fairly nice Harbor to look at. I seem to remember that there seems to be an effort to revitalize the town to draw people in but as far as being scenic, it pales to BH and Camden. Now we just drive through it.
Great post! We moved to Bar Harbor 21 years ago and after my initial shock of living here in the winter after everyone else leaves, I can%26#39;t imagine living anywhere else. Now winter is the best time for me, without the extra people here and plenty of time to enjoy the park. As far as being too touristy, of course it is touristy. People started coming here many, many years ago for vacation and relaxation and that%26#39;s what they are still coming for. They want to enjoy the National Park and ';play'; in our little town. We need to have the shops and restaurants that the visitors want when they get here. This is the ';real'; Maine experience. We are a small town in New England, where you may not know everyone by name but your do recognize most of the locals. People say hello to each other and don%26#39;t lower their eyes when walking by someone on the sidewalk. It takes a while to grocery shop in the local food store because you run in to everyone else there and of course, have to stop and talk.We have a real-live working waterfront with ';real Maine'; fisherman. I could go on and on but I think you get it by now. I too have traveled a bit and although one other location has also stolen my heart,( the Lakes District in England), I think it is because it reminds me so much of Bar Harbor (without the ocean) and I feel at home there as well. So come to our Island and see why we all love it here. And don%26#39;t worry about it being too busy. You can always find plenty of space in the National Park where there won%26#39;t be a single soul around......even in the middle of August!
i think the diff would be one town devoted more to presentation for tourist access and another town where such presentation isnt the main focus - which one is more real - how do u figure out what is culturally more real - something real for one person wont be the same for another - theres different ideas of whats real - or maybe it has to do with how much premeditation of behavior of what tourists expect to find or want to spend money and time on and that can create a sense of the ersetzen - because real aint always pretty in the ready made sense - u have to go looking around for it urself in some towns and its not always a dining experience or a landscaped garden - it might be just any where away from other tourists - that beauty can be fleeting like walking through goldenrod growing naturally in a vast field next to an old red barn - and theres no disputing taste anyways so... apples and oranges, peeps
Nice post and responses re: BAr Harbor. I have visited Acadia/Bar Harbor a number of times, and it is definitely one of my and my family%26#39;s favorite vacation places. I am the kind of person who does not seek out typical tourist places for vacation, and there is ana spect of BH that has that quality. To me, it is typified most strongly by the cruise boats that arrive, disembark swarming tourists who collect their trinkets, and reboard for the next port.
But Bar Harbor is so much more than a tourist destination. It is the the community and commercial focus of MDI/Acadia. It is the point of access for so many of the activities that make a vacation on MDI so fantastic, particularly if equipment rentals are needed - whale watches, harbor cruises, sea kayaking, bicycling. And there are the parks, cafes, restaurants, summer concerts, evening hot spots and entertainment. Yeah, there are an abundance of all the same tourist shops. But there are some excellent craft shops and galleries showcasing the talent of Maine, and many unique shops. All this is inevitable. BUt the setting is what makes it all so nice - the water, the boats, the beautiful old homes and buildings, and the absolute feeling of relaxation.
The other towns on the island are wonderful beacuse they are not Bar Harbor. But Bar Harbor is wonderful precisely because it is Bar Harbor. When we come and spend a week, we enjoy all the towns. We enjoy the activities that bring us among the people as much as those activities that get us away from them. And on MDI, you can have it any way you want.
By the way, for those residents looking for an equally enchanting vacation destination, I would highly recommend Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw) in Michigan. This is an island in the Striats of Mackinw, just over on the Lake Huron side, that separate lower Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The island is 9 miles around. There are no cars on the island. Transportation is by foot, horse drawn wagons, and bicycle. Because of this, most of the town and settlement is within an area close to the docks, while most of the rest of the island is a state park. Imagine Bar Harbor without cars.
There is a paved path the circles the island, an enjoyable couple hour bike ride around, and a network of paved and dirt roads that cross the island and run up through its middle. Accommodations range from the turn of the century Grand Hotel, with its Victorian elegance, to a range of hotels, resorts, inns, B%26amp;Bs and cottages. No camping, though. This is not a rustic place, like MDI, but plenty of uninhabited woodland with hiking, biking and horse trails. Life slows down on Mackinac Island, which makes it such a wonderful vacation.
If you make the trip out from the east coast, do visit the Upper Peninsula, a beautiful and sparsely populated part of the country. Pictured Rocks National Seashore on Lake Superior is a great place to camp, hike, and get out on the water. There is much else to see in the U.P. Also, in the lower part of the state, spend some time exploring the coast of Lake Michigan. My wife is from Michigan, and we have been out there almost every summer for years. Once you get away from the cities, and especially along the Lake Michigan shore, it feels a lot like Northern New England, without mountains, and with fresh water and emmense stretches of dunes on the great lakes, instead of salt water and a rugged coast.
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