The Jordan Pond House parking lot has become a zone of contention. Angry drivers are stealing parking spots and cursing each other out for a mere taste of the attraction’s famous ‘popovers’ (a breakfast pastry). The Park Loop Road has faced its own repercussions. Shuttle bus drivers cannot accommodate more than forty-three passengers on board, but they have been swamped with visitors, producing hour-long wait times.
This is the ugly truth of a beautiful summer destination spot, Acadia National Park. Central to the park is Mount Desert Island, where the Jordan Pond House and Park Loop Road reside. The national park title also encompasses Schoodic Peninsula, Isle au Haut, and other outer islands. That being said, there are only two formalized park entrances: one stationed by Sand Beach and another near Cadillac Mountain, both on Mount Desert Island. Since 1990, rangers have extrapolated data from these two entrances to help estimate the park’s total number of visitors.
That number skyrocketed in the summer of 2022, signifying Acadia’s popularity. Naturally, millions of families sought a sunny escape after the COVID-19 pandemic during the summer and early fall. This trend, termed “revenge travel” by social media platforms, refers to a trip people take to make up for missed travel during the Coronavirus pandemic. The result of this mindset was Acadia’s second-highest visitation rate on record: 3,970,201.
How all of these “revenge vacationers” made their sunny escape was more disconcerting. In 2020, the Island Explorer, the local shuttle bus system, took a brief intermission due to COVID-19. However, when service resumed in 2022, visitors had already grown accustomed to their cars, opting for private over public transportation. There were approximately 54,000 more cars on the island in 2022 than in 2019, and potentially 11,000 more in August alone. In an effort to explore nature’s beauty, many visitors have ironically contributed to its destruction.
To explore possible ramifications of and responses to Acadia’s increased visitation rates, I interviewed Becca Stanley, a Recreation Technician Coordinator at Friends of Acadia (FOA). She explained that FOA has been fundamental in building Acadia’s new gateway on Route 3 to Trenton. She noted the gateway is, “a place where people can ride the Island Explorer all around Mount Desert Island […] and then come back to Trenton, so they don’t even have to take their vehicle the entire time they’re here.” Stanley is hopeful this will reduce vehicular traffic on the island. Moreover, boarding a bus off the island is a great way to avoid long wait times!
As more tourists than ever before rush to Bar Harbor’s gift shops and Thunder Hole in their cars, they tend to miss out on some of Mount Desert Island’s more rewarding and underrated activities. Luckily, you don’t have to.
First, let’s hike to Thuya Garden’s magical forest gates. While the garden is part of the island’s Land and Garden Preserve, the trail begins at the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park. Parking should not be a problem if you arrive after 1:00 p.m. The hike begins on a flat path through the woods, alongside various bubbling brooks and towering pines. You should pass briefly through two rocky carriage roads, continuing straight on both occasions.
Thankfully, this section of the trail is handicap accessible, so you may modify the hike into a short loop back to Jordan Pond if necessary. Stanley explains that, in 2022, FOA hired a consultant to “conduct an accessibility study” in the island’s “high-use and low-use areas.” Alongside the Jordan Pond trails, FOA has assisted in making trails like the Jesup Path boardwalk at Sieur de Mont Springs and parts of Ship Harbor wheelchair-accessible/ADA-compliant.
Beyond accessibility, the forest floor of the Thuya hike, a spread of colorful leaves and pine cones, is undeniably beautiful. Melissa Levy, a frequent visitor to Mount Desert Island since 1973, eagerly agrees. “The hike passes past rocks, trees, and stumps covered in mosses and lichens in more shades of green than one can describe with words. There are ancient segmented grasses which have persisted since the time of the dinosaurs. Mushrooms in every imaginable size and color also send the imagination wandering. They remind one of a perfect place for Smurfs or fairies, elves or woodland sprites,” Levy said.
The garden’s entrance is perhaps even more enthralling. Descending the rock staircase through Thuya’s wood forest gates is indescribably serene. As you advance toward the garden’s center, you’ll observe a wishing well guarded by wooden pillars and a burgundy roof. Nearby, you may notice a reflection pool, which is home to several sunbathing green frogs. It is not uncommon to spot other fauna species, such as monarch butterflies and ruby-throated hummingbirds, flitting around the garden.
Despite its secretive spot in the woods, Thuya Garden is open to the public seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It houses a variety of perennial flowers (ones that regrow every spring) including mountain laurels and rhododendrons. The other half are annuals, including dahlias, ageratum, and verbena.
Now, it is time to return to your car. One strategy is coordinating with friends and family on the island to hitch a ride back to the Jordan Pond House. Alternatively, you may retrace your steps. If neither of those options sounds appealing, you might approach the hike differently. Start by parking your car near Thuya Garden. Then, board the Island Explorer to Jordan Pond House, hike to Thuya Garden, and your car should be waiting for you upon arrival.
You must be tired after that hike! Here is a relaxing activity to finish off the night. Let’s go stargazing at Seawall. Due to limited spots and increased visitation, Levy states it has become “more difficult to reserve a campsite at Seawall Campground.” Luckily, the Seawall, a rocky coastline overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, needs no reservations.
Find a parking spot, get your headlight ready, and ascend the “ramp” of piled cobblestones, until you reach a free picnic table. There are several of them dispersed along the Seawall. Alternatively, bring your own foldable chair.
Sit back, relax, and inhale the fresh, salty aroma swirling through the light ocean breeze. Gaze upwards at the bespeckled inky night sky. This is an excellent spot if you are into night photography, and it is incredibly convenient for visitors staying near Southwest or Bass Harbor.
This spot is not to be taken for granted, however, as it recently endured intense storm damage. In January of 2024, winter storms ripped asphalt from the road, and roughly 700 trees collapsed due to strong ocean gales. Local organizations worked tirelessly to restore 1,000 feet of the ocean path. Because the Gulf of Maine is one of the planet’s fastest-warming bodies of water, this flooding will likely not be an isolated incident. Thus, local organizations like FOA are shifting their focus to think in “climate-smart” manner. To Stanley, this means asking, “What can we do to change the site so that, in the future, things don’t erupt like they did [before]?”
These damages constitute only a tiny fraction of the over $10 million needed in repairs across the park this year. Visitors like you are vital in ensuring that this number does not escalate. Specifically, by adopting Acadia’s hiking etiquette, you can help to reduce “vegetation trampling.” This issue costs the park both time and money. Stanley notes that hiking etiquette can mean many things, from abiding by Acadia’s “leave-no-trace principle” to learning to “read a map.”
Please remember these guidelines as we visit our third destination, Sargent Mountain. During weekdays, this mountain becomes the site of FOA’s vegetation restoration efforts, “Save our Summits,’ an initiative that is open to volunteers. Before we tackle this hike, lather on some sunscreen because the final stretch to the summit is completely exposed. Bring your bathing suit, too, because there is a lovely swimming hole up top. I recommend the Hadlock Brook Trail for the easiest ascent because surrounding paths, including the Giant Slide, are relatively steep.
Eventually, the trail opens onto a single steep section of pink granite rock, which is a characteristic type of rock that you will see on many of your hikes in Acadia National Park. The Sargent Mountain summit is a great picnic spot. Nothing beats biting into a delicious roast beef, tomato, and lettuce sandwich while admiring Acadia National Park from 1,368 feet above ground.
After this delectable dining experience, enjoy a short downhill hike to Sargent Pond. Here, you’ll take a swim through history. Indeed, the Sargent Mountain Pond is thought to be Maine’s first lake to form after the Last Ice Age. It is naturally lacking fish, but it is home to thousands of water-boat-men (harmless water beetles) alongside tadpoles, which you will find in the shallower sections.

After you have dried off, it is time to hike to Penobscot Mountain. Luckily, the ascent takes only 20 minutes from the pond, so you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment quickly. Snap some more photos at Penobscot’s summit and continue on your way. Eventually, you’ll have made it back to the Jordan Pond House. Now, you may return to your campground or hotel for a good night’s rest.
Rise and shine! It is a new day. If you’re terrified of the Jordan Pond House parking lot but still craving a popover breakfast, I have great news! The Common Good Soup Kitchen, located in the heart of Southwest Harbor, is open to all. The suggested price is $10 per person for an all-you-can-eat breakfast of popovers, homemade blueberry and strawberry jams, oatmeal, coffee, juice, and more. As an added bonus, there is usually live music, with local musicians singing while playing upbeat songs on their guitars.
The Common Good Soup Kitchen is a place for the community to come together, eat good food, and enjoy each other’s company. If you enjoy your experience here, you can contribute to the Common Good’s summer fundraiser, as its proceeds constitute 80% of their funding for future community meals.
After that satiating breakfast, let’s walk to Wonderland. While I can’t promise that you will encounter Alice here, I can promise you an excellent location for painting and relaxation. The cool breeze, mountains fading into the distance, and seaweed-laden rocky shoreline are difficult to capture, but I invite you to try. Bring your watercolors, a paintbrush, and a canvas on this (mostly flat) 1.4-mile roundtrip walk. For the best scenery and room for relaxation, visit at low tide. This way, you may explore the rocky beach’s ‘tide pools,’ small ecosystems filled with sea critters such as barnacles, green crabs, and snails.

If you have fallen in love with Acadia National Park as much as I have, visit some of its lesser-known attractions this summer! Take it directly from a long-time visitor. Levy said that her favorite part about being in Acadia is “the unexpected moments of incredible natural beauty […] that can happen anywhere and any time, like a rainbow after a day of rain, a sunset that turns the clouds and sky into a slowly transforming masterpiece of colors, or a seal bobbing his head up for air in an inlet.”
Increased visitation has undoubtedly made trips to Acadia more difficult over the past few years. Thus, I hope this travelogue will serve you well in escaping the congeries of popover fans at the Jordan Pond House and becoming a more environmentally-conscious revenge vacationer.
Melissa Levy, a frequent visitor to Mount Desert Island since 1973, said that her favorite part about being in Acadia is “the unexpected moments of incredible natural beauty […] that can happen anywhere and any time, like a rainbow after a day of rain, a sunset that turns the clouds and sky into a slowly transforming masterpiece of colors, or a seal bobbing his head up for air in an inlet.”