Camping a week in Acadia, but where?

You have three options if you want to stay in the Acadia National Park--Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods. No backcountry camping allowed.

We stayed for just under a week at Blackwoods in early June just before the summer season started. We had an amazing campsite with a 2- to 3-minute walk to the sea. At least at that time of year things were very quiet and we had a perfect campsite. My understanding is that Seawall is quieter, but closes Sept 5 this year. Here's the ANP camping link: www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/camping.htm

Early September is a great time to travel around Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, since the weather is beautiful but it's "between seasons," so the crowds are light. I have a friend who's family runs an inn, and they take the first week of Sept off post-summer and pre-leaf season. We're going to be staying at a rustic cabin on a quiet lake again this year.

Enjoy the trip!!

Nice. I loved our campsite at Blackwoods, and it was a great "jumping off point" for exploring. We stayed in the low A Section of the campground (I forget the exact site), right near a short walking path to the cliff and Atlantic Ocean. On a clear night, it's worth grabbing a headlamp and taking a walk down to the cliffs. It's so dark that the view of the stars over the Atlantic Ocean at 2 AM is breathtaking.

The A Section of the campground is also the trailhead for the 7-mile round-trip hike Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, if you want a more inland experience.

Finally, if you're into kayaking, I can't say enough good things about the National Park Sea Kayaking Tours company out of Bar Harbor. The four-hour sunset paddle was the highlight of the trip. Unlike some of the other kayak companies, they bring tours over by van to the more remote western side of the island. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife and not a single other boat.

Have a great trip!