Hadley's Point Campground, Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine - May 2022

We stayed for fifteen days at this lovely campground,  Hadley's Point Campground, way up here in the northeast corner of our United States of America.  First of all, this place rivals Alaska for its natural beauty.  Its the only other place I have been that elicit ohs and ahs at seemingly ever turn.   The coastline in Maine is well known for its rugged, rocky beautiful shores as well as its lighthouses that assist night time mariners.  I cant imagine being a mariner back in the day before good maps and lots of lighthouses.  The shorelines are so jagged with so many coves and islands surrounding the main island and the coast in general.  There must be hundreds of ships that hit ground and sank in and around the Maine coastline. 

Jordan Pond, MDI
 

MDI, Mount Desert Island is located about half way up the coast of Maine.  At every turn are coves and winding, twisting shorelines.  There are fresh water lakes and ponds, big ponds and lots of healthy trees, primarily pine and birch.  The lakes and ponds are equally gorgeous.  MDI attacks over 3 million visitors each season.  Wow!

Lobstering is a very big industry around here.  When driving, its easy to spot crates or cages all over the place.  They have a distinct look Triangular, about 3 feet long.  There are lobster restaurants everywhere.  

The centerpiece of this beautiful place is the Acadia National Park, that features the legendary Cadillac Mountain.  The views from the top of the island are breathtaking.  If you catch a sunrise from the top, you are the first people in the USA to see the sun on that given day.  Its a very popular activity, so plane ahead and get up early, real early and pray for no fog. The park has entrances from all sides of the island and offers gently slopping switch-backing roads.   There are plenty of trails and rocky formations to walk on along the shorelines.  

 

Cadillac Mountain, MDI

 

You can watch the tide come in and out each day.  Its a big deal with all the fishing industry and a couple sights worth seeing, depending on a high or low tide.

Bar Harbor is a very pretty little town nestled in the north east end of the island.  It is also legendary, constantly landing in lists of the prettiest towns in America.  It offers all the shopping, eating and sight seeing you can take.  Our daughter Samantha and her family stayed down on the south end of main st. in Bar Harbor, so we got to walk around a lot, shop, eat and walk, shop, eat some more.  

Our son Derek and his wife Joanna were also here.  They stayed at the other end of the island, in the south west corner in a little town called Bass Harbor.   It also has beautiful coves and shorelines and is much less commercial than Bar Harbor.  


 

The roads on MDI are easy to navigate with lots of speed limit changes ;).  Even the fastest roads with a 50 mph speed limit feel like roads you would take on a nice easy Sunday drive.  Along every road are gorgeous trees and forests.  The roads are a little windy and you have to watch for deer and moose, which populate the island.  My son and daughter in law actually saw a moose along the side of the road the second day on the island.  We are constantly scanning the lower marshy areas hoping to spot one of the big fellas.

There is a good BBQ restaurant called Mainly Meat with two locations on the island.  There is also a real fun miniature golf coarse called Pirates Cove.  


 





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