Items | Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor Self-Guided Driving & Walking Tour
Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor Self-Guided Driving & Walking Tour
(66) Reviews
Cadillac Summit Road
Important Information
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Public transportation options are available nearby
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Suitable for all physical fitness levels
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How To Access: After booking, you’ll get an email and text with setup instructions and password (search “audio tour” in emails and texts). • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password sent by email and text. • MUST download the tour while in strong wifi/cellular. • Works offline after download.
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How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
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Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
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Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you
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Savings tips: Driving tours: purchase just one tour for everyone in the car
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
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Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
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Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
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Experience beautiful, historic Maine with this combo of Acadia and Bar Harbor tours. Drive through the untouched wilderness of Acadia and learn the legends of the Native tribes who called that land home. Then stroll along the oceanside as you dive into Bar Harbor’s surprising Gilded Age history. These tours offer the perfect combination of natural beauty and rich culture so you can get the very most out of your visit to this incredible state.
After booking, check your email/text to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action while connected to WiFi or mobile data. Enter the password, download the tour, and enjoy it offline. Follow the audio instructions and route from the designate...
Highlights
5 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
5 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
Text transcripts of audio narration & Self-paced format (start/pause/resume anytime)
Pre-recorded audio commentary (downloadable or streamable)
This is a GPS-powered, self-guided audio tour that works through an app
Lifetime access (no expiration) with Customer support (chat/email)
Suggested walking/driving itinerary with stop-by-stop directions
This tour is NOT an entrance ticket to the park
Offline GPS-enabled route map
NO in-person guide or physical equipment (bring your own device & headphones)
Start at the Cadillac Mountain Summit parking lot, 707 Cadillac Summit Rd. This is the suggested starting point. We’re not affiliated with nearby businesses. Audio plays automatically—check your email/text for details.
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Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor Self-Guided Driving & Walking Tour
(66) Reviews
Cadillac Summit Road
About
Experience beautiful, historic Maine with this combo of Acadia and Bar Harbor tours. Drive through the untouched wilderness of Acadia and learn the legends of the Native tribes who called that land home. Then stroll along the oceanside as you dive into Bar Harbor’s surprising Gilded Age history. These tours offer the perfect combination of natural beauty and rich culture so you can get the very most out of your visit to this incredible state.
After booking, check your email/text to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action while connected to WiFi or mobile data. Enter the password, download the tour, and enjoy it offline. Follow the audio instructions and route from the designate...
Highlights
5 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
5 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
Text transcripts of audio narration & Self-paced format (start/pause/resume anytime)
Pre-recorded audio commentary (downloadable or streamable)
This is a GPS-powered, self-guided audio tour that works through an app
Lifetime access (no expiration) with Customer support (chat/email)
Suggested walking/driving itinerary with stop-by-stop directions
This tour is NOT an entrance ticket to the park
Offline GPS-enabled route map
NO in-person guide or physical equipment (bring your own device & headphones)
Start at the Cadillac Mountain Summit parking lot, 707 Cadillac Summit Rd. This is the suggested starting point. We’re not affiliated with nearby businesses. Audio plays automatically—check your email/text for details.
We enter Maine's famous Acadia National Park at the Hull's Cove Visitor Center. As we begin to explore this beautiful natural preserve, we'll learn about the rich forests and why the foliage here is so vibrant in the fall.
Note: The tour is over 20+ miles long per tour, with more than 30+ audio stories per tour, and takes about 2-3 hours per tour to complete.
New, Lifetime access, no expiry. Use it anytime, on any trip, as many times as you want.
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Park Loop Road
Our self-guided driving tour enters the famous Park Loop Road of Acadia. We'll follow this loop all around the park, ending at the summit of Cadillac mountain.
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The Jackson Laboratory
We'll then pass the beautiful Beaver Pond, where we'll catch a glimpse of some beavers and their dams if we're lucky. We'll also see Jackson Labs on the other side, and we'll learn about its impact on Bar Harbor.
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Precipice Trail
As our tour continues, we'll pass the Precipice Trail. This is a great hike for those in the mood for a little physical detour. It's also home to the endangered peregrine falcon! These birds tend to build their nests on high rocky ledges, where non-flying animals can’t reach the eggs. The steep face of this mountain is perfect for that!
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Egg Rock Overlook
This spot looks out over Bar Harbor’s Frenchman Bay. You might be able to spot a little island in the bay. This is the home of Egg Rock Lighthouse.
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Ocean Path
Here we've got a second option for a detour: Ocean Path Trail. If the steep inclines of Pecipice Trail weren't your style, the gentle, winding path here is a great alternative.
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Sand Beach
Next up: Sandy Beach! At just 290 yards long, the beach is small, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in fascinating natural history. You might notice a slight greenish tint to the sand. That’s because of the sea urchins!
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Old Soaker
As we continue driving through Acadia, we'll pass Old Soaker. The waves crash against the vertical face of the rock, shooting water up into the air.
1 hour
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Thunder Hole
We'll also see Thunder Hole, a natural rock inlet where waves crash with a thunderous boom.
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Monument Cove
Monument Cove is another example of the seemingly miraculous force of nature. Water and time have worn away at the granite over the centuries, leaving behind a twenty-foot tall pillar of rock that looks like a man-made sculpture.
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Gorham Mountain Trailhead
As our tour continues through Acadia's Park Loop Road, Gorham Mountain rises to the right. The steep trail up this mountain features a false summit, where it appears to plateau before continuing up further. But both the false and real summit offers a wonderful view of the surrounding landscape!
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Otter Cliff
Next up as we drive as the stunning Otter Cliff and Otter Cove. At the top of Otter Cliff, it’s a steep 110-foot drop down to the chilly Atlantic.
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Bubbles Divide Trail
If this rock seems like it doesn’t belong here, that’s because it doesn’t. The same glacier that coasted over Jordan Pond also dragged this massive rock across the land and deposited it here.
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Jordan Pond
Our self-guided tour brings us to Jordan Pond next. We'd highly recommend pausing here to appreciate the views and the restaurant. Jordan Pond was carved out of the earth twenty thousand years ago by a massive glacier.
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Bubble Pond
Bubble Pond is another glacial remnant, hollowed out of the ground tens of thousands of years ago by a massive ice sheet descending on the island from the Arctic.
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Eagle Lake Acadia National Park
Our drive brings us past Eagle Lake, which serves as the water source for Bar Harbor. It’s also a food source for local birds.
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Cadillac Mountain Summit Trail
Finally, we begin the drive up to the summit of Acadia's crown jewel: Cadillac Mountain. The views from the top are unmatched!
2 hours
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Holy Redeemer Catholic Church
Next up are two churches. They’ll both leave an impression — but in totally different ways!
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St. Saviour's Episcopal Church
You can’t miss the church because the most unique thing about it is its design. Or rather… lack of design! In fact, the building looks like it's made of several mismatched parts. Each one represents a different historical era.
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Jesup Memorial Library
This little library's history goes all the way back to 1875. It all began with a casual conversation among some of Bar Harbor's wealthy summer residents. A public library would establish Bar Harbor as a REAL town. They pitched the idea to the town.
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Abbe Museum
Pause here again, just past the School Street intersection. Look at the Abbe Museum on your right.
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Village Green
Bar Harbor's Village Green has some star power behind it… the layout and landscaping were done by Beatrix Farrand, the woman who designed the White House's Rose Garden. Her design still remains intact to this day. You can't mess with perfection!
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Frenchman Bay
You're walking along the coast of Frenchman Bay. Wait — why is it named for the French?
Simple! It's because of all the French expeditions that took place here in the 1500s. Long before the land could be settled by European colonists, it had to be charted, mapped and evaluated. France’s Samuel de Champlain did just that. While Spain’s conquistadors looked for gold in South America, the French focused on the fur trade in the North.
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Balance Rock Inn
If this rock looks out of place here… that's because it is! Balance Rock is a glacial erratic. That means that a glacier pulled this boulder from a granite deposit up north and deposited it here.
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Grant Park
Grant Park marks the site of a building that no longer stands. See the grassy area you're looking at right now? This was once a personal tennis court!
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Bar Harbor Inn & Spa
Right next to Grant Park, on your left, you can't miss the sprawling seaside resort, Bar Harbor Inn.
In 1887, this building started out as the Mount Desert Reading Room: a place for the well-educated wealthy summer residents of Bar Harbor to meet and discuss literature. Back in the days before movie theaters and malls, this was one of the biggest social hubs in town!