The arrival of summer heat, humidity, and mosquitoes in Atlanta had my family dreaming of a summer escape in cooler temps. Our criteria: toddler-friendly, a short flight, cooler temps, and fun adventures. Portland, ME, and Acadia National Park checked all the boxes with the bonuses of the freshest, most delicious seafood, a beautiful and easily accessible National Park, and picturesque coastal towns.
After a very quick 2.5-hour flight from Atlanta to Portland, we enjoyed two days in Portland before heading up to the coast to Bar Harbor. We enjoyed a scenic train ride on the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, the perfect activity for our train-loving two-year-old. My engineer husband was as excited as our toddler checking out the restored railcars. The 40-minute round trip gave us great views of the waterfront and a quick history of Portland and Maine.
Portland is most well-known as a foodie town, and it lived up to the reputation. We were so pleased to learn how truly kid-friendly the dining scene is. A few of our favorites included fish and chips at Lil Chippy, oysters and lobster rolls at Highroller Lobster Co, bagels at Forage Market, and potato donuts at The Holy Donut. Our son’s palate wasn’t as appreciative of endless oysters and lobsters, but even one of the city’s most renowned oyster bars, Eventide Oyster Co., welcomed us with a bar highchair, house-made oyster crackers, and ice cream sandwiches.
We road tripped about three hours north of Portland to Mount Desert Island and the charming town of Bar Harbor, the gateway to Acadia National Park. We stayed at the Salt Cottages, and they have truly nailed down the art of family travel. The property sits across the street from a Frenchman Bay, providing the perfect summer backdrop. A heated pool overlooking the bay, yard games, an onsite restaurant for breakfast and lunch, quiet patios at every cottage, and s’mores at the firepits every night, this place made us feel like we were at the best family summer camp.
Since Acadia National Park was the main draw for us, we loved that the Salt Cottages were a bit out of the hustle of Bar Harbor (still only 10 minutes away), which can get a little crowded during peak summer times, and less than 5 minutes to the Hulls Cove entrance of Acadia. The proximity was perfect for traveling with a toddler and coming in and out of the park throughout the day. We used BabyQuip for the first time to rent a kid carrier for our hikes and enjoyed several of the kid-friendly trails. Acadia is an awesome and accessible National Park with a large ring road that could be covered in a couple of hours, which turned out to work perfectly for our daily afternoon nap break! On our first day, we picked up our son’s National Park Passport and got to work collecting stamps. The most kid-friendly trails and stops we explored in the park:
- Jordan Pond Loop: ~3 miles, relatively flat loop around a sparkling lake that starts and ends at the Jordan Pond Restaurant.
- Ocean Path Trail: follows the road but has incredible views of the coast and connects some of the top stops in the park
- Ship Harbor Trail: Short 1.3 hike along the shoreline
- Sand Beach: Exactly as described, a large sandy beach plus beautiful views of the rocky coastline with families galore. Our son’s favorite stop!
- Thunder Hole: A must-visit in the park. We hiked here on the Ocean Path Trail, but it offers lots of parking and a short walk from the road to check out the crashing waves in the inlet.
- Cadillac Mountain: The highest point on the eastern seaboard of the US. A $6 timed car reservation is required, but worth it. Sunrise times are super popular, but not in the cards for us. Morning time was still amazing and seemed less crowded than other times when we passed the entrance. The views of Bar Harbor, the Bay, and the surrounding tiny islands are stunning. The expanse of flat rocks at the summit also made it very kid-friendly.
And the deliciousness didn’t stop in Portland. Our favorite Mount Desert Island restaurants were Abel’s Lobster, where we enjoyed a sunset over the marina, and Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. Our son loved seeing the rare blue lobster at Bar Harbor Lobster Pound and eating his weight in blueberry pie and blueberry ice cream.
It was an unforgettable trip that has already inspired us to plan our next locale to collect more NPS passport stamps. Does your family enjoy visiting National Parks? Let us know about your favorites in the comments.
And be sure to check out these top tips for summer travel with kids before embarking on your next getaway!
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