Acadia and Bar Harbor

At 466 metres the highest point on the US Atlantic coast, a pink granite dome with views over Bar Harbor and Frenchman Bay, and the country's first sunrise from October to early March.

💡 From late May to late October, driving up requires a reservation at $6, about €5, per vehicle on recreation.gov, on top of the entrance fee: 30% of slots open 90 days ahead and 70% two days ahead, at 10 am Eastern Time. Sunrise slots go within minutes; a vehicle can obtain only one every seven days. On foot or by bike, no reservation is needed. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

A 72 km network of car-free gravel roads built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1913 and 1940, crossing sixteen cut-stone bridges and now enjoyed by cyclists, walkers, riders and skiers.

💡 Hire a bike in Bar Harbor and reach the Eagle Lake entrance on the Island Explorer bike shuttle in season. The Eagle Lake loop, about 10 km with gentle gradients, is ideal for a first ride. Carriage rides leave from the Wildwood Stables, by reservation. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

A short but dizzying climb up the east face of a 158-metre granite dome above Sand Beach, using iron rungs and railings fixed into the rock, with a gentler path back down.

💡 Not recommended for anyone with vertigo, for young children or in rainy weather, as the rock becomes slippery. Never descend by the face with the rungs. The Precipice Trail, harder still, closes every spring and part of the summer for nesting peregrine falcons. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

A 3.5 km coastal trail along the granite rocks from Sand Beach to Otter Point, passing Thunder Hole, where the swell booms into a narrow cleft, and the 34-metre Otter Cliff.

💡 Check the tide times: Thunder Hole only rumbles with a swell and a rising tide. The Sand Beach car park is full by 9 am in summer, so take the free Island Explorer bus. The water rarely exceeds 15°C. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

A crystal-clear glacial lake framed by the rounded Bubbles, circled by a 5.3 km trail, with popovers, butter and strawberry jam served on the Jordan Pond House lawn facing the water.

💡 The restaurant opens from mid-May to autumn and keeps most of its tables for walk-in customers, so expect a 40-minute wait in high season. The car park is tiny, so come on the Island Explorer. Climb South Bubble to see the balanced boulder of Bubble Rock. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

An 1858 white lighthouse on the pink granite cliffs of the island's quiet south-western tip, seen from the rocks below, where the low sunset light colours the granite.

💡 The car park has only about twenty spaces: come early in the morning or wait for a car to leave, as sunset is mobbed. Combine it with Southwest Harbor, the Ship Harbor trail and a drink on the harbour at Bass Harbor. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.

The park's only mainland section, far quieter than the island, with a one-way loop road, waves breaking on pink granite at Schoodic Point and trails through the spruce of Schoodic Woods.

💡 Come when the sea is rough to see the waves on Schoodic Point, but keep your distance from the wet rocks. The Island Explorer serves the peninsula in season from the Winter Harbor ferry. Price: included in park entry, $35, about €30, per vehicle for 7 days, plus $100, about €86, per non-resident visitor aged 16 and over.