5 Best Sights in Northeast Harbor, Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden is the creation of its namesake and famed landscape designer Beatrix Farrand. An ever-present Narnia vibe begins on the drive up through the woods to the hilltop locale: leaf blowers keep the large mossy granite rocks free of leaves and needles, to magical effect. Even before entering on the Spirit Path, lined with Korean funerary statues, the garden’s earthy pink high wall is entrancing as it resembles walls in Beijing’s Forbidden City. The English-style main border garden has many colorful annuals; one side is more shaded so bed heights vary, adding whimsy to the symmetrical space. In smaller garden spaces nearby, you can rest on a bench, step through a pagoda, look out on Little Long Pond, and contemplate more Eastern sculptures, from seated Buddhas to guardian animals. An easy forest trail leads to the large terrace—with commanding extended ocean views—that fronted The Eyrie, the Rockefellers’ massive summer “cottage,” until it was torn down in 1962.

With many varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas, the Japanese-style garden is spectacular from late May to mid-June as the pink, white, and blue flowers not only bloom but reflect in a stream-fed pond. Whatever the season there’s plenty to admire, especially in fall when the many native plants brighten the landscape. You can contemplate on a bench along the winding paths as intended, perhaps by the white sand garden—raked to evoke moving water. Created with azaleas from famed landscape designer Beatrix Farrand’s Bar Harbor garden, Asticou was designed by Charles Savage, a self-educated garden designer who managed his family’s nearby Asticou Inn.

Housed in the town's former fire station, this museum promotes and celebrates the Mount Desert Island region's maritime heritage. Inside, a map of the Great Harbor at the mouth of Somes Sound anchors a display that helps visitors orient themselves to the area as well as the museum. Interesting changing exhibits about local history have a nautical theme and include photographs and objects like ship models from the museum’s collection as well as other area institutions.

The Land & Garden preserve expanded greatly in 2015 when David Rockefeller, son of Acadia National Park founder John D. Rockefeller Jr., donated about 1,000 acres of largely forested land in Seal Harbor to the conversation group. The property includes 17 acres of meadows; 12 acres of marsh; a bog and streams; carriage roads and trails, some connecting with Acadia's trails; stone staircases on the Richard Trail, steep in sections, similar to those in Acadia; and a pond you can hike around and swim in (at designated areas). Upon David Rockefeller’s death in 2017, the preserve was gifted the old estate’s formal garden, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden.

Two of several preserve parking areas on Route 3 are for Little Long Pond Natural Lands. The one beside the pond across from Bracy Cove is small, so consider using the parking area west of here, where a 0.4-mile trail leads to the cove and pond.

Hidden atop a hill above Route 3, this garden is part of what was once the summer home of Boston landscape designer and engineer Joseph Henry Curtis. Today the site is a peaceful and elegant spot to take in formal perennial gardens. Designed by Charles Savage and named for the property’s majestic white cedars, Thuja occidentalis, the garden is filled with colorful blooms throughout summer. Walk the immaculately groomed grass paths or enjoy the view from a well-placed bench. You’ll find delphiniums, daylilies, dahlias, heliotrope, snapdragons, and other types of vegetation. You can take a look at the sitting room in the Curtis home, which has a large collection of books compiled by Savage. Check the website for docent-led tours of the “lodge” as it’s known.