2 Best Sights in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, Maine

Built in 1858, this is one of Maine’s most photographed lighthouses; it's been a part of Acadia National Park since 2020. Now automated, it marks the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay at the island’s southernmost point nearly 2 miles below Bass Harbor village. You can't go inside, but a walkway brings you to a seaside viewing area with placards about its history. The small parking lot typically fills for sunset viewing in high season and parking isn’t allowed on the entrance road or on Route 102A. The free Island Explorer bus doesn’t serve the lighthouse.

Swans Island is a picturesque 6-mile ferry ride from Bass Harbor at the bottom of Mount Desert Island. There are numerous outdoor activities, like hiking, swimming, fishing, and biking, but the 35-foot-tall white Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse on the south shore is not to be missed. Both the light and the keeper's house, which has history exhibits, an art gallery, bathrooms, and a small gift shop, are open from late June to early September. An apartment upstairs can be rented on a weekly basis from June through October. Aside from vacation rentals, there's only one lodging, the five-room Harbor Watch Inn ( www.harborwatchinnswansisland.com). The Island Market & Supply ( www.tims-swans-island.com) is a great place to get picnic supplies or other general store needs.