I was ten years old when I first went to Northeast Harbor. We

had taken a trip to Bar Harbor and were exploring Acadia

National Park when we got lost. It is difficult to truly get lost

in the area, as Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are on

an island. But we were lost, and ended up wandering

around a secluded corner of the island. Eventually we

stumbled into a small village that looked like a Hollywood

movie set for a New England coastal town. This was

Northeast Harbor.

Since no one was in a particularly good mood, we quickly

left town and found our way back to Acadia and Bar Harbor.

Later, after we had returned back to Boston, my parents

mentioned how nice that secluded little picture-perfect

village was, and that maybe we should stay there

sometime.

More than twenty-five years later, I am still making annual

trips to Northeast Harbor. It has become a tradition to go up

there on Memorial Day, sometimes with family, sometimes

with friends, and sometimes both.

The first thing that one notices about Northeast Harbor is its

laid-back, charming downtown area. It consists of one

street, with shops and head-in parking on one side. The

other side is a mixture of woods and scattered homes and

shops. The shops are all small mom-and-pop businesses,

with not a McDonald’s or Barnes and Noble to be found.

Northeast Harbor is on a peninsula, so once you leave

town, there’s really nowhere to go. The town is a

destination, not a place to pass through on the way to

another place. This makes it much quieter than most places

on Mount Desert Island.

Aside from the main street, there are side streets with old

Victorian houses and cottages. Some of the streets also go

through thick spruce forests. When the fog rolls in (which is

often), walking around these streets is an experience that

isn’t easily forgotten.

One of these streets leads to a special place called Clifton

Dock. At night, we often go out onto these docks and look at

the stars, while distant buoys ring and a lighthouse flashes

every few seconds. There are usually a few boats moored at

Clifton Dock, but it never seems like any people are down

there.

Between the center of town and Clifton Dock is the Kimball

Terrace Inn. This is where I have stayed time I have visited

Northeast Harbor. Nearly every room has a back window

looking out at the harbor and the mountains. I have probably

taken 20 pictures of that view, as I never get tired of it. The

inn itself is clean and comfortable, and is within walking

distance of everything.

The mountains that are seen behind the harbor are part of

Acadia National Park, which is only a few miles away.

Acadia is a very small national park, but one of the most

scenic. It is one of the few places on the east coast where

mountains and sea co-exist. It is also one of the most

crowded parks in the country, so it is best to go off-season.

The harbor itself is just about the most perfect harbor in the

northeast. It is protected from wind and weather, and is

large enough for yachts to be moored there. Fog always

seems to be stuck in the harbor, sometimes until late

morning. As with all of Northeast Harbor, this is a spot

where a camera comes in handy.

A mailboat leaves the harbor for the Cranberry Islands every

day. These islands are a few miles out, and are rather small

and flat. The view of Acadia National Park from the boat ride

and the islands is nothing short of incredible. One of the

islands has a small town on it, but for the most part, these

islands are more for residents and workers than for tourists.

Aside from the main road into Northeast Harbor, there is a

second road that connects the village to the rest of the

world. This side road winds along the west side of the

peninsula, and gives great views of one of the only fjords in

the Unites States. It is a good road to take when leaving

Northeast Harbor, as it gives you one more great memory of

this serene little part of New England.

Copyright 2005, Travel Guide of America, a division of

Boston's Hidden Restaurants. All Rights

Reserved.

Marc is a Boston-based writer who has helped create Travel Guide of

America, a travel guide that focuses on interesting

places to see in the United States. Included on the Travel

Guide of America are informative pages on cities and towns,

photo features that show main streets of American towns as

well as beautiful American landscapes, and some of the

best scenic drives in the United States.