Acadia NP for fall color

[Joe O'Hara]

What would your recommendation be for a good time to visit the Acadia NP/Bar Harbor/Schoodic area this fall in order to catch the foliage as it turns? I've never been
there and plan to spend a week. What's the weather like then?

[Bruce Barlow]

Second or third week in October. Pretty spectacular, and the weather was quite decent last year - 50s to 60s and sunny, one day of rain in a week. Stay in Ellsworth to get easy access to Schoodic, Acadia, and Mt. Desert Isle.

[John Bowen]

Second or third week in October. Pretty spectacular, and the weather was quite decent last year - 50s to 60s and sunny, one day of rain in a week. Stay in Ellsworth to get easy access to Schoodic, Acadia, and Mt. Desert Isle.

Bruce and I went together last year. The weather was very nice, but I don't recall the foliage being too spectacular in Maine. There was some pretty nice foliage in NY and VT on the trip up to Maine from VA, but I don't remember the Maine foliage being too wonderful the 3rd week in October. Of course, the purpose of the trip was LF B&W photography....

[Walter Calahan]

Go, have a good time, relax, and appreciate nature's wonders no matter what happens with the weather or foliage.

[Robert Ley]

Joe,
This is an excellent site for general information on Fall color :http://www.foliagenetwork.com/default.php
I think that you should be able to get information from past years and get a good idea of the best color in the area. Unfortunately the color varies from year to year with the weather conditions in the summer and early fall, so any one year is a crap shoot. I would take Walters advice and just pick a likely week from the information on the foliage network and have a great time. There are so many wonderful sights at Acadia and the surrounding areas that don't really require fall color. Enjoy!

[Bruce Barlow]

Bruce and I went together last year. The weather was very nice, but I don't recall the foliage being too spectacular in Maine. There was some pretty nice foliage in NY and VT on the trip up to Maine from VA, but I don't remember the Maine foliage being too wonderful the 3rd week in October. Of course, the purpose of the trip was LF B&W photography....

I remember the foliage being quite nice, and right about at peak. It isn't VT or NH, but what is?

Not many trees with color at Schoodic - mostly pine and hemlock - but the way to Corea and places east, and down Mt. Desert Isle were quite nice.

On the other hand, we only used black and white, so what would we know?

[Bill_1856]

I agree with Bruce about the 2nd or 3rd week of October (of course it depends on the year whether Autumn colors are early or late), but disagree about staying in Ellsworth. Definitely stay in Bar Harbour.
Fall colors are nice in Acadia, but not spectacular like New Hampshire or the Great Smokeys.

[Nathan Potter]

I spend a lot of time in the Bar Harbor area (was there last year prior to attending the Fall Foliage Workshop by Harris, Barlow and Ritter in Pittsburg NH. (BTW that was an extremely enjoyable three days in Pittsburg at near peak fall foliage)

I'd elect to stay in Ellsworth as Bruce says because by fall the road to Mount Desert Island is not so crowded with tourists and so most of the Island can be accessed in about a 30 minute drive - and accommodations are cheaper. The immediate coastal areas of Maine are principally coniferous trees due to the proximity of cool ocean water and frequent fog. The color foliage is intermittant and limited to occasional patches of red maple, white birch and a variety of deciduous shrubs. You need to be selective with composition. I've found that the blueberry barrens are particularly unique for the deep red fall color of the leaves. These barrens are found on top of Cadallac Mt. on Mt Desert Island, Deer Isle (around Deer Island township) and north along Rt. 1 from Ellsworth to Machais. The greatest extent of barrens are in Deblois ME. in the vicinity of the Maine blueberry Co. processing plant. On the immediate coast you'll find patches of Rose Mallow with brilliant red berries and complimentary yellow and green leaves.

The peak color grades more with the vegitation species than with the time of year. Thus you'll find selective color from about Oct. 1 to Oct. 20. I pick a window of the second week in Oct. as a generally good time for average peak color.

If you go out to the Schoodic Point subsection of Acadia Nat. Park do stop in Winter Harbor and visit my favorite coffee shop for devine pastries or lunch right across from the general store.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Joe O'Hara]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully I'll get something worth posting.

Cheers,
Joe

[SDK]

Wild blueberry fields turn bright red, which can be quite interesting. There are lots of these further up the Route 1 along the coast from Milbridge to Machias.

[SDK]

Some specific trails in Acadia have more hardwoods, like those on Beech Mountain, which does have a parking lot halfway up the hill, and the valley trail beside the Beehive, which both have stands of Beech forrest. There are some hardwood stands along the carriage trails near Sargent and Penobscot Mountains, and the Giant's cascade trail goes beside a stream with big erratic boulders and has mixed woods.

In Elsworth the Union River Dam is an interesting subject. It is a bit off Grant Street, on the north side of Main Street. Also not often seen by tourists are the inland lakes and mountains of the Donnell Pond Public Reserve Land bounded by Route 182 and Route 1, to the north of Schoodic. Route 183 goes into the park to Tunk Lake and Black and Schoodic Mountains. Even more impressive is the Bold Coast Trail in Whiting, just north of Cutler on the coast (off Route 191). It's a long drive from Ellsworth but definitely worth seeing, with blue-grey cliffs falling into deep clear waters, and beaches of large round cobbles. Being further north, fall colors are likely earlier in that area.

[Michael N. Meyer]

Hey Joe,

If you've not booked accomodations yet, give Jane or Steve a call at Aysgarth Station. It is a small B&B in Bar Harbor: www.aysgarth.com. I stayed there a couple years ago for a wedding and the rooms were neat and clean, the breakfast each morning was wonderful.

-m

[Bill_1856]

In my many trips to Acadia, and manning a medical clinic on Desert Island, it was only recently that I learned of historic Fort Knox, near Ellsworth, which has been restored.
I've never been there, but it might be worth a look.

[SDK]

Fort Knox is off Route 1 and 3 on the west bank of the Penobscot River just north of Verona Island, in Prospect Maine. The new Penobscot Narrows bridge, an impressive cable-stay bride with two obelisk pylons, one of which has an elevator and observation deck is nearby. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Knox_%28Maine%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Knox_%28Maine%29) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penobscot_Narrows_Bridge.

[Nathan Potter]

And BTW last fall after crossing the new Penobscot Narrows bridge going south on Rt. 1 I spotted some splendid abstracts in the cliffs of the roadcut at the west end of the bridge. Nice rust colored surfaces in jointed contortions. Check it out. I did not have time to stop and it was pouring rain at the time.

Nate Potter, Austin TX