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Encompassing a few Atlantic islands and some coastline, Acadia offers a pristine playground of sea, shore, forest and New England charm.

One of the few national parks near the Atlantic Ocean, and the oldest one east of Mississippi River, Acadia National Park is comprised of several islands off the coast of Maine and a few small towns. Of the park's 47,000 acres, more than 30,000 are on Mount Desert Island, with much smaller parcels on Isle au Haut and the mainland Schoodic Peninsula.

More than 12,000 acres are still private land, managed by the park through conservation easements which we hope will stay in place for many more generations.

According to the National Park Service, it was a group of early 20th-century visionaries who donated most of the land that became Acadia National Park. They admired the region's rugged beauty and diversity of habitats, ranging from seashore to dense evergreen forests and high granite peaks. You may hear locals pronounce the island as Mount DESert or Mount DeSERT; navigator Samuel Champlain named it Isle des Monts Deserts in 1604 because of the "barren mountains" he saw from his ship. Therefore, the French pronunciation with the accent on the last syllable, as in the sweet, after-supper treat, is often used.

Families visiting today, just like their forefathers, can camp in the park or check into a cozy B&B in Bar Harbor, the very quaint main town on the eastern shores of Mount Desert Island.

Getting Around Acadia National Park

If you're not camping, plan to make daytrips into Acadia National Park's boundaries to hike the many trails; photograph the striking tide pools that form near the shore; or mountain bike along the park's former carriage roads.

Motorized vehicles are not permitted in the park, so you'll have to catch the Island Explorer, an eco-friendly, propane-fueled bus which runs along the coast, hike or bike in, or join a horse-drawn carriage ride from one of the inns within its border. The Acadia management is so serious about this that they're committing resources to a Car-Free Acadia by 2016, in time for the centennial of the national park service.

Not to worry; there are several bike rental shops (some with a kid's trailer) in "downtown" Bar Harbor as well as outfitters who do horseback riding tours or cruises along the shoreline.