This was going to be somewhat of a road tripping experience, if only because of the almost 22 hours of drive to get to our destination and back. The primary destination, one of the crown jewels of Northeastern United States, was Acadia National Park. It’s one of the few well-visited parks on the East coast, and perhaps the one with the most diversity. It is also unique in that there are a lot of private properties within the park, many of which are rented out to vacationers, and there is no in-park accommodations officially run by the National Park Service. This is partly because the area of Mount Desert Island — the largest section of Acadia — was settled long before the park came into existence.
The image here is an iconic one from Acadia National Park, of the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, taken on the first morning at the park. We stayed at Driftwood Cottage, a charming ranch-style home, a mere 10 minute walk from the lighthouse. We arrived late on Sunday night and had missed sunset. Little did I know that the two remaining opportunities at photographing the lighthouse would also be thwarted 🙁 . This morning, I was joined by a not-so-big group of photographers, each trying to precariously balance their tripods on the slippery, uneven rocks which one must navigate through in order to get an unobstructed view of the 19th century structure that is still in use.
Travel Tip: Acadia, much like many other popular National Parks, gets swarmed by tourists in high season. If you can, stay in Southwest Harbor, a far more quaint area than Bar Harbor, yet within a 20-25 minutes drives from most of the other parts of Mount Desert Island.
Photo Tip: I had read about the reflection pool, which, if the tide level is right so you can position yourself right, can catch the reflection of Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. You are going to need an ultra wide lens to catch both the lighthouse and its reflection in your frame. The water level wasn’t quite high enough for this shot, but I still managed to get some of it.