This past week, I entered Maine for the first time. It quickly became apparent that this northerly state offers a little bit of everything.
In the West? How does it sound to stroll through the rolling hills and along the many waterfalls hidden away in the most remote places?
In the East? Enjoy some days on the shores of Acadia National Park, sitting on the pink granite cliffs that are endlessly eroded by the ocean below.
Acadia's Sand Beach
My family sadly didn't get to spend much time in the West. Although, we have been soaking in the crisp air and cool oceans of Acadia. For our first stop in the park, we didn't want anything too extreme. I decided a good location was at a nice little area known as Sand Beach. You might be wondering: why is it called Sand Beach? Isn't every beach, by definition, a Sand Beach? Well, not up here. As far as Acadia National Park goes, Sand Beach happens to be one of the only shorelines that has actual sand. Many of the other walkable beaches, such as Hunters Beach, have large colorful stones covering the ground. So, Sand Beach is the ideal place for many people to have a relaxing afternoon laying on a towel.
For our first visit, we didn't explore very much. I took pleasure in simply sticking to the easily walkable beach, trying out some long-exposure photos of the ocean. You can find out more about that visit by watching the Acadia Vlog up on the TREKKN YouTube channel (TREKKN is my parents' company).
For our second visit, however, I found out that walking to the side of the beach opposite from the steps that lead down, there's a trail leading to a whole new section of rocky coastline.
Since we didn't have any prior knowledge of what the trail looks like in terms of length and difficulty, we just walked however far felt comfortable. While I didn't get to see all of what this trail may have offered, what I did see proved satisfying.
After carefully crossing over a large section of slippery rocks, we reached the trail. After an initial short climb, the rest of the trail (at least from what I walked) remains fairly level.
The trail follows the coastline from above, giving you very nice views of the blue-green water exploding into white against the craggy cliff. If you are up for a little challenge, you could carefully climb down the rocks to get a better shot. I didn't climb all the way down, but I did get a slightly better angle for some photos by climbing around. It's always fun to find new angles.
Eventually, we reached an area that overlooked what appeared to be a different planet. The formations of jagged rocks allowed for pools of ocean water to form, creating a landscape that rivaled anything I'd seen on Earth's shores so far...
Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was insanely beautiful, no doubt.
Once again, with a little careful maneuvering, it's possible to climb down from the overlook to step foot on the alien terrain ahead. After walking around the lichen-covered rocks for a while, we decided to only walk a little farther on the trail before heading back.
So concluded our first short hike in Acadia.
Ocean Path
Even though Sand Beach is such a small area of the National Park, it feels as if there's an endless amount of beautiful scenery to explore. It's because of this that we decided to go back to the Sand Beach area for a third visit. This time however, instead of heading left, we planned on walking on Ocean Path to the right.
As we got into the park, a layer of fog was settled over the car. The closer we got to our destination, the thicker the fog appeared to get. Many people would consider weather such as fog a hindrance to experiencing what the park has offer. But not us.
"Adverse" weather actually ends up being the most interesting aspect of a photograph. For this situation, fog added some drama to the scene. I got my dad to model for me in some pictures, and I was having a blast shooting.
Walking along the path offers views of spots such as Thunder Hole and Monument Cove. Within a short walk of probably half a mile, it's possible to see some raw Acadian beauty. While the entirety of Ocean Path is about two miles one-way, we had a couple of specific things we wanted to see. In the short amount of time we had that evening, a half-mile walk was perfect.
However, beware of tourists. While I was, of course, also considered a tourist, it's easy for this area to become exhaustingly packed. Good luck getting any people-less shots at peak visit times. Going early in the morning, before most people would be awake, should allow you to beat the crowds while also getting that perfect sunrise light for some clean shots.
If you're looking for a couple of short trips to some very pretty views, this area is a great option. Ocean Path is especially family-friendly, as you can stick to the paved path if you choose to.
If you're still curious about this area, go and watch the Vlog I put together on the TREKKN YouTube channel. TREKKN.co is my parents' website which focuses on full-time RVing and outdoor adventure. If you want to keep updated on what my family and I are doing, go and subscribe to the channel! We post a video every Sunday.