Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park shares Mount Desert Island with a number of fishing villages including Bar Harbor. Samuel de Champlain named this mountainous landscape Isle des Monts Deserts in 1604. In 1919 it became the first national park east of the Mississippi River. Today it's one of the top ten most popular US national parks with three million visitors a year.

Paulette and I stayed in a rustic cabin not far from the park entrance. We did the touristy things: window shopping in bustling Bar Harbor; eating clam chowder one night and succulent lobster the next; watching the to-and-fro of harbour traffic.

We also hiked on two consecutive days

• Day One First we walked along the Ocean Trail in gentle rain, past the very popular Thunder Hole then up to the summit of Gorham Mountain before lunch at The Bowl (the lake in the photo). More gentle climbing along a pink granite ridge took us to Champlain Mtn (1058 feet). Squat, gnarled pitch pines grow in the very thin soil and right up to the summit. The odd sugar maple and low-growing bushes glowed red in the sun.

• Day Two In early morning sunshine we started off from the Sieur de Monts Entrance. It was level walking past The Tarn, then steeply up the granite stairs of the Ladder Trail. Schiff Trail took us more gently to the top of Dorr Mtn (1270 feet). We unlaced our boots and rested while our socks dried. Using our poles we carefully picked our way down a steep ravine and back up the other side to Cadillac Mtn (1530 feet). Cadillac Mtn, a short drive from the Park Loop Road, is a favourite spot to view the sunrise and gives wonderful panoramic views of Bar Harbor and the many island dotting the Maine coast. Paulette and I ate our lunch on a warm rock away from the crowds. In shorts and T-shirt we ambled back down to the loop road following the North Ridge Trail.

We debated staying for a third day but, with rain in the forecast, we packed up and headed north towards home. There are many more hikes in this area so we will surely be back.