McNulty wrote:
Dr. Tigerchik wrote:
There have been some other threads - search Bar Harbor.
you can swim at the Y but definitely take advantage of the outdoor swim opportunities - Echo Lake Beach has two buoys you can do laps between, and you can also go back and forth across the lake the narrow way from Ike's Point, or do triangles between Ike's Point, Camp Beech Cliff (the camp across the lake), and the Ledges.
Somes Pond has a nice big rock in the middle you can swim to, also.
yup, yup, climb the Beehive with the kids then go swimming at the super cold water beach below it forget the name.....
I have a summer house in Bar Harbor and have been going there for 15 years. Plenty of great terrain for road or mountain / cross biking. The park loop road is 30k mostly 1-way with about 1,800 vertical. You'll need a park pass (card) and id to get thru the guard station. A great ride is 2 x Loop.
The Southwest Harbor / Seawall / Bass Harbor loop is also a good ride.
You should also climb Cadillac at least once. From the loop road it's 3.4 miles to the top with an average grade of 5%. Very respectable climb. The local hard men will do repeats 3x or 5x and some in fixed gears. Best to start at 6:30am after the sunrisers are off the mountain. Also good to climb late afternoon around dinner time. The descent can be fast and the cars are limited to 25mph - don't pass the cars on the way down with the blind curves and tourists unfamiliar with the roads. I get high speed descents in the early morning.
The carriage roads are terrific for running and cross riding. Already mentioned, but Eagle Lake loop is 5.7 miles and good climbs for running. You can add witch hole / duck brook to get up to 10-miles. For cross riding start at Eagle Lake and do the around the mountain ride (check with park maps).
Sand Beach is below the "Beehive" hike. Open ocean water at 55 degrees, but a great beach. Gets real crowded by mid day. Echo Lake is the best place to swim (Ike's point as mentioned is the sport for open water swimming - across and back a few times).
Message me if you want more info.