Acadia hiking on your own

We want to spend as much time as we can hiking in Acadia on our own during the day we have in port. I have no problem at all paying for a cab to drive us to the park and sit and wait for us, but I have sent a couple of emails and haven't gotten a response.

Ideally, I'd like to pick up a cab at the port, drive around and stop at a few scenic spots, get let off. Hike for a couple of hours. Get picked up and returned to the ship.

Maybe this is doable with the Island Explorer as well, but I haven't been able to figure it out.

Thank you for any advice!

My sister and I do exactly what you want to do using the Island Explorer. We try to be some of the first off the ship and high tail up to the Village Green to pick up the Island Explorer. They have a newspaper that will give you the routes and it isn't too hard to figure out the bus you want.

Be sure to stop in the Park office. There is a $5 per person charge for entering the park, but it isn't checked. We always go pay it and they help us figure out the routes we want on the Island Explorer.

In the past we've been let off at Sand Beach, hiked the Ocean Trail, were picked up down the ways a bit and went to Jordan Pond House for lunch, then hiked a bit after lunch, grabbing a bus back to town from Jordan Pond House. We've also hiked Great Head Trail, but that one is on the difficult side.

We always manage to get back to town early enough to buy a souvenir or two and make the tender back to the ship with no problem.

We want to spend as much time as we can hiking in Acadia on our own during the day we have in port. I have no problem at all paying for a cab to drive us to the park and sit and wait for us, but I have sent a couple of emails and haven't gotten a response.

 

Ideally, I'd like to pick up a cab at the port, drive around and stop at a few scenic spots, get let off. Hike for a couple of hours. Get picked up and returned to the ship.

 

Maybe this is doable with the Island Explorer as well, but I haven't been able to figure it out.

This would be very doable using the Island Explorer. The only entry fee to the park is if you plan on doing any trail off the Park Loop Rd; the Ocean Trail, mentioned in the previous post, is one.

At the beginning of September, there is a small change to the schedules. For most routes, the buses don't start as early, don't run as late, and for some routes, there is a reduction in frequency.

Also, the only route that does not start at the BH Village Green is route #4 which does the Park Loop Road. It starts at the ANP Visitor Center which is about 2.5 miles from the BH VG.

You might want to consider hiking on the the Carriage Roads that crisscross ANP. Here is a link to hiking trails in ANP.

Since the 2017 IE schedule has not been posted, every thing written about the IE is based on the 2016 schedule.

SBtS

Thanks to both of you for the very helpful information.