Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor sits on Mount Desert Island, a small New England town that fills up in summer with hikers and lobster-eaters. Cruise ships anchor in Frenchman Bay and tender passengers to the Town Pier, which drops you right on the main street. The town is the eastern gateway to Acadia National Park, where Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the US Atlantic coast, has wide views at sunrise. The park's carriage roads, built by John D. Rockefeller Jr., are good for walking or cycling through forest and along granite ridges. Jordan Pond House is the traditional stop for popovers and tea. In town, lobster rolls and blueberry pie are everywhere, and most of it is genuinely good. The shops along Main Street sell local jams, pottery, and the usual coastal souvenirs. The town is walkable, but the Island Explorer shuttle runs free loops into the park during summer.