Travel Spotlight: Bass Harbor, ME
Updated: May 10, 2020
Written By: Pat Rigoliosi
It's a beautiful thing when a family member lives in a place that is wonderfully beautiful and a pleasure to go to no matter the season! I happen to have a sister that lives in Bass Harbor, Maine on Mount Desert (pronounced dessert) Island where you will also find Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.
Other than having a wonderful time visiting family, I love all the activity available on the island: hiking along the carriage roads of the park, mountain biking, tour boats (where you see marine life, fish farms, and unusual birds) while going past small islands and lighthouses.
In addition to all the activity, the island has some of my favorite foods of all time! To start off, There is a little place in Southwest Harbor called The Soup Kitchen that has unlimited popovers, fresh oatmeal, coffee and tea for a donation. The blueberry and strawberry jams for your popover are freshly made daily. For lunch, I would take a ride into Bar Harbor where I would have a sandwich on freshly baked bread and some blueberry soda at the Downeast Deli and for dessert I would walk up the block to Mount Desert Island Ice Cream to have the most unusual flavors such as chocolate jalapeno.
My sister is friends with a lobster-man so for dinner, all we need to do is call him and he shows up on our doorstep with more than enough lobsters for dinner! Needless to say I do pack on a few pounds while I'm there! If you're not fortunate enough to have a relative on the island, they have some beautiful campgrounds along with bed and breakfasts and many hotels. It takes a while to get up there, but it's worth the trip. If you want to take your time and get in some additional scenery, hop onto Route 1 once you get into Maine and you will ride along the coast and have plenty to see and do.
You might want to bring some extra money for shopping too! Kittery has over 100 outlets for all the popular brands but if you wait to shop until you get up to the island, there is an L.L. Bean outlet and Bar Harbor has some of the most beautiful little shops I've seen.
However you decide to get up there or whatever route you take, you will love every minute of it! If you've ever been there before comment below, let me know some of your favorite spots!