Schoodic Peninsula is the only part of Acadia National Park connected to the mainland. Its 2,000 acres are surrounded by a craggy shore and covered in spruce-pine forest. Although there are no towering mountains, hidden lakes or sandy beaches, Schoodic offers a gorgeous glimpse of raw, undeveloped Downeast Maine. And it’s relatively far-flung location means there are a fraction of the tourists you’ll find on Mount Desert Island. If crowded roads and screaming children are fraying your nerves, Schoodic might be the scenic Valium you need.
★ = Recommended
⚓ = Waterfront
Winter Harbor Hotels
Winter Harbor (population 500) is the closest town to Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland. If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Bar Harbor and the Park Loop Road, this is a great place to visit. Winter Harbor is an authentic coastal Maine town where more people earn their living catching lobsters than serving them to tourists. That said, things can, and do, get fancy around here. Scattered along Grindstone Neck Peninsula are dozens of enormous mansions, many over a century old, that lure old money families looking for peace, quiet and spectacular views of Acadia National Park’s dramatic mountains. But the real draw is pristine Schoodic Peninsula, which offers a scenic road similar to the Park Loop Road but with a fraction of the crowds. The only downside to Winter Harbor hotels: extremely limited options.
★⚓ Main Stay Cottages & RV Park
Prospect Harbor Hotels
★⚓ Elsa’s Inn on the Harbor
★⚓ Acadia’s Oceanside Meadows Inn
Gouldsboro Hotels
★ Bluff House Inn
Sullivan Hotels
★ Porcupine Cottage
★⚓ Flanders Bay Cabins
Taunton River B&B
Corea Hotels
Black Duck Inn
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