After our carriage tour, we began heading south for our final night of the trip in Manchester, New Hampshire. Just like on our trip last year, we broke up the drive by stopping at a few of Maine’s notable lighthouses.
One place we stopped to stretch our legs was the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory (left). The Penobscrot Narrows Bridge is a unique structure and there are only a handful of other bridges like it in the country. One of the most notable features of the bridge is the observatory housed with in that was the first of its kind. At 450 feet tall, the observatory offers views of Penobscot Bay, the river, and the nearby Fort Knox History Site (no, not that Ft. Knox). Due to the amount of road we had to cover that day, we were unable to go up into the observatory, but it is definitely on my list for my next Maine trip!
Of course, we also stopped at the famous Portland Head Light (top). Portland Head Light is probably one of the most iconic structures in Maine and is recognizable by people who have never stepped foot in the state. If you are going to be in the Portland area, you have to stop by! My only regret is that we were unable to stay for sunset. Recently, I have seen some gorgeous pictures here at sunset and when the sea is rough! My shot of Portland Head is probably one of my favorites from this trip!
After leaving the lighthouse, we left Maine and made it to our hotel room near the Manchester airport where we had an early morning flight back to Michigan the next day. I can’t believe this trip report is done! Be sure to check back next week for my final thoughts on my Mainely Acadia trip!
Thanks for stopping by! To find out more about this trip, visit the Mainely Acadia Trip Report page. To read about some of our previous trips, click here. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
While planning this trip, the number one thing we wanted to do was a carriage tour of the carriage roads. On our first day in Acadia (Sunday), while we were driving the Park Loop Road, we made a stop at Wildwood Stables to book a carriage tour. The first available tour they had was the following Saturday. We were planning on driving back to New Hampshire that day, but we were able to squeeze in a morning carriage tour before heading south. All week, we called checking for cancellations, but we weren’t able to get in any earlier than Saturday morning.
After a week on Mount Desert Island, we returned to our first stop of the trip, the Park Loop Road. It was a good way to bookend our trip with a nice drive along some of the most scenic spots in the park.
Of course, we got out and walked around the top of Cadillac Mountain to take in the panoramic view of the park. Guests are free to get off the path, but are just asked to stay on the granite surfaces not stay off the vegetation. If you are at all surefooted, this is a nice way to get out of the car and stretch your legs. You are already at the top of the mountain, so its pretty flat, but as you can see in the picture to the left, the ground isn’t very even so it can be easy to trip if you are not paying attention.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the difficulty of the carriage roads. They were all designed to be driven by carriages, so they weren’t mounting biking difficult, but there were some steep hills we had to climb. I am not an avid biker by any means, so I had to take a few breaks during our bike ride. I did enjoy coasting down the big hills, though! Some of the roads are easier than others, so I recommend if you’re a novice bikers like me that you plan a route that you can handle.
