Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park gets about 4 million visitors a year, securing its place as one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States. Most people will explore the highlights of the park on Mount Desert Island: Jordan Pond, Cadillac Mountain, 45 miles of carriage roads, and numerous hiking trails. But to really experience everything Acadia has to offer, a trip to the Schoodic Peninsula is in order.

The Schoodic Peninsula is the only part of Acadia National Park that is on the mainland of Maine. Much like visiting Bar Island from Bar Harbor, from the Schoodic Peninsula, you can look back over the water towards Mount Desert Island for a different perspective on the rest of the park.

The Schoodic Peninsula section of the park is intentionally meant to be less trafficked than the main portion on Mount Desert Island. This makes it a great place to get away from the crowds. You won’t be entirely alone, but it is definitely less packed and more chill. Here, you can hike the rocky outcroppings at the edge of the ocean and watch the waves crash up close, and explore the numerous tide pools that collect in the rock crevices.

Getting to the Schoodic Peninsula

You can take the ferry from Bar Harbor to Winter Harbor or you can drive there. From Bar Harbor, the drive is about 45 minutes, which is about the same amount of time as the ferry trip. If you take the ferry, the free Island Explorer shuttle will meet you there and take you to the park. However, having a car at your disposal in this part of the park is much, much, much more convenient.

Getting Around the Schoodic Peninsula

You really need a car here. Even if you take the ferry over, you’ll end up in Winter Harbor which is still some way from the park area. Although the free shuttle is supposed to meet the ferry, you’ll still be at the mercy of this shuttle to get around the park. It’s not like you get dropped off and you’re “there.” “There” is an entire loop of turn offs, hikes, and lookouts and very hard to experience without your own transport.

Biking around Schoodic is doable in theory, but probably not the best way to experience it. You’ll be sharing the road with cars and there’s not really a good place to lock bikes up if you decide you’d like to branch off and take a hike somewhere. The Schoodic Loop road is quite curvy and has a few blind turns. It seems built more for cars and less for scenic biking even though for some reason, a lot of Acadia websites promote the biking here as great and easy.

If you really want to bike, you’ll have a much better time on the carriage roads on Mount Desert Island. With that said, the Schoodic Loop road is one-way and the speed limit is low, so if you are really set on biking here, it could be done. We saw several groups giving it a go, but whether or not they were loving their choice is anyone’s guess.

Exploring the Schoodic Peninsula

Most of the park is accessible via the Schoodic Loop Road. There are numerous turnouts from this road where you can pull over to hike or explore the coast. The majority of this loop is one way only, so take care when driving that you stop at the turnouts that you want to, otherwise you’ll need to loop all the way around to come back! Honestly, the road isn’t that long so if you need to loop around, it’s not the end of the world.

The Schoodic Loop road follows along the coastline so you’ll experience lots of close encounters with the ocean and crashing waves. This section of the park gets you much nearer to the sea than the part on Mount Desert Island, which is more mountains, lakes, and far off sea views. On the Schoodic Peninsula, you not only get sea views, but some spray to go along with them.

Driving Schoodic Loop Road

Hiking on the Schoodic Peninsula

There are far fewer trails on the Schoodic Peninsula than on Mount Desert Island. However, it’s definitely enough if you’re here for a day trip. The longest trail is Buck Cove Mountain, a 3.7 mile loop. There are plenty of shorter ones that clock in under a mile. Brian and I chose the Anvil trail which is somewhere in the middle, at 2.2 miles round trip.

The Anvil Trail

The Anvil Trail is a popular trail that begins across from the Blueberry Hill parking area. You can also drive up to the other end and start at the top, working your way down, which is what Brian and I did.

This trail was our favorite in the entire park, including the trails on Mount Desert Island.

It felt like we were hiking through a fairy tale.

Tall trees shaded us from the noonday sun.

We had to be careful not to trip on the gnarled roots sticking up between mossy tufts.

Eventually that terrain gave way to sunlit rocky paths lined with blueberry bushes full of ripe fruit – perfect for a mid-hike snack!

Good to Know

• A lot of the hikes are heavily wooded so bring bug repellent!
• The National Park website says that the Island Explorer free shuttle bus serves this area but Brian and I were there for hours and never saw a shuttle. I’m not saying they’re never there, but infrequently enough that it would hinder your movement around the park.
• A half day to one full day on the Schoodic Peninsula is probably enough to get a good feel for the place.
• There’s not much in the way of facilities in this part of the park so I’d recommend packing snacks or a picnic lunch.

If you’re visiting Acadia National Park, it’s worth it to set aside a day for exploring the Schoodic Peninsula. It’s not so much that the terrain changes dramatically from Mount Desert Island, but the perspective shift changes the experience greatly. Up close and personal with sea spray, moss covered roots, and fresh picked blueberries – it’s like seeing the park in a picture, and then stepping right into it.