Kingsbrae Garden

   Formal, display and demonstration gardens along with sculptures, ponds, and a maze fill 27 acres that were donated by local philanthropists, John and Lucinda Flemer.

  The garden is not accessible due to steep paths surfaced with loose gravel.

   Follow the signs for RV/bus parking. Garden
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Saint Croix Island International Historic Site–Canada

   This is a view of the island from the interpretive site on the Canadian side of the river.

  A small group of Frenchmen landed on Saint Croix Island in 1604 with a mission to claim the land for France, bring religion to the natives, and search for precious metals. Pierre Dudua, lieutenant-general in charge of the group, chose the island for it’s defensible position in the middle of the river but this proved to be a detriment when a much colder winter than they expected froze the river. Slabs of frozen ice, broken up by the tides, made crossing to the mainland impossible. 36 of the 79 men died, most likely from scurvy. With the coming of warmer weather the settlement was moved to Port Royal and, even though most of original men returned to France soon afterwards, this marked the start of the French presence in the New World.

   A trail with informative signs makes a loop from the picnic shelter. The trail is steep with loose crushed stone so it’s not wheelchair accessible but the view can be seen from the parking lot.

  RVs can park lengthwise across the spaces.  Site
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Saint Croix Island International Historic Site–US

 This is the only International Historic Site in the US. The island is on the US side of the border line which runs down the center of the Saint Croix River but it’s historically significant to Canada.

 A small group of Frenchmen landed on Saint Croix Island in 1604 with a mission to claim the land for France, bring religion to the natives, and search for precious metals. Pierre Dudua, lieutenant-general in charge of the group, chose the island for it’s defensible position in the middle of the river but this proved to be a detriment when a much colder winter than they expected froze the river. Slabs of frozen ice, broken up by the tides, made crossing to the mainland impossible. 36 of the 79 men died, most likely from scurvy. With the coming of warmer weather the settlement was moved to Port Royal, Nova Scotia and, even though most of original men returned to France soon afterwards, this marked the start of the French presence in the New World.

 The historic site consists of a small visitor center and a short trail leading to a view of the island. Life size statues of the settlers and natives plus informative signs are located along the trail.

  The visitor center is accessible. The trail is crushed stone and fairly easy to roll along.

  RV parking is directly in front of the visitor center in the area  painted with diagonal lines.  Site
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Shalom Orchard Organic Farm & Winery

   Shalom Orchard is a family owned and operated farm that grows all kinds of organic vegetables and makes organic fruit wines. The farm looks a bit rough around the edges but the owners are super nice. Charlotte dug up new potatoes for us and even scrubbed them clean – the best potatoes we’ve ever had! We also bought fresh eggs, lettuce and free range chicken.

  Harvest Hosts visitors park behind the house and winery, surrounded by vegetable plots. The space is narrow and not very long so it’s only suitable for RVs 27’ or shorter. There’s also a tree with low branches overhanging the road. Farm
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Reversing Falls Park

  Reversing Falls is really just a series of rapids but the difference between high and low tide is about twenty feet so the water really rushes in and out of the channel. A complete tidal cycle takes about 12 hours. It’s fascinating to watch the whole process especially  the slack tide when the water appears to be completely still and smooth. Swimming is not permitted because of the dangerous currents.

  We stayed overnight. There are no signs prohibiting camping and I found reports from tent campers on the internet. It’s very quiet at night except for the sound of the tide coming in. A few people drove in and out of the parking area but I think we were the only ones who stayed the night.

  There are two lots – a large upper lot and a smaller one closer to the water. We stayed in the smaller one which had a great view of the bay. Check out the small family cemetery near the lot. Edmund Mahar settled here in the 1700s and a few descendants are buried in the cemetery. There’s also a memorial for three crew members of the Bottom Basher, a sea urchin fishing boat that sank in the bay in 2009.  Falls
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Shore Path

 
  Shore Path was constructed around 1880 during the “Gilded Era” when wealthy industrialists built summer homes along the shoreline on the outskirts of Bar Harbor. The first portion is paved then it becomes hard packed dirt and gravel with a few slightly steep sections. Out and back is a little over a mile.

   RVs are not allowed to park on most streets in Bar Harbor. Follow the signs to RV parking which is just past the corner of Main St. and Park St., next to the ball fields. It’s a short easy walk to the north end of the path but many of the sidewalks and curb cuts are in bad shape so if you’re rolling you may want to use the side streets where’s there’s little traffic instead of the sidewalks. The south end of the path starts at Wayman Street which is a few streets north of the RV parking area.  Path
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Abbe Museums

 
  Robert Abbe was a renowned New York City surgeon who spent his summers in Bar Harbor where he began collecting Native American tools that he found in shell middens. In 1928 Abbe joined with other collectors to form the small museum at Sieur de Monts Spring in Acadia National Park. Eventually a larger museum was needed to house the growing number of artifacts so in 2001 the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor opened. It has permanent and changing exhibits about the Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy, the Native American tribes who have lived in Maine for thousands of years.

 The museum at Sieur de Monts Spring is up a steep hill. There isn’t a flat area at the door which opens out so entering is awkward. Most of the displays are easy to view but the dioramas are a little too high. The parking lot has a few long RV spaces.

  The museum in Bar Harbor is all accessible. RVs are not allowed to park on most streets in Bar Harbor. Follow the signs to RV parking which is just past the corner of Main St. and Park St., next to the ball fields. It’s a short easy walk to the museum but many of the sidewalks and curb cuts are in bad shape so if you’re rolling you may want to use the side streets where there’s little traffic instead of the sidewalks. Museum
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Seal Cove Auto Museum

 
  Richard Paine’s passion for collecting rare cars led to the establishment of this museum which features vehicles from the years between 1895-1917 with an emphasis on luxury automobiles.

  The entrance has a high threshold, a ramp without a landing and a door that opens out – very difficult to access. The interior is all accessible.

  The parking lot is large enough for RVs. Museum
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Acadia National Park

 
  Mount Desert Island is a solid hunk of granite that’s been gouged and carved by glaciers leaving ragged, rocky shorelines; steep, tree covered mountains; and long, narrow lakes. About half of the island is national park. Fishing villages, summer homes, and small towns catering to tourists dot the island outside the park. Activities include hiking, kayaking, scenic drives and swimming if you can brave the cold water.

 The mountains and rocky beaches limit accessibly but there are a few wonderful places to experience.  Beautiful views of the coast and the forest can be seen along the 27 mile scenic loop road. Take the side trip to the top of Cadillac Mountain and follow a short, paved, accessible trail for a spectacular view of Frenchman Bay with Bar Harbor in the foreground.

 Over 40 miles of carriage roads, built by John D. Rockefeller from 1913 – 1940, are open for hiking and bicycling. Some are mostly flat and the hard packed gravel surfaces make pushing a wheelchair fairly easy. The park accessibility guide recommends the sections of trail at Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond and Jordan Pond. We walked/rolled along a section of Eagle Lake. It starts out a little rough but soon becomes smoother – a very nice trail. We also tried a section at Jordon Pond which was a bit hillier and we couldn’t find an easy access point from the walking paths.  Sieur de Monts Spring area has a small garden that is fairly accessible plus a boardwalk/hard parked dirt trail which is accessible but so narrow that two wheelchairs would not have room to pass each other. There are pullouts but they’re pretty far apart. A short trail from Ship Harbor parking lot leading to the mudflats is supposedly hard packed and accessible. It isn’t. It’s steep and rocky with logs to prevent erosion placed across the trail.

 We stayed at Seawall Campground which has four loops-two RV and two tent. They fill daily so reservations are a must. Somehow we managed to get three days in a row even though we reserved just a couple weeks in advance. Loop A is the nicer RV loop. We were in loop C which is all pull-through but the sites are fairly close together. Sites 1- 12 actually share parking pads so neighbors are extremely close to each other. The accessible sites are closer to the restrooms and have tables with long overhangs but no other improvements.
      
 RVs longer than 35’ will not fit in the park campgrounds but there are private parks nearby. Most of the parking lots do not have spaces for RVs. The park loop road has two low underpasses – 12’9” and 11’8”. The Stanley Road entrance to the loop road has a 10’4” underpass. There aren’t any warnings (at least not that we noticed) about these underpasses before the turns onto the road but they  are marked on the park map. We couldn’t fit under the Stanley Road underpass but didn’t have a problem driving the loop road or driving up Cadillac Mountain. Early afternoon seems to be a good time to drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain but the parking lot is most likely filled at more popular times such as sunrise and sunset. The parking lots for the carriage roads have available parking spaces starting around 6:00PM. Since the park is so busy and parking is difficult, taking the free, accessible shuttle bus is a good option. The bus travels along all of the main roads in the park with many stops and half hour waiting times between buses.  Park
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Cole Land Transportation Museum

  Coles Express was founded in 1917 by Allie Cole with just a wagon and horses to transport freight and passengers. In 1919 a Model T joined the fleet and by the 1920’s the company was making deliveries using freight trucks with plows on the front to clear the snow covered roads of northern Maine. In the early 1980s Allie’s son, Galen who was now president of the company, decided to put some of the old trucks on display and from that came the idea for a museum. The museum has all types of wheeled vehicles but seeing the ones without wheels makes you realize what a Maine winter is really like!


  The museum is accessible.

  There are a few long spaces next to the bus spaces where RVs will fit.  Museum
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