Bar Harbor, Maine in Autumn
Bar Harbor, Maine during autumn is shown here in this beautiful panoramic sunset photograph taken from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. The island offshore left-of-center is call Bar Island. You can see the natural land bridge that appears at low tide. Note the size of the large cruise ship (at the far right) compared to the off-shore islands (may not view on smaller screens). Bar Harbor is becoming a popular port-of-call for many cruise lines. There often is one to three in the harbor summer through mid-October. Beyond the smaller islands in the distance is the mainland of Maine. Most of the Park is located on Mount Desert Island. The only portion of Acadia located on the mainland is on the Schoodic Peninsula.
The business district of Bar Harbor (shown here) is located on the northeastern side of Mount Desert Island. The island is quite large at about 108 square miles (280 km2) and has only one road of access from Trenton, Maine which is Route 3. The Visitor Center at Hulls Cove, just off Route 3 before arriving in the main business area, is often the starting point for many people arriving for their vacation.
How to get there
This map shows a section of Mount Desert Island with Bar Harbor at the upper right. Cadillac Mountain is directly to the south. There are two ways to get there by automobile. Both are via the Park Loop Road. Routes 233 and 3 intersect and provide entrance to the Park Loop Road on the northern side in Bar Harbor. There is also a entrance point on the southern side of the mountain in Seal Harbor which also goes by the Jordan Pond House and Bubble Pond before arriving at the beginning of the Summit Road. For those rugged individuals with lots of stamina, there are also some hiking trails that will take you there and back. Be sure to check the weather out before starting the journey.
Summit Road GPS: Latitude 44.368891; Longitude -68.238506
Perfect Season
Arguably, the best time of the year for photography in Acadia National Park is September through October. This is not just because of the autumn colors that develop. There are also fewer crowds and the air is more crisp. There is far less atmospheric haze. Yes, there are filters that can help with this such as the common haze filter and the all important polarizer filter for landscapes. Shooting images very early in the morning can help as well. The main rule is to experiment and bracket. Make sure to learn about your camera’s histogram.