Where: Maine
It’s been said that iconic Acadia National Park is 47,000 acres of superlatives: the only national park in Maine, the oldest national park east of the Mississippi, the home of Cadillac Mountain—the tallest peak on the Atlantic Coast, and the first national park in America to have an endowed trail system. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of Acadia Trails Forever, established in 2000 by Friends of Acadia and Acadia National Park to repair the celebrated 130-mile hiking trail. Since then, the program has restored many miles of lost trails in the park that had fallen into disuse since the heyday of trail-building in the early twentieth century, including the hundred-year-old Homans Path, built in 1915 and featuring 400 spiraling granite stairs. 2015 is also the twentieth anniversary of Acadia's Artist-in-Residence Program, which provides writers, composers, and visual and performing artists the chance to practice their art in the beautiful park landscape.
Don’t Miss: The hiking in Acadia is some of the best in the eastern U.S., with the crown jewel being the 4.4-mile round trip trek to the top of the Cadillac Mountain on the North Ridge Trail.
Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor’s Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island Travel Guide