Last month, I headed up to Acadia National Park for the weekend. I hadn’t been in a few years and was interested in trying to get a specific image. I’d seen loads of photos over the years of a place called Boulder Beach, but I’d never seen it on any maps or signs from my previous visits. It looked like a really interesting location, so I did a bit of research and found it was somewhere near Otter Cliff.

      With that in mind, I booked a night at the Blackwoods Campground inside the park, not too far from the location. My hope was that I could walk there for sunrise, as all the rocky cliffs along that part of the Park Loop Road glow in the early morning light. Acadia can get pretty busy, so I didn’t want to risk the parking lots along the route being full. Besides, being able to walk right from the campground would just be so much fun.

      The morning of the trip, I started packing up my jeep. My back had been bothering me a bit off and on for a few weeks, so I decided I was just going to sleep inside the jeep rather than in my tent. I didn’t want to have to deal with getting down and crawling to get in and out if it started acting up again. I set up my sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the back, then put the rest of my gear on the other side. I had my food and water in the footwell in front and my camera bag on the seat next to me.

      Before long, it was time to head out. I stopped at the rest stop right outside of Bangor a few hours later to eat lunch. The drive so far had been nice, uneventful other than the wildlife I spotted along the way. I had seen some sort of hawk, a Great Blue Heron, and a small herd of White-tailed Deer on the marsh grass in Freeport. After I finished eating, I hopped back on the highway, and an hour later, I pulled into the park’s information center. After buying my park pass and getting directions to the campground, I headed into Acadia.

      I drove straight to the campground and checked in. I double-checked with the ranger, and he confirmed that you could walk to the Otter Cliff area from the campground, estimating it would take about an hour or so. I thanked him and headed to my site. I got my jeep situated then decided to grab my gear. I wanted to go ahead and do the hike now so I’d know what the trail was like and how long it would take me.

A view of my campsite as I headed off on my hike. Acadia National Park, Maine

      I walked through the campground to the trail. There were actually a few different trails, and I took the shorter one down to the Park Loop Road. When I popped out of the woods, I crossed the road to follow the trail to the ocean. This wasn’t a trail along the ocean, though, at least from what I could see. It was just a small viewpoint. I took advantage and snapped a few photos with my phone before going back to the road.

The short trail from the campground down to the Park Loop Road. Acadia National Park, Maine

      I ended up walking on the road itself because the side was so overgrown. Amazingly, the traffic wasn’t bad, and both lanes were coming toward me. The cars were easily able to go around me, and the one or two times it looked like they might have an issue, I stepped off the pavement. I took my time, occasionally stopping to snap photos with my phone or simply to watch the birds and butterflies flitting about.

A view of Otter Point and Otter Cove from the Park Loop Road. Acadia National Park, Maine

Looking up at hanging moss or lichen in the trees along the Park Loop Road. I love things like Spanish Moss and Old Man's Beard and similar mosses or lichens that hang from trees and try to get photos whenever I find it. Acadia National Park, Maine

      Not quite an hour later, I reached the end of the cove where the other trail from the campground popped out. My original plan had been to take that trail, but I’d changed my mind after the ranger had said there were a lot of roots and rocks. I didn’t want to risk tripping in the dark, so the road seemed the safer alternative. I was glad it was easy to spot the trail’s entrance, though, as I would likely take it back after the morning’s shoot was finished.

A view of the pond and mountains on the other side of the causeway at the end of Otter Cove. Acadia National Park, Maine

Some beautiful birch trees in the spit of land between the road on the causeway and the pond beyond the end of Otter Cove. Acadia National Park, Maine

      When I got to the other side of the pond that the road separated from the cove, I noticed quite a few butterflies hanging out on some flowers. I needed a bit of a break anyway, so I got out my camera and big lens and set them up on the tripod. I spent nearly a half-hour there working on photos of those butterflies, having a lot of fun.

One of the beautiful Monarch Butterflies investigating one of the flowers next to the road. Acadia National Park, Maine

Another of the butterflies further into the brush from the edge of the road. Acadia National Park, Maine

Another butterfly that was a bit more out in the open that allowed me to get into a position to more fully fill the frame with my long lens. Acadia National Park, Maine

      Eventually, though, I packed up and continued up the hill, following the road along the other side of the cove. Once again, I stopped at various points to snap photos of the views or whatever caught my eye with my phone. It was after 5:30pm by the time I arrived at the Otter Point parking lot and the start of the Ocean Path.

The view from a picnic area along the Park Loop Road looking back towards the end of Otter Cove and the causeway where I'd just been photographing. Acadia National Park, Maine

      I still didn’t know exactly where Boulder Beach was, but I knew it would still be a ways away. Unfortunately, either the distance was farther than I’d realized or I was way out of shape, or very likely both. I was extremely stiff and sore at this point and just couldn’t keep going. Even if I had managed to find the location of Boulder Beach, I wouldn’t have been able to climb down to it or back up again.

      So, I made the decision to abandon that plan and instead found a spot out on the rocks there at Otter Point. There were quite a few other people scattered about, and it was a truly lovely evening. I set up my tripod and took photos as the sun set behind the headland where I’d just come from.

The Belt of Venus at sunset from Otter Point looking out to the East. Acadia National Park, Maine

Sunset from Otter Point looking out to the islands to the South. Acadia National Park, Maine

Sunset from Otter Point looking out at the headland where the campground is located to the Southwest. Acadia National Park, Maine

      By 7pm, I was the last one out on the rocks. The sun was gone, so I packed up my gear and started the long walk back to the campground. It grew very dark very quickly, and there was almost no traffic. I think only 3 or 4 cars passed me the whole way back. I spotted a few deer in the trees maybe 10 feet from me at one point. They didn’t seem the least bit bothered by me or my headlamp. When I made it back down to the cove, I came across a couple that had just popped out from the trail. They suggested I definitely stick to the road, so I was glad with my previous decision.

      I continued on and eventually made it back to my jeep. I was completely knackered and knew there was no way I could do that hike again in the morning. Luckily, I had a backup plan. In the meantime, though, I ate my dinner, put away my gear, then went to bed.

      I woke up pretty early the next morning, but it wasn’t early enough. I followed the directions the ranger had given me to drive out to the Park Loop Road, the route taking me all the way around the other side of Cadillac Mountain. It was a beautiful morning and very peaceful with most of the world still asleep, only a handful of Wild Turkeys for company. Unfortunately, though, by the time I made it to the parking area for Thunder Hole back on the east side, the sun was well and truly up.

      I didn’t let that stop me, though. I packed up my gear and headed out onto the Ocean Path. Eventually, I cut down onto the rocks and set up my tripod to get photos of Otter Cliff. The sea both the night before and that morning was so still, it almost made the long exposure photos a moot point. But, I still wanted to see what I could get. I spent close to an hour there enjoying the quiet morning, clicking the shutter, and searching for wildlife. I managed to spot a seal in the water below me before he moved into the reflection of the sun and I lost him.

Early morning light on Otter Cliff in the distance. Acadia National Park, Maine

A long exposure shot of Otter Cliff. This composition is nearly identical but zoomed out a bit more to include some of the clouds. Acadia National Park, Maine

Another long exposure shot of Otter Cliff with a tighter composition. Acadia National Park, Maine

      By the time I was ready to go, I had decided Boulder Beach would have to wait for another day. I was still pretty sore, but I was happy I’d been able to come out again in the morning. I headed back to the jeep and decided to go to the Gardens. I’d never been there before and thought it might be nice to check out. Given how late it was in the season, I wasn’t sure what all would be in bloom, but I figured there might be some interesting subjects for my macro lens even if none of the ‘pretty’ flowers were still out.

      I pulled into the parking lot of the Wild Gardens of Acadia a little before 9am. I spent the next hour wandering around with just my camera and macro lens. There was a lot to see, and it was a bit overwhelming, but it was all very interesting. I got photos of some of the native flowers that were in bloom, but I spent most of my time concentrating on the wildlife.

I really liked this photo of the Cardinal Flower because of the blue background behind the red and green flower. Acadia National Park, Maine

I loved the backlit wisps amongst the purple New England Aster flowers and the mottled blue, white and green background. Acadia National Park, Maine

      There were lots of birds about, but the only ones I was able to identify were a Black-capped Chickadee and a Double-crested Cormorant. I was very surprised to find the cormorant swimming through the small brook, as I’d only ever seen them at the ocean before. There were loads of bumblebees, dragonflies, and ants amongst all of the plants. I spent a lot of time trying to get photographs of the various insects. And, there was even a Chipmunk that popped onto a rock a few feet from me to munch on a seed of some sort. It was a bit ironic that I’d used my big telephoto ‘wildlife’ lens to photograph butterflies the day before, and now I was using my little macro lens to photograph a chipmunk.

A beautiful bumblebee perched on a small flower. I love the delicate veins in the wings and the fuzzy hairs on the bee. Acadia National Park, Maine

A tiny ant wandering around the leaf of one of the many plants in the garden. Acadia National Park, Maine

Close-up of one of the many dragonflies in the garden. This one had taken a moment of rest on some yellow flowers. I love the detail in the compound eyes and the wings. Acadia National Park, Maine

The adorable chipmunk after he had finished his snack. Acadia National Park, Maine

      Eventually, I was ready to go. I headed back to the jeep, ate breakfast, then took stock. I was still really sore, so I knew I wouldn’t be doing any more walking around. I thought about simply driving around the park, as that’s always a beautiful thing to do. Ultimately, though, I decided to simply go ahead and head home. Even though I hadn’t done what I’d set out to do on this mini-trip, I was still really happy with my time in the park and the photos I’d taken. I was content and feeling very at peace and felt this was a perfect way to end my little adventure. The park is only a few hours from home, so I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to come back and keep exploring, and I’ll get to Boulder Beach eventually. It was a fantastic little trip just the way it was.