Maine - Bar Harbor
October 2025
4 Days
In the summer of 2025, we welcomed our first child and he had a United Mileageplus account before he had a birth certificate. So when Gwen said she wanted to take a trip to the East coast for lobster before maternity leave was over, I had it all planned within a day.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Arrive in Portland and have afternoon drinks at the rooftop bar
Cozy dinner at Central Provisions
Spend the next morning shopping on Commercial Street
Roadside lobster at Day's
Get settled in Bar Harbor
Early breakfast at 2 Cats
Explore Acadia National Park
Lunch at Jordan Pond House
Drive up the Cadillac Summit
French dinner at Brasserie Le Brun
Blueberry pancakes at Jordan's
Hike up the North Bubble in Acadia
Drive the park loop road
Waterside lobster at Beal's
Dinner at Havana
Sunrise on the water
Breakfast at Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast
Flights
United Airlines Economy ORD-PWM: 18,000 United miles one-way + $6 taxes & fees
United Airlines First PWM-ORD: 43,700 United miles one-way + $6 taxes & fees
Hotels
We stayed at an Airbnb for this trip, in downtown Bar Harbor
Food (With Beli Ranking)
Havana (8.6) - Upscale restaurant serving "American fine dining with a Latin flair". A James Beard finalist and an in-house sommelier that can help you through the extensive wine list.
Brasserie Le Brun (8.4) - French inspired food with an atmosphere suitable for a special night out or something more casual.
Beal's Lobster Pier (7.6) - Located in Southwest harbor, serving live lobsters cooked to order right on the water along with other classic seafood dishes.
2 Cats (7.3) - Great breakfast spot serving classics as well as some slightly more adventurous plates
Jordan's Restaurant (7.1) - Classic diner opened nearly 50 years ago featuring wild Maine blueberries.
Jordan Pond House (6.6) - Located in Acadia National Park, the restaurant overlooks the picturesque Jordan Pond.
Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast (5.4) - Standard breakfast restaurant serving the classics along with a number of vegan and gluten free options.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Luna Rooftop Bar
From the airport, it's just a quick 10 minute drive to downtown Portland. We stayed at the Canopy by Hilton Portland Waterfront located right on Commercial Street. The hotel has a beautiful rooftop bar with a large outdoor space overlooking the water. We sat outside for a drink and a snack before dinner and even if you weren't staying at the hotel, this would be a great place to take an afternoon break or have a happy hour cocktail.
Luna Rooftop Bar - Portland, Maine 2025
It turns out we had eaten at Central Provisions when we visited in 2020, but I completely did not realize it. For one, we had eaten outside due to COVID. But, I also remembered it as an Asian restaurant. They change their menu year round, so that may be part of it and while there were a couple of dishes with an Asian flair on the menu this time around, I would call it more like American small plates.
All of the dishes we had were excellent, so if you are into trying several different dishes I would definitely recommend this place.
Central Provisions - Portland, Maine 2025
Commercial Street
Commercial Street is the historic waterfront street in the Old Port lined on one side with shops and restaurants and on the other side the water and docks. Before getting on the road up to Bar Harbor, we spent the morning in some of the shops.
Commercial Street - Portland, Maine 2025
Just 20 minutes outside of Portland, Day's is a restaurant and lobster pound just off the highway that we visited back in 2020. As we were driving right past it on the way to Bar Harbor, we stopped again on this trip and it was just as good as we remembered.
Day's Crabmeat & Lobster - Portland, Maine 2025
Bar Harbor
After a roughly 3 hour drive, we arrived into Bar Harbor, the largest town on Mount Desert Island where Acadia National Park is located. The town actually ended up being bigger than I had pictured and at least the weekend we were visiting, it was packed with people. Walking down Main Street with a stroller was a challenge. Our Airbnb was located on Cottage Street, just a few minutes walk from Main Street, but much quieter.
Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
Day 2
With a small baby, you don't get much sleep but at least that worked out for the Bar Harbor breakfast situation. Since we were up early, we had no trouble getting right in to 2 Cats, but after 8am a line started to form. This seemed to be the case with all the breakfast restaurants in Bar Harbor as people descended from the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain.
2 Cats was recommended to me by a friend and it was definitely our favorite breakfast spot of the trip. The food was great and they had some unique dishes other than your standard bacon and eggs.
2 Cats - Portland, Maine 2025
Jordan Pond is one of Acadia's most picturesque lakes with a restaurant at the South end of the lake and an easy hiking trail going around the lake which we walked a bit. The Jordan Pond House Restaurant overlooks the lake with both indoor and outdoor seating. We had some time to kill before our reservation to drive up the Cadillac Summit Road, so we waited about an hour for an outdoor table. If you're on a tight schedule I would definitely recommend making a reservation in advance.
The food was nothing special, but the scenery was incredible.
Jordan Pond House Restaurant - Acadia 2025
Cadillac Mountain
Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the East Coast at 1,530 feet and is incredibly popular to visit for sunrise. With a small baby with an unpredictable sleep schedule, this wasn't an option for us so we went to the top at 3pm in the afternoon, a couple hours before sunset.
You can hike or bike up at any time, but you need a reservation to drive a car up the summit road so make sure to book in advance, especially for the prime sunrise and sunset hours.
Bar Harbor from Cadillac Summit - Acadia 2025
Brasserie Le Brun was right across the street from where we were staying and also recommended to us by a friend. It's definitely one of the nicer restaurants in town, but still laid back as is everything in Bar Harbor. We didn't have a reservation but went early and were able to get a table right away.
The food was excellent combining a French experience with local tastes.
Halibut at Brasserie Le Brun - Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
Day 3
Jordan's has a classic diner feel with counter seating and booths. The menu is a pretty standard diner menu with Maine wild blueberries featured throughout. Blueberry pancakes wouldn't normally be my first choice (chocolate chip first for sure) but I would say not to miss them here because they were absolutely delicious!
Jordan's - Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
North Bubble Hike
I'm always looking for the best photo spots and the top of the North Bubble looked like a really great spot, plus online said the hike to get there was only half a mile - perfect for hiking with a newborn strapped to my chest. What I didn't realize was that although this hike is fairly short, it is basically straight up.
Though much harder than expected we did make it to the top and the views were indeed incredible. Roundtrip with stops the entire hike was about an hour.
Top of North Bubble - Acadia 2025
Since it was our last full day, we figured we should get some lobsters one last time. From online reviews, it seemed like Beal's Lobster Pier was one of the best in nearby Southwest Harbor. As the name suggests, Beal's is located right on the water serving lots of other seafood in addition to the live lobsters at the counter that you can pick out and have served to you as you sit outside on the water.
The food was great although quite a bit more expensive than our previous stop at Day's
Soon to be Lunch at Beal's Lobster Pier - Southwest Harbor, Maine 2025
Havana is located at the South end of Main street, a bit away from the busiest part. From the outside, it looks like a house, but inside and going to our table was like a maze (and a challenge navigating with a stroller). The restaurant was definitely a bit on the nicer side (for Bar Harbor) and they had an extensive wine list which the in-house sommelier helped us walk through. The food is described as "American with a Latin flair" and was very good - an excellent spot for a nicer dinner out.
Havana - Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
Day 4
Bar Harbor Sunrise
On our final day, I caught the sunrise from the waterfront near Agamont Park and the Bar Harbor Inn & Spa. One thing we didn't have time for was a walk across the land bridge to Bar Island, but if you do, make sure you time it right as the land bridge is completely submerged when the tide comes in and you could be stuck out there!
Sunrise - Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
We thought about going back to 2 Cats for breakfast one more time but decided that we would try a new spot. Sadly, we wished we had gone to 2 Cats. After a 30 minute wait, Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast was fine but the other places we had gone the days before were definitely better.
The Great Maine Breakfast at Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast - Bar Harbor, Maine 2025
Overall
Our first trip with a newborn went much smoother than we had anticipated! We were able to do some outdoor activities and leaf peeping in Acadia, have some delicious meals in Bar Harbor, and of course eat a lot of lobster! Sunrise from Cadillac Mountain would probably be pretty cool, but that will have to wait until the baby is older (or he stays with his grandparents!).
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