Maine Family Multisport

Day 1

Meet your Backroads Trip Leaders (the folks wearing Backroads T-shirts) at 8:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Waterfront in Portland. Please arrive dressed in your hiking clothes and have your rain jacket handy.

Shuttle to Southwest Harbor 3½ Hours
Long Pond Hike 3 Miles
Longer Option: Lurvery Springs 4 Miles

Welcome to Maine! After meeting we shuttle to Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park, which showcases a stunning variety of nature’s beauty with beaches, mountains, meadows and forests. We stop en route for a picnic lunch.

Upon reaching Southwest Harbor— the ―quiet side‖ of Acadia—we head out on our first adventure to Long Pond. Hike the Great Notch Trail along a babbling brook and below a canopy of pine and birch trees. Tasty ripe Maine blueberries may be in season, so if the kids pick enough, there could be blueberry pancakes for breakfast in the morning!

Between hot showers and the campground swimming pool, life in the great outdoors is plenty comfortable. Come evening we gather for drinks, dinner and a trip orientation.

Campground: Smuggler’s Den Campground

Day 2

Sargent Drive Biking Route 19 Miles
Family Option: Carriage Road 12 Miles with Shuttle
Longer Option: Smuggler’s Den 26 Miles
Mount Desert Oceanarium Visit (Kids) 2½ Hours

After shuttling a short distance to Acadia’s carriage road system, your leaders fit your bike, and give a brief talk on biking techniques and safety. This carriage road system is a 57-mile network of traffic-free trails commissioned by John D. Rockefeller in the early 1900s. Today’s ride winds along quiet gravel-lined paths dotted with stone bridges and gatehouses. There is so much to see along the way—don’t forget your camera! As you continue on the route lined with fir trees and blueberry bushes, you’ll pass lovely Eagle Lake, the park’s largest freshwater body. We meet up near the Brown Mountain Gatehouse, one of two entry points that kept automobiles off the carriage roads, to savor your packed lunch.

In the afternoon, adults can extend their ride to Northeast Harbor along picturesque Sargent Drive. Meanwhile the younger set visits the Maine Lobster Museum and a real lobster hatchery at Mount Desert Oceanarium. Check out the ―touch tank‖ for a hands-on lobster experience.

Back at camp, go for a refreshing swim, play volleyball or simply relax in our peaceful wooded home. You can look forward to digging into another delicious dinner prepared by your leaders. You’ll be amazed by what they can do with a camp stove!

Campground: Smuggler’s Den Campground

Day 3

Great Head/Ocean Trail Hike 3.5 Miles
Rock Climbing at Otter Cliffs (Kids) 3 Hours
Gorham Mountain Hike (Adults) 2.5 Miles

This morning we climb the rocky slope of Great Head, a peninsula on the east side of Sand Beach. At the top, incredible views of the beach, Beehive Mountain, Champlain Mountain, Otter Cliffs, Egg Rock and the Cranberry Isles await.

After lunch kids (ages 5–18) don harnesses to rock climb at Otter Cliffs. Not to worry: they’re accompanied by the Backroads Kid Coordinator and expert instructors from Acadia Mountain Guides. It’s an exhilarating outing the youngsters will rave about for weeks. Adults burn off energy with a hike up Gorham Mountain, which offers some of the park’s best vistas.

This evening the group reconvenes to swap stories and enjoy a hearty meal around a crackling campfire.

Campground: Smuggler’s Den Campground

Day 4

Shuttle to Fort Point 1½ Hours
Fort Point Walk 0.5 Miles
Boat to Belfast 2½ Hours
Shuttle to Camden 30 Minutes

We leave Southwest Harbor behind and journey along scenic roads to Fort Point State Park. Spend some time exploring while your leaders prepare a fantastic Backroads picnic spread. If time allows—and the lighthouse keeper is available—we may get a tour inside the park’s lighthouse.

Later we set sail for Belfast aboard our private boat, the Good Return, for a scenic cruise along the Maine coastline. While on board, we’re treated to lobster trap demonstrations, an introduction to marine life and a glimpse of authentic Maine coastal life.

Tonight adults have the pleasure of dining in Camden at a local seafood restaurant. Meanwhile the youngsters enjoy their own special meal at Cappy’s, a local favorite overlooking the harbor. Afterward they’ll set out for some fun with the Kid Coordinator.

Campground: Camden Hills State Park

Day 5

Kayaking on Lake Megunticook 2 Hours
Farnsworth Biking Route 14 Miles
Family Option: Rockport 4 Miles
Longer Option: Farnsworth Loop 30 Miles

Today we head for nearby Lake Megunticook for an easygoing kayak excursion. (Please note that the minimum age for kayaking is 5.) After expert instruction from our guides, paddle through the lake’s calm waters. Look up occasionally—you might be lucky enough to spot a bald eagle! Returning to shore, we head back to camp to enjoy a tasty lunch.

This afternoon explore the seaside town of Rockport and the rolling countryside surrounding Camden on your bike. Keep your eyes peeled for a local novelty: belted Galloway cows, whose distinctive black and white patterning has earned them the nickname ―Oreo Cookie cows.‖

At Rockport Marina adults and kids part ways as the under-18 crowd heads off for candlepin bowling, a fun variation that’s played primarily in New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces. Adults continue riding to the Farnsworth Art Museum, a nationally recognized collection of 18th- and 19th-century American art in elegantly appointed galleries. Come evening, a classic Maine experience is waiting for you: roll up your sleeves and get ready for a bona fide lobster bake!

Campground: Camden Hills State Park

Day 6

Mount Battie Hike 2.3 Miles
Shuttle to Portland 2½ Hours

We start the day with a hike from Camden Hills State Park’s Mount Battie Trailhead. Cross your fingers for good weather—on a clear day the vistas are spectacular. After a bit of climbing, you arrive at the 780-foot summit of Mount Battie, where views of Penobscot Bay and its islands unfold before you. This famous scene is celebrated by Maine poet Edna St. Vincent Millay in the opening lines of her poem Renascence:

All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood;
I turned and looked the other way,
And saw three islands in a bay.

Any place worthy of Millay’s pen will certainly do for our farewell group photo. Returning to the campground, we have a final picnic before shuttling back to Portland, where the trip ends.