Ahead of our trip to Maine, the “what to do” advice was universal from: get up at 3:30am, head to the top of Cadillac Mountain & watch the sunrise. I was intrigued by the fact that the summit of Cadillac Mountain sees the first light of day in the United States at certain times of the year.
Not being much of a morning person myself, I thought the idea was cool in theory, but probably would be torture in execution. Oh, how well I know myself. We set our alarms for bright & early our first morning in Bar Harbor, only to look out the window & see a dense fog. Back to bed we went. The next few days of our trip flew by & we soon realized that we were leaving the next day & we hadn’t carpe diem-ed yet for the sunrise. We set our alarm for 3:45am & hoped for the best.
We awoke to a crisp, clear, cloudless morning. We quietly dressed & slipped out of the Bass Cottage Inn. It was eerie to drive through the empty streets of Bar Harbor, but as we pulled into the park, we were joined by others. As we made our way up the winding switchbacks of Cadillac Mountain, I was surprised at how many other cars were already there. We found a parking spot & the perfect rock to hang out on. We waited about 40 minutes & in that time were joined by a family who had camped in the park overnight with their little girl (brave people!), another family that hiked up the mountain (even braver people!) & lots of others clutching blankets & mugs of coffee (two things I would highly recommend if you do this – we were freezing). The nicest thing was that everyone was relatively quiet & it was a peaceful scene as twilight spread around us.
As the clock crept toward sunrise, the sky turned beautiful colors – like a sunset in reverse – & soon the sun popped over the horizon & was greeted with a mighty cheer by everyone present. The magical sight was the perfect way to cap off our vacation.
If you go…
– Make sure you have a vehicle pass, since the ranger booths aren’t open that early in the morning. We bought our pass for the length of our trip on our way into Bar Harbor & it was so convenient to not have to worry about it.
– Leave yourself enough time to get to the top of the mountain & settled about 20 minutes before the official sunrise time. The sky turns amazing colors as you watch the world wake up.
– Take a blanket or at least long pants. Even in mid-August, we were freezing in the morning air in shorts, sweatshirts, & lightweight jackets.
– Drive Park Loop Road after you head down the mountain. The sites were beautiful in the golden morning light.
(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved
– Really not a morning person? The sunset on the other side of Cadillac Mountain is just as beautiful – but much more crowded!
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