Bar Harbor Experiences

Thunder Hole is the place in Acadia National Park to experience the thunder of the sea against the rocky shores of Maine! On calm days you may wonder what the fuss is all about. But wait until the waves kick up a few notches. Thunder Hole is a small inlet, naturally carved out of the rocks, where the waves roll into. At the end of this inlet, down low, is a small cavern where, when the rush of the wave arrives, air and water is forced out like a clap of distant thunder. Water may spout as high as 40 feet with a thunderous roar! Hence the name. 

Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, at 1,530 feet (466 meters), is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place to view sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6. It is one of over 20 mountains on Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine that were pushed up by earth's tectonic and volcanic forces millions of years ago. Were it not for the once enormous glaciers that sheared off their tops, they would be even higher than what we see today. You can easily see the results of this on a smaller scale by viewing the slopes on the Porcupine Islands in the distance. The North side is on the left and the steeper slope, or the down side, is on the right east side. The glaciers crept across the land here from the left to the right (in a southerly direction) and stretched out to sea as far as 400 miles (644 kilometers). 

Frenchman Bay in Maine, part of "Down East" Hancock County, is the large body of ocean between the northeastern shoreline of Mount Desert Island and the southern coast of Maine extending along the western shoreline of Schoodic Peninsula. It was named in honor of the famous French Explorer Samuel de Champlain who first sailed in and charted this area for France in early September of 1604. There are many islands in the bay area including Bar Island, Bald Porcupine, Sheep Porcupine, and Long Porcupine Islands.

Even though the largest (by population) and most well known town bordering Frenchman Bay is Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, it is the municipality of Gouldsboro in which most of these islands are, including even Bar Island which is within walking distance of Bar Harbor at low tide when a natural land bridge appears.

In recent years, the Abbe has grown from a small trailside museum, privately operated within Acadia National Park, to an exciting contemporary museum in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor. In 2013, the Museum became the first and only Smithsonian Affiliate in the state of Maine. 

At the Abbe's downtown museum, visitors find dynamic and stimulating exhibitions and activities interspersed with spaces for quiet reflection. The history and cultures of the Native people in Maine, the Wabanaki, are showcased through changing exhibitions, special events, teacher workshops, archaeology field schools, and workshops for children and adults. From spring through fall, the Abbe's historic trailside museum at Sieur de Monts Spring continues to offer visitors a step back in time to early 20th century presentations of Native American archaeology in Maine.