While Cadillac Mountain is the most popular spot to watch the sunrise in Acadia National Park, it’s not the only place where visitors can enjoy an enchanting daybreak.
Acadia’s highest mountain peak is one of the first places in the continental United States to receive sunlight for a portion of the year, and is considered the park’s premier spot for seeing the sun rise up over the Gulf of Maine.
And its popularity has climbed as Acadia’s visitation numbers continue to grow. Last year the park recorded more than 4 million visits, a record only surpassed in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a rise in outdoor recreation. Other sites such as The Beehive, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole and Jordan Pond also are drawing more tourists each year.
In response, park officials have tried to reduce vehicle congestion in Acadia. Since 2021, the park has required reservations for anyone who wants to drive up Cadillac Mountain, and last year they opened a $27 million visitors center in Trenton, the first mainland town off Mount Desert Island. With parking and access to the park’s free shuttle system, the new Acadia Gateway Center was designed to reduce park traffic. Officials have also weighed reservation systems for Ocean Drive and Jordan Pond.
However, even with the reservation system to reach Cadillac’s summit, which is only in effect during the tourist season from May 20 to Oct. 25, sunrise at the 1,530 foot mountain is still crowded.
It’s also difficult to reserve. The park sells 30% of its vehicle reservations 90 days ahead and releases the remaining 70% just two days before the reservation. Visitors don’t need a reservation to hike to the summit, which can take two to four hours.
But car reservations for popular times, like sunrise and sunset, are particularly difficult to obtain. Most of the last minute tickets sell out within minutes of being released. Even with four people trying to book a reservation at 10 a.m. sharp, when open slots are made available online, one group of visitors couldn’t snag a reservation, according to a Facebook user who commented last week on the experience on an Acadia hiking page.
For the visitors who either can’t secure a Cadillac reservation or are less enticed by the swarms of onlookers, there are still quite a few spots to catch a glorious sunrise in Acadia.
Just before 5 a.m. on Friday, July 10, there were two cars at Egg Rock Overlook on Park Loop Road. A three-generation family celebrating a pair of newlyweds were quietly stretching as they spilled out of their midsized car.
Leah Longo, who was visiting from Denver, Colorado, with her mother and grandmother — all of whom are teachers — and her new husband, arrived in Acadia on Wednesday. The family found the spot, which overlooks Frenchman Bay, after Longo read a blog post by a local photographer, Longo said.
“I just googled hikes in Acadia and it came up as a side note,” Longo said, adding that she would try to get tickets for Cadillac summit on Friday but was aware of the difficulty.
For visitors who are willing to venture further out to the park’s only mainland section, Schoodic Point offers quieter sunrise vistas. The Schoodic Peninsula, though climbing in popularity in recent years, is known as the park’s more isolated section, where visitors fleeing MDI’s summertime crowds may find solace along its dramatic headlands.
Otter Cliffs, sitting south of Thunder Hole on Park Loop Road, is also a popular sunrise destination. But fewer visitors stop at Boulder Beach, where Atlantic waves crash into a field of rocks smoothed over time.
The beach, which is visible from Ocean Path but has no trail leading to it, is known to photographers as one of the best places to shoot the sunrise in Acadia, according to several bloggers. Visitors should note that accessing the water’s edge may require a risky scramble down wet boulders, which could lead to an island injury known locally as “Acadia ankle.”
For those who are willing to take an early-morning hike for a calmer sunrise experience, Champlain Mountain provides similar panoramic vistas as Cadillac summit. Although there are a handful of paths up Champlain, each with views of Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands, the historic Beachcroft trail, built in 1915, is slightly easier to navigate in the darkness — especially for hikers equipped with flashlights.
The moderate hike, which can be accessed off State Route 3 or by the Wild Gardens Path from Sieur de Monts, takes between one to two hours round trip, according to the National Park Service.
On Mount Desert Island’s western side, which sticks out a little further into the Gulf of Maine, visitors will find a quieter sunrise option at the Seawall picnic area. The cobbstestone coastline offers a spectacular view of Great Cranberry Island.