Acadia National Park in Maine is the East Coast Version of Yosemite. A destination for millions of people annually it is also a great destination to take your RV or pack the tent and spend some days communing with nature. The team at CampgroundViews.com does our part to help your visit be more enjoyable by providing tips and tricks for enjoying the park. Tip 1 - Ditch the car or RV and take the free park shuttle. Driving throughout Acadia the shuttle provides access to all the popular spots without stress or worry. Tip 2 - Hike the "bar" in Bar Harbor. At low tide a sand bar allows foot and vehicle traffic to cross to the island across the harbor. Even if you do not make it there is sea life right there. Hike the trails of Acadia! Seems simple enough but so many don't do it. plan on hiking at least one hill top route during your stay. Tip 3 - Bring a bike. Acadia National Park is one of the most bike friendly parks in teh world. With 45 miles of carriage roads open to cycling the dirt paths allow you to discover the interior of the park by bike. Tip 4 - Go in early September. Only one time during the year does the US Coast Guard allow you access to their lighthouses. This is Episode 12 of the RV Video Series produced by CampgroundViews.com. Designed to give you great ideas for your next camping adventure we work to find the unique and interesting available to RV and tent campers when they travel to a region. http://www.CampgroundViews.com shares the adventure of RV and tent travel by making it easy for you to share your adventures. We already have 10% of ALL places to camp on film so you can better plan your next great adventure. Help increase this number by filming your favorite camping places and remember to subscribe to our Youtube channel to get auto updates when we post new videos. Transcript from the video First tip is how to explore the park for free the great thing about Acadia and the majestic shorelines abundant sea life and interior lakes all those are connected by hundreds of miles of hiking trails but get to those trails You have to drive in and park there is not abundant parking that's where the free bus line comes in with miles of roads and routes that go through the park you can access most any of the major sites from the bus that is free parking in a visitor center there's access for RVs and your vehicle hop on the free bus and go for a ride through the park road. It is a great way to see the park without having to worry about running over deer people or off the side of a cliff our first stop at Sand Beach allowed us to play in the sand and enjoy the late summer weather for the more adventurous this point also allows you access to the dangerous hiking trail up the face of the cliff for us we took the easier path along the ocean easier but just as scenic The views are amazing in Acadia that's what draws people here all the time back on the bus we headed up to Bar Harbor and crossed the sandbar over to the island this is a great destination for the whole family because even if you don't make the island there is sea life that you can see right there Acadia is about the trails and exploring the different areas which brings us to tip 3 hike the trails of Acadia this particular hike we headed up the top of the peak to an old fire tower we hoped to get up to the top of the fire tower and see a view a hundred feet above the ground but it was closed and we had just taken the view from the base one point you can access the free shuttle but is a great place to hike is Cadillac Mountain. The Highest Point in the park on clear days you can see for hundreds of miles around. Any stop in Maine is not complete without some lobster we decided to try some lobster and headed down to the store to take a look. We felt they were too cute and decided we would do our part to help nature by releasing one back into the wild Tip 3 is taking your bike to Acadia national park arguably the most accessible park by bike. The carriage roads originally developed by the Rockefellers allow you access to forty-five miles of back country views sites and areas that you could only reach my foot. If you don't wanna ride a bike you can also take a horse-drawn carriage ride and see the historic gate houses and other majestic sights just a lot of fun Tip 4 for planning your trip to Acadia if you can be there in September or early September the US Coastguard on one day opens up the historic lighthouses that they operate for touring. We drove all the way out to the easternmost point in the US Quoda Head Lighthouse Tour the park tour the area and go up in the red and white striped lighthouse this lighthouse overlooks the bay of Fundy the southern end of it which is the bay with the highest tide swings between low and high. It's a historic point and would be a good reason to plan a late summer trip to this area of Maine Thank you Acadia for the wonderful time and if you have a chance check it out Go to CampgroundViews.com to plan your trip this is Mark Koep thank you and goodbye