There's no end to the things you can do on Mount Desert Island. Ride your mountain bike on the carriage roads that criss-cross the island. Paddle your sea kayak along the rocky coastline. Climb up the treacherous Precipice Trail. Sail on a four-masted schooner or take a tour on a lobster boat. Stroll through the scenic streets of Bar Harbor.

Of course, there's also the pleasure of doing what's called nothing but is actually quite something--sitting back and enjoying a slower pace of life, relaxing by the water, and soaking in the views and the serenity.

Our "Quiet Side" of the Island
• Have a picnic lunch at Sea Wall with fresh crabmeat sandwiches
• Visit the famed Bass Harbor Lighthouse, only minutes away from your cottage
• Pick and immediately eat the blueberries that grow wild on the island (late July/August)
• Rediscover the Milky Way--do some serious star gazing far from city lights
• Sit in the swing in the meadow at dusk and watch for foxes and deer
• Listen to the gentle lapping of the waves and the sound of lobster boats trolling the waters on a foggy morning
• Eat fresh lobster with french fries on a picnic table on a pier
• Take a sunset drive and enjoy the views across Somes Sound (the only fjord in North America)
• Shop the small shops in Southwest Harbor while eating ice cream
• Hop from one antique store to the next--there's lots of them on the island
• Paddle a canoe on Long Lake and visit the wooded islands in the middle
• Enjoy the fall foliage on a scenic drive (bring your camera)
• Take an island tour to Cranberry and Frenchboro Islands and see seals, eagles, cormorants, and osprey -- and watch the captain haul up a lobster trap

Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor
• Hike The Bubbles (an easy hike with good views) near Jordan Pond House
• Afterwards, drink fresh lemonade and eat popovers with strawberry jam and lots of butter during the afternoon tea at the Jordon Pond House
• Paddle your sea kayak on an all-day trip from Seal Harbor to the Cranberry Islands and back
• Visit Bar Harbor and window-shop at expensive art galleries, or stroll along the shore path enjoying views of the harbor
• Drive the famous Loop Road in Acadia National Park, with stops at Thunder Hole, Anemone Caves, Sand Beach, Sieur de Monte Springs, and more
• Stroll along the carriage road at the Rockefeller Boathouse (near Seal Harbor); there's a pretty lake, open meadows, and a wide gravel trail that winds through pine forest