The Well Worn Shoes

Wanderlust Welcome

  • Home
  • Start Here
    • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Disclaimer
    • Affiliate Disclaimer
  • National Parks
    • Acadia
    • Yellowstone
    • Great Smoky Mountains
    • Grand Canyon
    • Utah National Parks
    • Badlands
  • Dog Friendly
  • Road Trips
    • One Day In Guides
  • Destinations
    • United States
      • New England
      • Southwest
      • South
      • Mountain West
      • Midwest & Great Lakes
      • Mid-Atlantic
    • Canada
  • Gear
  • Shop

May 12, 2026

One Day In Acadia With Dogs: A Local’s Itinerary

Heading to Acadia with your dogs and only have one day? Don’t panic. Here’s the exact hour-by-hour itinerary I plan for friends — sunrise on Ocean Path, house rolls at Bar Harbor Lobster Pound, the Quiet Side trails, and a real sit-down dinner with your pup. Updated for 2026.

April 14, 2026

The Complete Guide to Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park

Schoodic Peninsula sunset in Acadia National Park Maine - wide panoramic view of orange and lavender sky over the Atlantic Ocean from pink granite ledges, with windswept spruce trees and the silhouette of Mount Desert Island on the horizon, capturing the stunning coastal scenery of the Schoodic District and why the Schoodic Peninsula is one of the most beautiful and least crowded areas of Acadia National Park

The Schoodic Peninsula is the only mainland section of Acadia National Park — and one of the most overlooked destinations on the entire Maine coast. Just 45 miles from Bar Harbor, Schoodic receives only about 8% of Acadia’s total visitors, which means no timed-entry reservations, easy parking, and access to some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in the park. From the jaw-dropping geology at Schoodic Point, 419-million-year-old pink granite streaked with black basalt dikes, to the cliff-edge sunset views at Ravens Nest overlooking Frenchman Bay and Cadillac Mountain, the Schoodic Peninsula deserves a full day on every Acadia National Park itinerary. This complete guide covers how to get there, how the one-way Schoodic Loop Road works, the best stops and sunset spots, dog-friendly trails, camping at Schoodic Woods Campground, and everything else you need to plan your visit.

December 23, 2025

6 Best Dog-Friendly National Parks to Visit This Winter

Okay, let’s talk about something that drives me absolutely crazy as a dog mom who loves National Parks…

January 18, 2022

10 Tips To Leave No Trace With Your Dog

The popularity of having outdoor adventures with your dog has skyrocketed over the past few years. Hiking and camping with dogs can make for a great experience, but it can also damage those around you and the places that you visit…

July 15, 2021

16 Tips For Traveling With Dogs

Traveling with your dog(s) can be a great experience (for both of you) with just a little extra planning. If you know me, then you know that I take my Huskies, Loki & Freya with me all the time. I started training both of them early to be ok with travel and to be adaptable to changing environments, and I’m glad I did…

June 1, 2021

Visiting Mount Rushmore in 2026: An Honest Guide

Is Mount Rushmore worth the trip? Is it a National Treasure and should you visit? Find out here…

November 10, 2020

Is Badlands​ National Park Dog Friendly? (2026 Guide)

Vanessa and her two Siberian Huskies in front of the Badlands National Park rock formations in South Dakota

Let’s be honest: most national parks aren’t winning any awards for being dog-friendly. And there’s good reason for that; these places are home to wild animals that can seriously hurt your pup, and your pup can do real damage to the fragile habitat right back. So in most parks, the rule is simple: no dogs on trails, no dogs in the backcountry…

Hi! I'm Vanessa, a 30 something, sunset chasing traveler. I'm here to inspire you to travel wherever, whenever, and with whoever you can. My Huskies, Loki and Freya are usually along for the ride. I have a soul that likes to wander, a desire to experience the unknown, and a curiousity to discover things off the beaten path. I hope you'll stick around for awhile!

Join the List

Let's be friends! I know e-mails can suck but mine won't and I promise cute pup photos too!

Connect

Recent Posts

  • The Bar Harbor Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know Before You Visit
  • The Complete Guide to the Best Bars in Bar Harbor, Maine
  • The Complete Guide To Getting Out On Frenchmans Bay
  • The Best Sunset Spots in Acadia National Park
  • One Day In Acadia With Dogs: A Local’s Itinerary

Categories

  • Destinations
  • History
  • National Park Love

Reader Favorites

Wizarding World: Secrets, Sips, Eats, Magic

The Best Things To Do In Camden, Maine

The BEST Spots To Explore In Concord, MA

On the Blog

  • Destinations
  • History
  • National Park Love

Join the List

The Well Worn Shoes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Connect

6 months on Mount Desert Island changed my perspe 6 months on Mount Desert Island  changed my perspective on Bar Harbor and Acadia 🦞✨🦞

I’d already written about Acadia. Then I stayed there and found out how much of it was wrong, or right in a theoretical way that falls apart the second you try to park at Sand Beach in August.

So I rewrote everything, every post, and the guides I wish I had in 2011 on my first visit. 

The guides are live today. Day plans, real distances, dog access mapped trail by trail, 2026 dates, and the parts I’d tell you to skip.

Link in bio - Message me with any questions! 🦞✨

Where are you headed - the town of Bar Harbor, the park, or both? Hopefully both 😁
Six months on Mount Desert Island changes the way Six months on Mount Desert Island changes the way you see Acadia.

You stop chasing the busiest overlooks. You stop fighting for parking. You find the hikes you don’t have to wait in line for. You learn that the park before breakfast and the park at noon might as well be two different places.

Comment LOBSTER and I’ll message you a direct link the Bar Harbor/Acadia Cheat Sheet! 

👀 Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for the Bar Harbor and Acadia Guides that I WISH I had for my first 10 trips into Bar Harbor and the park.

What’s one place you’d love the “here’s what I’d tell my best friend” guide for? 🧡
The free Bar Harbor/Acadia Cheat Sheet 🦞 It’s got The free Bar Harbor/Acadia Cheat Sheet 🦞

It’s got the places worth your time, the ones I’d skip, the sandbar you have to time with the tide, the trail almost nobody talks about, the bar hidden inside a gift shop, where to eat, and where your dogs are actually welcome.

Download it to your phone before you go, no cell service needed.

I didn’t just visit Bar Harbor. I lived there for six months, wandered the side streets, chased way too many sunrises, and learned the difference between the places everyone recommends and the ones you’ll still be talking about after you get home.

🦞 Grab the free cheat sheet at the link in my bio, or comment LOBSTER and I’ll send you the link.

The full Bar Harbor and Acadia guides are coming soon (next week-ish), but this is where I’d start.

Who’s got Bar Harbor on their road trip list? 👇
3 years of chasing sunsets from the road… …and the 3 years of chasing sunsets from the road…
…and they still ruin my schedule.

This Ruidoso sunset at Alto Lake did not disappoint. What made it even better? Wild horses showed up with a colt! See video in stories 😍

Every single time the sky starts showing off, I’m pulling over like it’s my first road trip. 

Some things are worth being late for.
The photos don’t tell you the best thing about Whi The photos don’t tell you the best thing about White Sands

It’s not just the endless white dunes or the way they turn pink at sunset.

It’s that the sand stays cool enough for bare feet, and apparently, 3 very happy dogs.

As the sun dropped, the crowds thinned out, the light turned golden, and for a little while it felt like we’d wandered onto another planet.

We stayed until the rangers started making their “time to head home” rounds. I’d do it again tomorrow.

Would your dog be sprinting across the dunes…or refusing to get sand between their toes? 🐾👇
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2026 The Well Worn Shoes · Theme by 17th Avenue