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April 14, 2021

One Day In Portland, Maine: The Perfect 2026 Itinerary

Find out how to spend One Day In Portland, Maine. Including Where To Stay, Eat, Shop & What You Can’t Miss…

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!

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

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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

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We came around a bend and saw what looked like fog We came around a bend and saw what looked like fog settled across the prairie. So, naturally, we pulled over.

It wasn’t fog.

It was the biggest bison herd either of us has seen in @theodorerooseveltnps. Slowly materializing out of the mist while the sunset turned everything gold.

Stay a little longer and the whole prairie starts telling stories. Young bulls running and shoving each other around like brothers. Calves curled up in the grass for a nap. Massive bulls hanging back while the herd kept moving.

An entire world, unfolding right in front of us.

And there was almost nobody else there.

Named after my favorite president, Theodore Roosevelt National Park somehow still flies under the radar. Fine by me.

Some places don’t need bigger crowds. They just need people willing to pull over when something looks a little different.

What’s the most underrated national park you’ve ever been to?
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.
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