A Guide to Mount Desert Island, Maine, Maybe the Most Beautiful Spot in New England

“Have you been to the Northeast?” A few years ago, a local asked me when I first arrived at Mount Desert Island. This is a basic question and a must-know term if you plan to explore an area in northern Maine.

“Downeast” is an American term that dates back to the 1810s, and is a sliding scale of remoteness: It literally refers to Washington and Hancock Counties, the northernmost coastal counties before the Canadian border, but it’s also an adjective. The further you go along the coast, the further “eastwards” you go. It’s also a unique variation of the Maine accent, and most importantly, it’s a state of mind. Many people went to Maine, but those with a spiritual understanding of what the state had to offer would go east.

The centerpiece of the region is the stunning heartland of Mount Desert Island. (Pro tip: This is “dessert” in the Sahara or Mojave Desert. Mount Desert Island, one of four towns on the island, is pronounced “dessert,” like “dessert” in candy.) Most of the island is covered by Acadia National Park, known for its stunning seaside cliffs and hiking trails lined with wild blueberry bushes. There are some 18 mountains on the island, the highest seaside peaks on the Atlantic coast north of Rio de Janeiro, and several surrounding villages that are as charming as coastal New England.

It is also one of the most discreet forts of American descent. Gilded Age greats like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts owned estates here, and Martha Stewart’s iconic Skylands estate is located in Seal Harbor. You wouldn’t know it, but if glitzy hotspots like Aspen, the Hamptons or Palm Beach are for socializing, MDI is where the excitement disappears. On this unpretentious island, locals call each other by their first names and fishermen go out to sea before sunrise to catch fish. Simply put, it’s the perfect microcosm of everything that makes New England so great. Here, we give advice on how to do it right.

How to get there

“If it were easy to come here, everyone would do it,” locals like to say. The five-hour drive north from Boston is no easy feat, but luckily Cape Air offers daily flights to the island from Logan Airport, as long as you can handle the bumpy low altitude of an eight-seat Cessna. However, bringing a car may be your best option. This way, you’re free to explore the less visited corners of Acadia National Park and visit all the coastal villages that make the island so special: Bar Harbor, Bass Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, and more.

New in 2026, the Acadia Gateway Center, a National Park Service facility, welcomes visitors to this part of Maine. It is located off Route 3 in Trenton, 3 miles north of MDI. The facility will offer free day-use parking, a bus stop for the Island Explorer shuttle, and an 11,000-square-foot information center with exhibits and information about Acadia National Park. This is an important stop if you need help planning a hike or just want to learn about the history of the park (and the role the Rockefeller family played in preserving it).