Wild Gardens of Acadia — Attraction in Bar Harbor

The Wild Gardens of Acadia is inside Acadia National Park. This was one of our stops while on a tour of the park. This was our second stop, which we had about 20 minutes to explore. Our visit here was on October 2, 2019.

There is a nature center at the entrance to the Wild Gardens of Acadia. Inside, there are staff to help answer any questions, as well as visual displays of the history and future of the area. There is an emphasis of climate change in some of the exhibits in there as well. Definitely take some time to stop in here.

It was time to explore the gardens. The weather was overcast with temperatures in the low 50s as a cold front had just passed through the area that morning. Even though the sun wasn't out, there were some great views to be had here. There were many different native flora throughout the gardens. There was some fall color, but it was too early for the full effect of the fall colors.

While exploring the gardens, there were lots of different views to be had. There was not enough time to really take in everything here on this visit, but what was seen was beautiful. Areas were broken out and noted the type of flora that could be seen in each section of the gardens. There are quite a few paths that you can go through here as well. There are some good water views here as well, including a pond. I'm not sure if it had to do with the weather, but there weren't any animals or creatures out during my brief visit here.

Overall, this was a beautiful place to visit. Before coming here, some others online said that it wasn't worth visiting. I totally disagree with that. This was a great place to visit and see the local native species here in their natural habitat. Time got away from me while visiting. If we had a longer time here, I would have definitely continued to explore longer. If your travels take you through Acadia National Park, coming here with your camera is definitely a must. The scenery alone...

Great place to check out and one of the less crazy places in Acadia. My dad has a lot of trouble getting around so the garden was a great thing for us to see together and still have the experience of being in the woods. Great place to snap a couple family photos too.

There are a bunch of different trails that you can take from the gardens that range from strenuous to easy. We took the Emery path, which turned out to be a little more than we were expecting. The path is definitely not suitable for young kids and those who don't like a good climb. If you can handle some serious elevation changes there are views that are worth the trip. One hiker told us the Emery path was the most exciting half...

We visited the Wild gardens of Acadia early in the morning even before opening time and we walked the Jesup path. We really enjoyed the walk and saw a bull frog and a porcupine. We initially went to the left and the path ended at a lake that was covered in fog and looked beautiful. Then we retraced our steps and went in the other direction and came to the boardwalk surrounded by grass on either sides. There is a paid area to visit where we can view samples of all the wild plants and flowers that grow around the national park. Parking is easily available and I would definitely recommend a visit to the wild gardens...