Dog Friendly Bar Harbor and Acadia - Our Happy Maine Dog 's Top 10 Things To Do

On a recent September late summer hiatus, our happy Maine dog, Ted, got to travel with us Down East to dog friendly Bar Harbor and Acadia along with his visiting grandparents from New Zealand.

Here 's Ted 's top 10 dog friendly things about Bar Harbor and Acadia. Our list is not ranked because our enthusiastic Labrador 's tail wagged at the same happy pace throughout our excellent adventures. Ted really digs vacationing on Mount Desert Island.

1). The West St Hotel, Bar Harbor

After our luxurious stay at the dog friendly West St Hotel, located in the heart of Bar Harbor, our Maine dog 's having a hard time coming back to rover reality. Ted 's still dreaming about the wagging hospitality, dog cookies at coffee stations on every hotel level, dog friendly patio dining and live music at Paddy 's Irish restaurant and bar downstairs and tongue hanging harbor and Atlantic Ocean views.

The hotel website suggests only light-weight Fidos can stay but it turns out that well-behaved dogs over the stated 30 pounds are usually welcome. It always pays to call and ask for the inside scoop before booking any dog friendly accommodations.

2). Stewman 's

Ted sniffed out our lunchtime dining spot, Stewman 's Lobster Pound, which he had a dogs-eye view of from our hotel room balcony. People were dining at waterfront picnic tables with their dogs and the entrance way sandwich board chalked up their dog friendly status with a no bones about it "Dogs Are Welcome". We walked over for a lobster centric lunch on the deck. Ted 's tail twirled through the enthusiastic greetings from restaurant staff who welcomed Ted with an iced water bowl and compliments. During lunch, Ted surveyed the deck scene complete with many under-the-table doggie diners as he licked his own frozen treat.

3). Sandbar to Bar Island

After lunching at Stewman 's, we could see people and dogs beginning to walk over the exposed sandbar to Bar Island. We decided to join the procession and walk-off our lobster lunch. Our low-tide walk was punctuated with ocean ball play and sniff and greets with fellow island goers. The top of Bar Island delivers sweeping views of Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island. According to the signs, you have a three hour window to make the roundtrip journey- 90 minutes before low-tide and 90 minutes after. The tide turns quickly so you do have to be mindful of it. On previous visits, I have seen people stranded or wading back against the current when they loose track of time.

4). Bark Harbor

No dog or dog-enthusiast can walk by the popular Bark Harbor boutique dog-store without checking it out. Ted sniffed it out with no assistance and wiggled his way in the door to enthusiastic greetings. We left with a bag of dog treats including some bully sticks for Ted to chew on at happy hour.

5). Cottage St Pub

On our first night, we took an after dinner stroll and Ted literally led us astray. As we walked past the outside garden patio of the Cottage St Pub, a friendly group of patrons introduced themselves to Ted and he limboed under the patio rope to say hi. The bartender came out with doggie sausage treats and soon we were sipping a nightcap cocktail and munching on popcorn with our social pup.

6). Bar Harbor Shore Path

Ted strutted along the popular Bar Harbor Shore Path at various times during our visit. Inhaling the early morning Atlantic Ocean views is our favorite way to kick-off our mornings in Bar Harbor and a great way to build up a big breakfast appetite.

7). Cadillac Mountain

At 1500 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard with panoramic views of Mount Desert Island. Ted loved climbing over the red rocks to find different view vantage points. On my last visit, in early August, it was peak wild blueberry season and I picked handfuls of the tiny Maine wild berries on my mountain hikes. Our foraging Teddy Bear poked his nose into the native low bush plants on this September trip and happily found a few lingering wild blueberries overlooked by the tourists and black bears.

8). Sand Beach, Acadia

Luckily for us, Sand Beach allows leashed dogs after Labor Day. We walked along the white sandy shoreline to the estuary and watched the adventurous people climbing up Beehive Mountain behind us. With the iron rung ladders needed to climb this particular Acadia mountain, the Beehive will be one Acadia icon that our four-paw trail blazer won 't be able to conquer.

9). Jordan Pond House

After touring around the park loop all our tummies were growling so we headed for lunch at Jordan Pond House. After negotiating the usual potluck parking scene, we strolled the picturesque landscape with our table-waiting pagers and then dined with traditional popover fare and lobster-centric dishes. Ted enjoyed a snack and a short siesta under the shade of the picnic table umbrellas.

After lunch, we walked around the Jordan Pond trails. Ted was a good ambassador and kept his paws out of the inviting crystal clear pond that is a restricted area because it 's a drinking water source. Jordan Pond was a perfect setting for family photos with views across the reflecting pond towards the Bubble mountains, which we had hiked on our last visit in August.

10). Little Long Pond, Seal Harbor

I know I said that Ted 's top 10 dog friendly list was not ranked but the reality is that Little Long Pond did get a high-paw 10 out of 10 from our Ted and there 's a reason why. Not only did Ted get to swim and play off-leash in this expansive dog friendly oasis, gifted by the Rockefeller family, but he also got to wag around the pond carriage trails with Bar Harbor Brady and his Mom, Kristen. HappyME friends may recall Brady as the local favorite yellow labrador "who has hiked every trail without a ladder" who starred in my Maine Wag Bar Harbor and Acadia dog friendly feature with Maine Today last September.

Ted 's top 10 dog friendly Bar Harbor and Acadia list only skims the surface of Mount Desert Island 's adventure playground. On our next visit, Ted hope 's to rev-up his four-paw drive on more of the island hiking trails that his yellow Lab buddy Ambassador Brady really digs.

Meet Bar Harbor Brady - Wag Like A Local - Dog Friendly Bar Harbor and Acadia

Thanks to Chris Torrey and Kristen Cameron, Brady 's family, for making us feel so welcome in Brady 's neck of the woods. Ted 's hoping when he returns that Brady will finally have his own key to Bark Harbor gourmet boutique for those winter days when Brady needs to fuel up on an early morning walk or when he 's out on the town with Ted in summer and needs an after hours snack.

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