1. Bar Harbor Golf Course
City: Trenton, ME
Category: Golf
Telephone: (207) 667-7505
Address: Routes 3 and 204
Description: This old favorite is not actually in Bar Harbor—or even on Mount Desert Island, for that matter. Established in 1965, the club is actually in Trenton, a few miles short of the island but with truly fantastic views of the green mountains of Acadia. The 18-hole, par 71 course gently rolls on small hills and the Jordan River plays through; other bodies of water provide challenges on a few holes, and the ocean makes itself felt, too, in the form of periodic breezes. The club is fully outfitted with a pro shop, driving range, restaurant, lounge, rentals, and a practice green. It’s open from mid-April through October.
2. Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound
City: Trenton, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 667-2977
Address: 1237 Bar Harbor Rd.
Description: Hard to resist to anyone driving by on Route 3 en route to Acadia, this restaurant places its cookers right outside by the road—and you just know what’s inside: fresh lobster. They’ve been at it since 1956, making this pound one of the oldest in the state, so you know they must be doing something right.
3. Great Maine Lumberjack Show
City: Trenton, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 667-0067
Address: Route 1
Description: Timber Tina, the vibrant woman behind this Acadia-area attraction, has won logging titles from Australia to South Africa. A world champion lumberjill (as opposed to lumberjack), she can chop, saw, and roll logs with the best of them, and she’s been featured in National Geographic and Sports Illustrated, on ESPN, and even on MTV. Summers she can be found here on the way to Acadia, hosting nightly exhibitions of logging sports. The events are the kinds of activities that were—and are to a certain extent—prevalent in Maine’s North Woods. And they make for some rousing entertainment. At a show you can watch as contemporary woodsmen and women—mostly students who compete in collegiate lumber meets—throw axes, roll logs, and climb 65-foot poles, among other things. And you’ll also get a good dose of Maine lumbering history, which is fascinating stuff. Shows are nightly at 7 p.m.
4. Seacoast Fun Park
City: Trenton, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 667-3573
Address: Route 3
Description: One of those multifaceted amusement parks that inevitably seem to spring up near national parks, this small amusement complex 3 miles from Ellsworth has something for everyone: waterslides, minigolf, go-karts, a pool, a snack bar, an arcade, a trampoline, and even Maine’s only tented paintball facility. Open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day and weekends in the shoulder season.