Acadia National Park, ME

Directions: Click here for Google map (to a B&B in Prospect Harbor)

The rugged coast of Maine is a spectacular sight, especially if you travel north to Acadia National Park. This area, with its thousands of wild acres, will beckon you (and Fido) to experience one adventure after another!

You can enjoy Acadia in two ways: city style and/or country style. City style would include visiting Bar Harbor, which offers a bustling (but quaint) downtown with lots of shops, restaurants, and a park right on the ocean. Country style includes a limitless supply of secluded bed & breakfasts, hiking, picnicking, sightseeing, and of course relaxing near the ocean.

We've stayed in three B&Bs in Acadia and visited several restaurants, shops, and natural wonders which I've listed below. We enjoyed each place (or I wouldn't post them here). There are so many more things to see, you can easily create your own adventure!

Here are the positive features:

• Over 47,000 acres of mountains, ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes to enjoy
• Hiking/walking trails and great picnic spots seem to be everywhere
• There are 17 mountains in the area for you to climb
• With so much space, it's easy to find privacy and seclusion even in the summer!
• Dog friendly lodging abounds (search Google or see below for where we stayed)
• Incredible sightseeing in your car with lots of opportunities to pull over and explore
• Go from peaceful seclusion to bustling downtown areas
• Fantastic restaurants in random places (see below for the places we visited)
• It's easy to get take-out and have a picnic with your dog
• Lots of info is available to help you plan your trip (click here)

Negative features:

• Acadia is so big, it can take a long time to drive from one destination to another
• There is some serious wildlife in the forest, so you need to be careful and aware when hiking with your dog
• Some hiking trails feature terrain that may be too rough for your dog, so plan ahead
• Swimming beaches are off-limits to dogs in the summer

Where we stayed:

• Three Pines Bed & Breakfast (very secluded): www.threepinesbandb.com
• Ocean Meadows Inn (private beach & nature trails): www.oceaninn.com
• Bluff House Inn (lots of private property & a nature trail that goes to the ocean): www.bluffinn.com

Where we ate:

• Bunker's Wharf (our favorite fine dining): www.bunkerswharfrestaurant.com (update: it's now out of business - boohoo!)
• The Crocker House (great fine dining and they have an inn): www.crockerhouse.com
• Cleonice Mediterranean Bistro (excellent casual fine dining): www.cleonice.com
• Quarterdeck (waterfront dining & great for take-out): www.quarterdeckbarharbor.com
• Cafe Milagro (great little coffee shop): www.milagrocoffee.com
• J.M. Gerrish Provisions (coffee, breakfast, lunch, ice cream): www.jmgerrish.com

Where we shopped:

• Sherman's Bookstore (lots of books & gifts): www.shermans.com
• Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium (yum): www.benandbills.com
• Walkin' the Dog (a store your dog can shop in, too!): www.walkinthedogbarharbor.com
• Gull Rock Pottery (beautiful stoneware): www.gullrockpottery.com
• Winter Harbor 5&10 (t-shirts, gifts, stuff): www.winterharbor5and10.com

Natural wonders that we visited:

• Schoodic Peninsula: www.acadia.ws/schoodic.htm
• Somes Sound: www.acadiamagic.com/SomesSound1.html
• Roque Bluffs: www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/parks/find_one_name.pl?park_id=23
• Cadillac Mountain: www.acadiamagic.com/CadillacMountain.html
• We hope to go back and see lots more!

The above listings are such a drop in the bucket when you consider the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of places to stay, eat, shop, and visit. Acadia is a magical place for people and puppies!

Old Orchard Beach, ME

Directions: Click here for Google map

If you like taking long walks on the beach with your dog, but without the crowds, then Old Orchard Beach in the off season is a great place to visit.

We recently spent a weekend at Old Orchard Beach and enjoyed the warmth of early spring while the area was still very quiet.

The sandy beach is approximately 7 miles long, dog friendly in the off season, and we found a dog-friendly ocean front motel. Cooper was very happy to have his very own "people-sized" bed in our room!

Here are the positive features:

• Beautiful beach for miles of walking/running with your furry friend
• Dog friendly lodging abounds (search Google or see below for where we stayed)
• Lodging was inexpensive
• No crowds while we were there in March
• Some shops & restaurants are open year-round (see below for the places we visited)
  
• A fun spontaneous get-away: we reserved our hotel room just hours before we checked in
  

Negative features:

• Dog friendly lodging is not very high class - but it's better than nothing!
• There are no private areas for your dog to go potty, so bring a few bags to pick it up
  
• During the day in peak season, dogs are not allowed on the beach

Where we stayed, ate, and shopped:

• Sandpiper Beachfront Motel, right on the ocean: www.sandpiperbeachfrontmotel.com
• Board Silly, a fun game store for adults & kids: www.boardsillyonline.com
  
• Michele's Garden Cafe, serving a good breakfast: click here for more info
  
• Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, serving great dinners: click here for more info

All in all, we had a great time at Old Orchard Beach in March. The blanket of stars in the evening, beautiful ocean sunrise in the morning, and mild weather during the day were perfect - and we had it mostly to ourselves!