Acadia National Park
One of the most popular national parks on the east coat of the USA, Acadia is exceptional not just for its Atlantic Ocean seascape, but for the fact that a charming town, Bar Harbor, sits in its midst. The park is located largely on Mount Desert Island in Maine, home of lobster rolls (you must try one when you go there!) and salt water taffy.
Acadia National Park is an idyllic balance of seaside resort town and natural splendour, with lovely little inns (stay at The Ledgelawn Inn; you’ll love it) and excellent camping. The town is historic, with a Civil War-era cemetery.
Explore the rocky beaches, climb (in your car...) Cadillac Mountain, the highest on America’s east coast, and walk the Jordan Pond nature trail. Here you might be lucky and see a moose, a bear or even a whale offshore. Seabirds abound.
Before you reluctantly take yourself away from Acadia National Park, be sure to stop and watch the action at Thunder Hole. Plan to visit one to two hours before the tide is high. The ocean waters submerge this unusual cave at high tide and in so doing, they make a sound that resembles thunder. Oh, and wear a raincoat; the water can shoot as high as a three-storey building when it collides with the rocks.