Acadia 2025 Trip Days 4 & 5: Giant Cranberry Island and Heading Back Home

 Our last full day in Acadia and Alec was looking for something different to do that didn't include biking or hiking. We decided to ferry over to Giant Cranberry Island. But first we had breakfast. Daniel prepared a port wine poached pear and shakshuka with a chocolate croissant for our main dish. It was all quite delicious!

 Before we went to pick up the ferry, Alec wanted to walk down to check out a local cafe Dora had told us about. He ordered a pastry and an iced matcha latte. He said they were very good but I just loved the decor inside the cafe. They had adorable fake plants and little lights everywhere. 

We walked to the ferry dock and found we only had about 20 minutes to wait. I purchased our tickets online and we all boarded the ferry. It's the "off"/shoulder season in Acadia so the ferry only runs every 3 which means we had 3 hours on Giant Cranberry Island.... well 3 hours is about an hour and a half too long. While Giant Cranberry Island is very quaint and small it is not touristy so once we saw the tiny little museum and walked a few of the wooded trails out to the pebble beaches we were out of things to do.

Weirdly all the photos loaded up in reverse order but you get the gist!  

the local church on the island-- there's only one as the population is less than 300 people

whistler cove

Giant Cranberry Museum & Cafe

pebble cove

 

 

 

this buoy tree greets you as step foot on the island

we rode the ferry to little Cranberry island (also called Islesford) but didn't get off as it was another 3 hours before a ferry would come by.

the ferry we took from Beal's pier in Southwest Harbor, Maine

I think this was little cranberry again.. but it might have been Manset (another quick stop we made on the way to/from Giant Cranberry Island)

After heading back to the B&B to shower, change, rest a bit, etc., we headed back into Bar Harbor for the evening and ate at Galyn's. It was really delicious.

 

side salad with house made dressing

blueberry lemonade

panko crusted haddock with wild rice and asparagus

We walked around, window shopped, and browsed a few stores before getting some ice cream from Ben & Bills before walking back to the car and heading to bed for the night. 

I don't remember the name but it was a coffee ice cream with cookies and cream and fudge swirls

 Our last morning at The Harbour Cottage Inn and Daniel cooked us one of all time favorite meals he's prepare yet-- creme brulee french toast and peaches and cream.

 

After breakfast it was time to pack up the car and head out. We hugged Dora good-bye (she feels practically like family by now) and promised to return soon(ish).  We stopped at Red's Eats for lobster rolls for lunch... which always takes an hour. I'm still not 100%  convinced  it's worth the wait but my husband is.

 

We made one addition stop in York for one last ice cream treat and finally arrived home around 6/6:30. It was a great trip but I was quite happy to be back home and sleep in my own bed again.  

Maine Black Bear-- vanilla ice cream with raspberry swirls and raspberry filled chocolate cups

See also:
Days 1 & 2: arriving and biking the carriage roads

Day 3: Cadillac and Penobscot mountains

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