Picnic area · Acadia National Park
A quiet wooded lunch stop with a stairway to the harbor.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Acadia Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Acadia National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Pretty Marsh’s Wooded Picnic Stop“Pretty Marsh Picnic Area is coming up, a wooded stop for your own picnic. It has Acadia's only covered picnic table, but no food service or running water.”
Plays as you drive up to Pretty Marsh Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“…As we drove through Acadia it gave us a tour, which was really cool. Lots of great info about the parks and how to avoid the crowds. It’s a great travel companion!”
Guide
Pretty Marsh Picnic Area is a small roadside picnic area on Acadia’s wooded west side, off Route 102 between Somesville and Seal Cove. It’s one of the park’s six designated picnic areas, with 11 sites, eight fireplaces, and Acadia’s only covered picnic table. I’d keep it in mind for a relaxed lunch or a break on this side of Mount Desert Island. It opens seasonally; bring your own food and drinking water, since there’s no food service or running water. Parking is along the wooded access drive rather than in one large lot. Visitors describe only a few spaces, and the total capacity isn’t posted.
A wooded path and stairs lead toward the harbor’s rocky shore. It isn’t a sandy beach: the slope ends among stones and shell fragments, and the footing can be unstable. At lower tides, visitors look for tide pools. From the water’s edge, Bartlett Island lies to the west, and sunset is a recurring highlight. Take your time on the steps and rocks.
Wildlife
130 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around noonSighting map
21 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
396 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
305 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
201 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsMinkMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Acadia. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateWest Ledge Trail1.8 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.9 mi awayBare granite ledges open west toward Blue Hill Bay
ModerateGreat Notch Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA quiet woodland crossing between Mansell and Bernard
ModerateBeech Cliff Loop Trail0.6 mi · 36 min · 3.2 mi awayA quick rocky lookout over Echo Lake, reached without ladders.
ModerateBeech Mountain Loop Trail1.2 mi · 1.3 hr · 3.2 mi awayA short, steep loop to Acadia’s historic fire tower.
ModerateValley Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 3.2 mi awayA boulder-strewn forest descent beneath Beech Mountain.
ModerateCanada Cliff Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayReach Beech Cliff without the iron ladders.
ModerateBernard Mountain Trail2.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA 2.5-mile loop to a wooded summit and an occasional west view.
ModerateSluiceway Trail0.9 mi · 1 hr · 3.3 mi awayA short, steep wooded climb into the Bernard Mountain trail network.Sight · 3.3 mi awayBeech Mountain Fire TowerA steel lookout over Long Pond, ocean, and island peaks.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayLong Pond South Boat LaunchA four-mile lake for paddling, away from coastal wind and tides.
Sight · 3.5 mi awayIkes PointA paved launch puts canoes and kayaks straight onto Echo Lake.
Beach · 3.6 mi awayEcho Lake BeachA sandy freshwater swim with a cliff view from shore.
Sight · 4 mi awayAcadia MountainA rugged granite summit above Somes Sound
Sight · 4.3 mi awayCarroll HomesteadAn old farmhouse that brings Mount Desert Island's early years close.Parkwolf’s Acadia ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
