There are beautiful places in New England, but the crown jewel, without a doubt, is Acadia National Park.  With its ocean views and majestic mountains, this place is absolutely stunning.

NPS/Victoria Stauffenberg
NPS/Victoria Stauffenberg
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Did you know that Acadia also has beautiful lakes with beaches that will take your breath away?  Recently, Echo Lake in Acadia was chosen as one of the best lake beaches in the entire country.

Acadia National Park is a Bucket List Destination

If you've never been to Acadia National Park, you are missing out on a breathtaking part of our world.  If you live in New England and think you have to travel to see such out-of-this-world sights, you don't.  Just jump in your car and head up to Acadia.

Recently, fodors.com named the best lake beaches in the United States, and Echo Lake was named #12 out of 15.

According to maine.gov, Echo Lake has a diverse population of fish, including hornpout, sunfish, American eel, salmon, lake trout, rainbow smelt, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, perch, and pickerel.

Don't Miss Sand Beach in Acadia

While you're at Acadia, you should also check out Sand Beach.  The body of water is the Atlantic Ocean, so the water is probably going to be colder than the water at Echo Lake.  But that might be what you are looking for, depending on the day.  You should also realize that the water in the Atlantic doesn't cool off until at least August, and that's if it's been a particularly hot summer.

I have tried to describe my enthusiasm for Acadia National Park, but these are just words from a mere mortal's brain.  Acadia is a place you gotta experience to believe.  Whether it's at Echo Lake, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, Cadillac Mountain, every nook and cranny is stunning.

Look: 28 Popular Maine Mountain Hikes

Maine is a tremendous hiking state. Here are (nearly) 28 of Mainers' favorite mountain hikes. Some are well-known, while others are hidden gems.

Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Maine's 20 Largest State Parks by Acreage

Maine's 42 state parks and historical sites saw over 3 million visitors in 2021. These popular spots just continue to remain quite popular. They are also extraordinarily diverse to one another in their own right, including the size.

Here are the 20 largest state parks in Maine based on acreage.

Note: Baxter State Park has been omitted since it's not run by the Maine Bureau of Parks & Public Lands.

Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

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