Encourage Creativity and Productivity at the Harborside Hotel

Once you’ve witnessed Acadia National Park’s woodland landscapes, rocky beaches, and glacier-scoured granite peaks, you’ll know these 47,000 acres are worth preserving. Friends of Acadia organizes two major annual signature volunteer events: Earth Day Roadside Cleanup in April and Take Pride in Acadia Day in November. Can’t make those dates? The Drop-In Stewardship Program takes volunteers from June through the end of October for half-day trail work, including cutting back vegetation, clearing drainage features, weeding carriage roads, and other tasks.

Located just off the Park Loop Road and across the road from Sand Beach, The Beehive Trail is an Acadia classic. However, it’s not for the faint of heart. While no more than 1.5 miles in total length, it includes a 450-foot scramble over exposed ledges, featuring granite boulder steps, ladders, iron rungs, and handrails for assistance. Groups who take the challenge are rewarded with outstanding views of Sand Beach, Great Head, and Frenchman Bay – plus, a much more forgiving return route that meanders through a deciduous forest.

Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. may be best known for its whale watch tours (it is after all in its name), but don’t let that fool you into thinking that’s all they offer. Their Sunset Nature Cruise is one of the most beautiful ways to experience Frenchman Bay and Acadia National Park as the sun sinks below the horizon. Not to mention, a naturalist narrates the tour, so you’ll also take home a better understanding of the environment, history, and culture of the area.

The Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. is more than just a tour operator. Every time one of their six vessels goes out, they are also gathering data to help assist in research done by their partners, such as Allied Whale. And that means, when you take a tour (or two) with the operator, you’re also supporting their efforts in an indirect way. Want to help in a more direct way? Sponsor a whale through Allied Whale. By doing so, you contribute to their efforts to understand these animals to ensure survival for future generations.

Serving guests of both the Harborside Hotel and West Street Hotel, the Opal Spa at the Bar Harbor Club is steeped in history. Set in the historic Bar Harbor Club, this spa serves twenty-first-century guests with timeless style and New England charm. Beyond the extensive menu of natural and hydrating skin treatments, there’s also a modern fitness center, tennis courts, and even swimming pools, perfect for groups who love to move. And speaking of moving – after a long trek through the Acadia National Park, the customized hiker’s massage and compression recovery boots will help your team recover from any team-building on the trail.