Its promoters claim Mt. Cadillac, in Acadia National Park, sees the first sunrise in the U.S. from its perch on Maine’s Mt. Desert Island—and while that’s true only in fall and winter (other parts of Maine get the rest of the year) climbing or driving to the summit to watch the sun rise is a popular activity, as the picture below shows.
Even the President and his family made it to Cadillac, although there’s no mention of whether they got up early enough to see the sun.
The angles vary, but almost every view down shows the three distinct islands, known as the Porcupines, just off the shore of Bar Harbor, the biggest town on the island, and a famous resort for close to 200 years now.
Part of what made Mount Desert Island’s name and gave it a second industry beyond fish and lobster, were the artists who began visiting in the early 19th century to paint its rocky coasts, mountain lakes and meadows. The painting below is by Fredric Church, whose Hudson River home, Olana, was featured in Where in the World is Gumbo #18.
Acadia is one of the few “main” US National Parks I’ve yet to visit. A serious gap in my travel map….
Having just spent a large number of hours on an Air Canada flight to and from South America, I found it interesting to read the claim that Acadia sees the first USA Sunrise. The ads on the AirCanada video screens from Newfoundland made it very clear that if you want to see the first sunrise in North America, you need to go there instead. That is something I hope to do soon as well. Newfoundland sounds like an excellent unpeopled place for discovery and adventured.