Acadia and Bar Harbor are a green ecotourist destination! That’s right… if you are the environmentally conscious type — and many of us are these days, then an Acadia National Park vacation just might be the right choice for you.  There are many examples of how “green” the area is these days…

• Bar Harbor hosted the first national conference on ecotourism in 2005.
• The Island Explorer shuttle bus line helps reduce traffic and pollution in the Park and surrounding areas by using clean, propane-powered buses.
• The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor was the named greenest college in the US in 2007.
• Many restaurants in this area use locally grown produce, locally caught seafood, and organic foods.
• Recycling is big, even in public areas too.

So, as you can see… it’s a very green vacation destination! To learn more about vacationing in Acadia National Park, visit Discover-Acadia.com.

I just recently read that Bar Harbor, the most well-known town on Mt. Desert Island near Acadia, was voted by TripAdvisor.com readers as their 92nd choice in the top 100 2008 “Traveler’s Choice Destinations Awards.” Now that’s impressive!

Oh, did I forget to mention that’s in the whole world… not just in the US? Woo hoo! I have to agree, not that I’ve been everywhere, but I have been many places in the US, Canada, and the UK. Anyway, they were 92nd out of the top 100 world destinations and 16 out of the top 25 US ones.

Experience Bar Harbor and Acadia through this great video:

Wow! … is all I can say after reading a story in the Bangor Daily News about an Ellsworth-area developer who has turned over what looks like a totally new leaf after violating EPA regs while building a new development in wetlands near Acadia National Park.

Apparently Ray Builders discharged waste into wetlands around the Union River, and got caught by the EPA. On his own, Robert Ray not only paid the civil fine to the EPA, he also donated 17 acres near downtown Ellsworth as a conservation easement to offset the wetlands damage. That land will be protected from all future development… how nice for Ellsworth! On top of all that, he’s also funding a 3-year program to control invasive species in a freshwater wetland area of Acadia, an $87,000 expenditure over 3 years. I’d say that’s pretty impressive for a developer to do that!

One of the allures of Acadia is its natural flora and fauna, so anything that helps preserve that is certainly welcome. You can get the whole experience of Acadia in the Acadia Auto Tour.