maryland to bar harbor maine

Don't remember our exact route but we have made the trip to Acadia from NJ twice--and the last time we stayed at the Bar Harbor KOA--and loved it! You can buy a great lobster dinner right on the campground and eat it at your site. The water views are awesome. We did a review of the campground and a bunch of other posts on our blog two summers ago. Check it out for some good ideas. Enjoy your trip!!

From MD, we took 83 to 78 to 81 to 84 across the Newburgh Beacon Bridge. Continued on 84 to 90 to 95. A few more miles but a ton less traffic and tolls. And a bit more peace of mind...

My suggestions are: Get on I95 north of the Baltimore tunnel to the NJ Turnpike to the Garden State parkway to its northern end where it joins with the NY Thruway. East on NY Thruway over Tappan Zee Bridge to I 684 north to join with I84 (alternate is to take NY Thruway north to join with I84 near Newburgh). I84 to junction with I90 (Mass Turnpike) to I290 through Worchester to join with I495 around Boston which joins with I95 near the New Hampshire border. Just south of Portland, we take I295 to route 1 near Brunswick. Route 1 goes through a number of small quaint towns, but is a nice 2 lane road. To cut off a few miles, we use route 90 between Warren and Rockport, then rejoin with route 1 to Ellsworth, then route 3 to Mt. Desert Island. The KOA is on the right just after you pass over the bridge to the island.

Several times on the way up, we have stayed at Camden Hills State Park just north of Camden. If you have time, drive the tow vehicle to the top of Mt. Battie for great views of the Penobscott Bay, Camden harbor and on a clear day Mt Desert Island in the distance.
Good seafood in Camden and the harbor is very picturesque with lots of sailboats, etc. A bit further up route 1 just before Bucksport is Fort Knox State Park.