Without a doubt, my favorite part of our trip to Acadia National Park was our stop at Sand Beach.

We got our first glimpse of the beach while walking over - since the one-way road with two lanes had become an actual parking lot in the right lane and the line went on for a good quarter of a mile.

There was a nice path along the side of the road and then a stairwell that led down into the beach area.

There must have been hundreds of people at the beach, but it did not feel like it because the beach was so large. The sand was flanked on either side by pine trees and rocky cliffs. Then, in front there was the bright blue water - almost the color you'd expect in the tropics, though the temperature would argue otherwise - and in the back were views of a mountain and grass fields.

Not many people were in the water since it was so frigid - about 52-degrees. But Jon went in and eventually convinced me to do the same.

We stayed long enough to enjoy the views, the blue sky, and the water. The sand was being swept up into our faces by the wind a bit more than we both liked so we retreated back to rinse off. While there were no showers, we found a less-used spout to wash our feet and I concocted my own shower using my water bottle.

On a nice summer day, Sand Beach was a beautiful spot.