The United States Mint has recently memorialized one of our most popular
Quietside landmarks. On June 11th the newest America the Beautiful Quarter was released. The Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse was chosen to represent Acadia National Park on the "tails" side of the new quarter.
The ceremonial release will be held at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, located within Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, on June 26, 2012, at 9:30 am. Afterward, at approximately 10 a.m. a coin exchange will take place where one can buy from 1 to 10 rolls of these quarters at $10 per roll. Children under the age of 18 will be given 1 free quarter each.
A coin forum will be held the evening of June 25 from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Visitor Center auditorium. For more information please visit:
http://www.parkquarters.com/acadia-national-park-quarter.
One of the most popular attractions on the quietside is the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. It's easy to get to and the views can't be beat. The lighthouse sits on a bluff above Bass Harbor Bar, a shallow spot which can make for tricky navigating during certain tidal and wind conditions. Boats need to stay in a fairly narrow channel to get across the bar safely. To get here, take 102A from Southwest Harbor. You will pass by the Seawall picnic area, Wonderland and Ship Harbor Trails (all worth stopping for!) and then you will take a hard left. The road to the lighthouse is about 1/2 mile from the turn off. RVs can not go down this road because there is no room in the parking lot at the end to turn around. There is a trail down to the water on the left of the parking lot as you look toward the sea. There is an asphalt trail to an overlook (pictured on the left) from the right side of the lot. The view from there spectacular. The pictures below were taken from that spot.
