Two-thirds of the way up the craggy coast of Maine lies Mount Desert Island, home to granite mountains, picture perfect harbors, and Acadia National Park. Mount Desert Island is the crown jewel of coastal New England—the only place on the East Coast where the mountains literally meet the sea. Those mountains, rounded and smoothed by Ice Age glaciers, form one of the most distinctive profiles in the world. From sea they look like a string of giant ice cream scoops rising up out of the water. Cadillac Mountain, the island's tallest peak, is 1,532 feet—the highest point on the Atlantic north of Rio de Janeiro.

Nestled between the island's 24 mountain peaks are forests, lakes, meadows, marshes and the only fjord on the East Coast: Somes Sound, which nearly cuts the island in two. Roughly two-thirds of Mount Desert Island has been set aside as Acadia National Park. At just 46,000 acres, Acadia is one of the smallest national parks in America. But it's also one of the most popular, luring roughly 3 million visitors a year. Acadia's most famous attraction is the Park Loop Road, which runs along the island's rugged eastern shore before cutting through the forest, passing by two pristine lakes, then twisting and turning to the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Acadia also boasts 130 miles of stunning hiking trails and 57 miles of carriage roads perfect for biking or horseback riding. The park also includes Schoodic Peninsula, on the mainland, and half of Isle au Haut, a rugged island 14 miles southwest of Mount Desert Island.

About half a dozen coastal villages dot the shores of Mount Desert Island—some, like Bar Harbor, built around tourism; others, like Bass Harbor, carrying on as quiet fishing hamlets, much as they always have. There are also wealthy summer towns, like Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor, and historic villages like Somesville, the island's oldest town. Several offshore islands such as the Cranberry Isles, Swan's Island, and Isle au Haut are accessible by ferry, making them great for day tripping.

In the days before Columbus, Mount Desert Island was the seasonal home of the Wabanaki Indians. Hardy coastal settlers arrived in the late 1700s, followed by artists and tourists several decades later. By the late 1800s, the island was one of the most exclusive summer resorts in America, but by the 1930s the glamour of the island had started to fade. In 1947 a massive fire burned down many of the island's once-grand mansions. Following the fire, the island rebuilt and reestablished itself as a major tourist mecca. Today it attracts a wildly diverse mix of summer visitors: outdoor junkies, fanny-packed retirees, college students, hippies and billionaires—proving there's something for everyone here.

Physically beautiful, culturally unique, Mount Desert Island is one of the most fascinating and fantastic islands in the world.