This Maine Lake Named One of the Best 15 Beaches in the U.S.

It's hard to beat an ocean beach, however, there are sometimes way too many people and the water is usually way too cold, especially in the Northeast.

Baxter State Park In Millinocket, Maine, is one of my favorite places on Earth. It has both stunning bodies of water and Mountains.

The Crown Jewel, in my opinion, is Acadia National Park, home to one of the Best 15 Lake Beaches in the United States.

: NPS/Victoria Stauffenberg

Sand Beach in Acadia

If you are planning a trip to Acadia, you should absolutely check out Sand Beach. The body of water, however, is the Atlantic ocean, so the water will be very cold. Unless it's August, you're going to freeze while in the water, at least for a few minutes.

Echo Lake in Maine Chosen as One of the Best in the U.S.

Acadia National Park has beautiful lakes, to be sure, but not all of them have beautiful, sandy beaches. Echo Lake, however, does.

Recently, fodors.com named the best lake beaches in the United States, and Echo Lake was named #12 out of 15.

The water in Echo Lake will be much warmer than ocean water.

Acadia National Park is a Bucket List Destination

If Acadia National Park is on your bucket list, you've made at least one great choice. If you live "close enough" and you haven't gone, I'll assume you have a good reason you haven't done so yet.

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According to maine.gov, Echo Lake has a diverse population of fish, including hornpout, sunfish, American eel, salmon, lake trout, rainbow smelt, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, perch, and pickerel.

I have tried to describe my enthusiasm for Acadia National Park, but these are just words from a mere mortal's brain. Acadia is a place you gotta experience to believe.

Whether it's at Echo Lake, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, Cadillac Mountain, every nook and cranny is stunning.

Look: 28 Popular Maine Mountain Hikes

Maine is a tremendous hiking state. Here are (nearly) 28 of Mainers' favorite mountain hikes. Some are well-known, while others are hidden gems.

Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Maine's 20 Largest State Parks by Acreage

Maine's 42 state parks and historical sites saw over 3 million visitors in 2021. These popular spots just continue to remain quite popular. They are also extraordinarily diverse to one another in their own right, including the size.

Here are the 20 largest state parks in Maine based on acreage.

Note: Baxter State Park has been omitted since it's not run by the Maine Bureau of Parks & Public Lands.

Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka