Sullivan
Sullivan sits on the eastern shore of Frenchman Bay, on Route 1 between Ellsworth and the Schoodic side. Its distinction is the view: from this shore you look straight across the bay at the mountains of Mount Desert Island, and it is arguably a better view of them than anything…
It is a quiet town of a few hundred people that most visitors pass through at speed on the way further Downeast.
Tidal falls
The narrows at Sullivan Falls produce one of the more dramatic reversing falls on the coast. The tide funnels through a constriction between the bay and Taunton Bay, and the current turns direction twice a day, running hard enough to draw whitewater kayakers on the change. The Frenchman Bay Conservancy maintains a preserve at Tidal Falls with a lawn above the water — seals often work the current below.
What else is here
Sullivan was a granite town. Quarries here supplied stone through the nineteenth century, and the cut faces are still visible along the shore and inland.
Today it is largely a place to stay and look at the water. Acadia Seashore Camping & Cabins (4.7 across 281 reviews) sits on the shore with the island view, and Spring Woods Gallery (5.0 from 9 reviews) shows work by a long-established local family of artists.
Getting here and when to go
Route 1, about twenty minutes east of Ellsworth. It makes a sensible base if Bar Harbor is full or overpriced — you are forty minutes from the Park Loop Road and half an hour from Winter Harbor and the Schoodic section.
Summer and early autumn. Services are limited year-round, so stock up in Ellsworth rather than expecting to shop here.
