At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point within 25 miles of the Atlantic shore between Nova Scotia and Mexico. Its bare pink granite summit looks out over Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands and Bar Harbor, and from October 7 to March 6 it is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise. Driving up requires a timed vehicle reservation from Recreation.gov from about May 20 to late October, and RVs, trailers and vehicles over 21 feet aren't allowed on the summit road. At the top, blueberries and three-toothed cinquefoil grow in the cracks of the rock, so stay on the bare granite. Look for the Jellybean, a glacial boulder carried here from the Lucerne area like Bubble Rock. Restrooms, drinking water and a gift shop are at the summit.
You made it. Everything under you is pink Cadillac granite, which crystallized more than two miles underground and was laid bare by erosion and the ice. You're about fifteen hundred and thirty feet up, the highest point within twenty-five miles of the Atlantic shore from Nova Scotia to Mexico. There are restrooms, drinking water and a gift shop here. Stay as long as you like. The road closes to vehicles at nine at night, and there's no coming back up on the same reservation. This summit looks barren. Look in the cracks and you'll find blueberries and three-toothed cinquefoil, so stay on the bare rock. Near the overlook toward Bar Harbor there's one more traveler to find, a glacial boulder nicknamed the Jellybean, carried here from the Lucerne area like Bubble Rock. You'll hear this is the first place in the country to see the sunrise. That's true from October seventh to March sixth, and only then. Geo Neptune gives this mountain's Wabanaki name as Wapuwoc, the white mountain of the first light, and that one needs no calendar.
Photo: Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0