Lake Front Cottage Facing Acadia National Park on the "Quiet Side" of Mt. Desert

My husband and I stayed a week at HPF and could not have picked a better rental for our first visit to Maine and Mt. Desert Island. Cottage 1 is at the end of the lane--very quiet and private. The cottage is very well equipped with many of the little extras that make a stay comfortable. The master bedroom bed is very comfortable. With the window open at night we heard the loons early in the a.m.! We especially enjoyed the wood stove a few cool evenings. My husband liked fishing the pond from the canoe and I liked the hammock. Owner is prompt and easy to contact. This location is easy drive to Acadia and area sights. When not relaxing at the cottage we: ate at Thurstons and Bealls, had lunch and a walk at Jordon Pond House, went on a nature cruise out of Bass Harbor, took the carriage road bridge tour, hiked with picnic lunch the ocean path trail in Acadia. So our Golden Pond experience definitely lived up to our expectations.

We have vacationed on MDI about 15 times over the last 30+ years. Hodgdon Pond Farm - Cottage 1 is by far the finest lodging we've had on the Island. Gorgeous natural beauty and tranquility are there in magnificent quantity. The cottage is very attractive, well organized and comfortable. You'll be very glad you chose this place.

The morning sun shines gently on the pond as I wake from the comfort of a peaceful nights sleep. The children slumber while I brew coffee in the fully equipped kitchen. Looking out the kitchen window I watch a small chipmunk gather his own breakfast on the dirt road that leads to this quaint cottage. Carrying my Maine coffee cup I walk down to the pond and sit on the dock to greet the day. A bald eagle joins me on his graceful flight over the water as he searches for his own breakfast. The water is like glass and it mirrors the blue sky and a few white puffy clouds that glide out towards the salty ocean just beyond the trees. I drain the last of my New England coffee from my cup and walk back towards the cottage. I find my husband in the living room reading one of the local area books he found on the shelf. "Morning walk?" I ask. He agrees and we head out the door to the dirt road. We stop by the tiny pond behind the house and question what type of animals visit this fairy like location to get a drink. As we walk a little further down the lane we soon discover it was two large bucks grazing in the field of wildflowers. They are not frightened of us on our stroll and just eye us curiously as we continue on our way. We stop at the small family cemetery and read the incredibly old stones. "What history in this beautiful place" we say. We turn and walk back the 1/8 mile to the cottage listening to the sounds of nature all around us.

The smell of sugar is in the air as we open the door and find the four teenagers we have brought with us diving into the donuts I had left on the counter. Plans for the day are discussed over the orange juice and chocolate covered treats. A drive into Bar Harbor is requested to walk on the 'land bridge' at low tide and the girls want to do a little souvenir shopping. The boys plan to skip rocks into the ocean to avoid the stores and my husband agrees to go with all of us as he wants to stop outside of town and grab some fresh lobsters for our dinner- of course our kitchen has a lobster pot! What great Maine cottage would not?

Upon our return the teenagers head out onto the pond in kayaks and rowboats to swim off the anchored swim platform. My husband starts a fire in the BBQ to grill some steaks while I prepare to steam the lobster. (We learned this technique from the lobster woman we purchased them from). After dinner the boys head out for some evening fishing while the girls and I work on a puzzle in the cozy living room.

Very private, relaxing, beautiful scenery. Nicely appointed, great "quiet side" location.

This is a really special house! The house is well situated at the southern end of Hodgedon Pond, so both the house and dock feel very private. It's about 20 - 25 minutes to Bar Harbour, Northeast Harbour and even closer to Southwest Harbour, so the location is excellent. The house itself is clean and well laid out. There were several boats available for use, so we had a great time kayaking, canoeing and paddle-boarding on the pond. The pond is small enough that there aren't any motor boats, but large enough to explore and swim. We saw an otter, several beaver, a muskrat, a garter snake, and a number of birds and frogs. The "upper" pond is just a fabulous place to hang out and enjoy the scenery or watch for wildlife. We spent a lot of time in the comfortable chairs available there. I highly recommend this house if you're looking for a quiet, outdoorsy place from which to explore Mount Desert Island.