Bar Harbor, Maine
Rising Sun is the perfect spot for multi-generational family gatherings. Every generation will love it, as will your dogs!
Enjoy perfect privacy, right on Frenchman's Bay, with magnificent vistas of the open ocean as well. Our very private road is quite as safe and beautiful as Acadia's Carriage Roads, and it bounds the National Park. Walk ten minutes to Schooner Head Trail ( go north to Compass Harbor; south to Schooner Head, Anemone Cave, Sand Beach and the Ocean Path). Your early morning walk with your dogs will be a highlight of any day!
Your panoramic views from inside Rising Sun include Bald Porcupine, Ironbound, Egg Rock and the Thrumcap Islands. You'll not find such ocean views and intimacy with the water anywhere else on Mount Desert Island (MDI)!
Families with kids especially enjoy our resident wildlife -- deer, turkeys, red fox family, marmots, weasels, cormorants, eagles, osprey, seals -- all visit us frequently. But despite our very private, rural location, we're only a five-minute drive or ten-minute bike ride to the center of Bar Harbor.
We're sure you'll feel Rising Sun is Heaven on Earth, once you've arrived! But for now, we'll describe five major differences between Rising Sun and the other oceanfront homes that you might rent anywhere on MDI.
1. Proximity:
When we were renting vacation homes prior to building Rising Sun, we stayed in many other parts of Mount Desert Island (MDI). In particular, when we stayed in Southwest Harbor or other areas on the western side of the island, we found the drive back and forth to Bar Harbor to be tiresome. Round trip, it’s over an hour. At night, the trip was often unwelcome.
So now, we especially appreciate our combination of great privacy with proximity to the center of Bar Harbor (five to eight minutes, and we’re parked!); to the nearest Park Trails (a most pleasant ten minute walk along our little road that is quite as beautiful as any carriage road in the Park); to Ocean Drive (seven minutes); and to the nearest Island Explorer bus stop – great for kids – which is just a fifteen minute walk.
2. Privacy:
Rising Sun is at the very end of a series of very private roads off Main Street. No other location on MDI is more private. Despite this, we’re only minutes from the center of Town. This combination is truly unique.
3. Shore Front:
Our ocean frontage is significantly different from almost all other vacation rentals. In particular, you’ll find that low tide brings mud flats in Hulls Cove, Somes Sound and Southwest Harbor. The same is true in many other locations (Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor, other areas of Bar Harbor, and anywhere near the bridge entering MDI). However, at Rising Sun our granite rocks extend out into deep water, even at low tide! Sit on our rocks and dip your toes in the ocean.
In a nutshell, the ocean front at Rising Sun is beautiful and exciting at all times of day and night! All in all, you’ll find our ocean frontage to be as beautiful as any in the Park … but with two major differences:
• Ours is totally private, quite different from the Park.
• Also, ours is a few minutes from your bedroom… you don’t have to drive anywhere to enjoy it! Look at the photos, and you’ll see what we mean.
4. Beauty:
You’ll spend many hours in whatever vacation home you choose. Much better that it be really beautiful rather than really ugly! (Take a look at many of the other rental home photos, then decide for yourself.)
5. Five More Important Features:
Our home provides five especially important features. No other summer rental home has all of these. Though an alternative rental may be less expensive, the lack of even one of these five features can put a serious damper on your family’s fun..
Central Air Conditioning:
Years ago, it was rare for Bar Harbor to have a real heat wave. Now, we sometimes get three or four days in a row of 90 degree weather. Our proximity to the ocean provides natural cooling, but when that’s not enough, our central air conditioning keeps the entire house perfectly comfortable, even during the hottest heat wave. Imagine a week’s vacation when each day you come home to a hot, stuffy house. Then imagine coming home to Rising Sun…
Air Filtration System:
During the many vacations we spent on MDI before building Rising Sun, we all too often encountered houses with a whiff of mustiness or even worse, mildew or mold. You’ll find this especially prevalent in some of the older homes, even including the “mansions.” Not enjoyable!
We designed our home to provide strong cross-ventilation, taking advantage of the ocean breeze. More pure air, you cannot find! But if the windows are closed due to the weather outside, the whole house air filtration system circulates and replaces the inside air with outside air four times a day. Simply put, no matter the weather outside, you’ll find the most pure, delightful air in Rising Sun. It does matter!
Plenty of Hot Water:
Rising Sun provides instant, plentiful hot water. You’re quite unlikely to find this luxury anywhere else.
Whole House Emergency Generator:
The power supply on MDI is not the most dependable. Even if you were to lose electricity for just a few hours, losing lights, water, toilets, refrigeration and air conditioning (if any) is not fun. If the outage lasts a day or more, it really will put a damper on your vacation. But not at Rising Sun! Our generator is the largest residential generator on the market. It’ll easily power the whole house, including our central air conditioning.
Variety of Exercising Opportunities:
A set of dumbbells (pairs) ranging in weight from 5 pounds to 75 pounds each; a stationary exercise bike; a yoga wall with mats and straps (see the photo of the Yoga Bedroom); and outside, you can walk, jog or bike along our driveway and private road or play pickle ball (half-court) on our lawn. Five minutes from the house, you’ll find a facility housing an Olympic-sized pool; a running track; a well-equipped weight and exercise room; and a regulation basketball court (with pickup games available). You’ll also find tennis courts and a baseball field nearby.
Enjoy The Best Possible Day... Every Day!
Each day, there are so many possible sights to see and activities to enjoy on Mount Desert Island! Over the years, we've developed our proprietary Best Possible Day℠ planning for the benefit of our guests. By combining our own extensive knowledge of MDI with the interests of each member of your party, we can quite effectively double the amount of fun each and every guest has on their vacation! We plan separately for "Blue Sky", "Cloudy" and "Rainy" Days.
This day-planning is not something we do FOR you, but rather, we do it interactively WITH you and your family, and it all begins when you first book your vacation at Rising Sun. Our guests love the way this gets their entire family enjoying their vacation months ahead of time!
The photo gallery will show you just how unique a choice Rising Sun would be for your family’s vacation. If you’re considering other alternatives, please keep these five unique attributes of Rising Sun in mind:
• Proximity
• Privacy
• Shore Front
• Beauty
• And Five More Critical Features
Our new luxury home was completed in 2014. Three floors. Two master bedrooms with king beds; three with queen beds; one with a king and twin bed, which can be set up with three twin beds. Accommodates up to twelve.
Our oceanfront is quite as spectacular as any you'll see in Acadia. But it's totally private, just for you. Many of the "oceanfront" homes rented in Bar Harbor are separated from the shore by the Shore Path, along which the general public walks day and night. Quite a difference!
And most of the other "oceanfront" homes advertised are on quiet inlets like Somes Sound, or other locations on Frenchman's Bay. Low tide brings mud flats for many of them. But not ours! View our photos to see the difference! All photos are taken on our property, not "nearby".
Our hot tub is nestled in a rock outcropping surrounded by trees, providing a lovely view of Frenchman's Bay.
If you love to cook, you'll find our kitchen and pantry make this the most enjoyable place you've ever cooked. We provide a complete array of herbs, spices, sugars, salts, peppers, flour, etc for your culinary use. For cooking, you'll love our selection of professional, SHARP knives, as well as the broad selection of pots, pans and cooking and baking equipment. You'll enjoy the incredible amount of stainless steel prep space; two large sinks; powerful exhaust hood... and all the ocean views, while you cook.
At night, under the star-filled heavens, a short walk along our very private road is delightful. Trees line the road on both sides, except for an occasional driveway. It's just as beautiful as any carriage road in Acadia, except it's just you on an evening stroll. The Acadian heavens are largely free of light pollution, so you'll find the stars truly amazing. And the peaceful solitude of our private road, equally so.
If you're an early riser, the morning dew, the cool air, and possibly the fox family will share your walk of a mile or so. We often continue along the National Park Trail that leads to Compass Harbor, with its spectacular views of the Porcupine Islands.
If you're here during blueberry season (late July-mid August), please enjoy picking the wild blueberries (many, many plants) from the patch on our trail just above our cobblestone beach.
If you were to never leave our property, you could easily have your most relaxing, meditative, nature-appreciating vacation ever. And at the other extreme, if you were to explore Acadia National Park to the fullest every day, coming home in the evening to cocktails, dinner and the hot tub, you would have your most invigorating, exciting, nature-appreciating vacation ever...
Enjoy a week or two of Paradise. If you have dogs, please do bring them! They'll love Rising Sun, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
We had an incredibly wonderful time at Rising Sun! Lovely views, spacious comfortable house with room for everyone, well equipped kitchen and responsive owners. Highly recommend!
Our week at the Rising Sun was perfect. We so enjoyed waking up and enjoying the peaceful mornings at the house / property (nothing beats the combo of morning coffee and that view). And, after the days excursions, we always looked forward to coming back home to the beautiful house and private beach. On the property, alone, we picked wild raspberries, saw deer, fox, and a ferret (?) I don’t think it could be a more relaxing setting. Ned and Nick were amazing, responsive hosts throughout and the location, with its proximity to Bar Harbor and a lot of the key sites in Acadia, cannot be beat. Couldn't recommend this property more!
Couldn't draw up a better house, location, or host for a week long large family trip to Acadia and bar Harbor (with our dogs) Can't recommend highly enough
This house is so spacious and well-appointed that our group of three families (11 adults and teens total) had plenty of room to spread out and be comfortable. Kitchen had more than everything we needed to cook for a big group. The views are unbeatable, and the access to town and Acadia are awesome. The hosts gave us great information in advance that we put to good use, plus answered all questions promptly while we were there. So glad we chose this home for our Bar Harbor adventure!
Large home well maintained and very well stocked. Dog friendly. Excellent support from owner and manager. Lovely view of the ocean. Large dining table. Porches for sitting and viewing ocean. New gas grill. Hot tub with night lights. Parking for four cars. 15 minutes to everything in Bar Harbor. 6 bedrooms with queen or king beds. Perfect for our family of 10 - a few seniors and most adults. No small children.
Our extended family of 10 loved the Rising Sun Cottage and were very comfortable there for our week over 4th of July! Location is perfect by being right outside of Bar Harbor and right on the ocean. Everyone had enough space to chill and the community room was great for meals and games in the evenings.
Our family totally enjoyed our stay in Maine in large part due to the many amenities afforded us Ned and Nick. Ned was staying at their other home and eagerly provided us with tips for rainy days, ideas for adventures, and even gave us a roll of quarters so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking in Bar Harbor. The beautiful home is well equipped with so many things that we thought we would have to buy…paper towels, toilet paper, dish cleaning supplies, garbage bags, etc. Our family group of 11 all joined in to put together one of the many puzzles that is provided. Beds are comfortable and rooms are spacious. The location is about 7 minutes outside of Bar Harbor in a very wooded area that has it’s own trails in the neighborhood. Quiet and convenient. Loved Acadia! If you want a convenient location in a really comfortable setting with very accommodating hosts, choose this home!
This home was perfectly situated- close to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. It was perfect for our group of 12. We loved waking up to sunrise over the Atlantic! The house was well appointed and had everything we needed. We did some cooking and were happy that some supplies were left that we could use ( oil, spices etc). The owners were great… very communicative and helpful!
My family and I had a wonderful time in Bar Harbour. The home was will stocked with supplies. I look forward to staying at the home again. Caryn&Michael
I was a little nervous bringing the whole to a house on my first rental scenario. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the entire process. Ned and Nick were extremely responsive from our first inquiry and the house was perfect. I think the kitchen was better stocked than our own! If you want to get away from the town but only be 10 min away this is your spot! Total privacy. Also Tina who was there when we arrived to make sure we were all set was super pleasant and helpful. First class operation
Well appointed kitchen. Great beds and rooms. A range of places to hang out.
Our family stayed the week of 8/13. This home worked perfectly for out family of 12. It was spacious, wonderfully decorated and had everything we needed and more. We especially enjoyed the deck looking out over Frenchman's Bay. Hosts were unbelievably accommodating and readily accessible. Loved every minute and wanted more. A week in Acadia is not nearly enough.Thanks and Cheers to the owners.
This house was conveniently located - very close to the park entrance and 10 minutes from Bar Harbor. Our group ranged from 3 years old to 75 and everyone had a great time. The hikes were amazing and the sunrises from the deck were beautiful. We rented E bikes and pedaled around the carriage road system. The house was stocked with everything you would need. We loved our visit to The Rising Sun. *****
The house is beautiful, spacious, immaculate, comfortable, and exceptionally well supplied. The views are breathtaking. We couldn't have asked for more.
We loved our stay. Nice 5 minute drive to town, 15-20 minute bike ride. The access to the water was a short steep path through some woods, so not accessible to everyone. But blueberries to pick and we were just in time! Beautiful views from every room. Wonderful family vacation.
Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park offer an exceptional variety of experiences - ranging from breathtaking natural beauty in the Park to proximity to a wonderful beach town. Not to mention the comfortable temperature of summer in northern Maine. And not to mention the lobster!!! The host is exceptionally well organized and considerate - providing many items that are often the responsibility of the guest (sheets, towels, beach towels, paper towels, tissues, plastic bags etc). The kitchen is extremely well equipped and highly functional. The host called several times to check in with us to see if we had questions or had encountered any problems. All in all, a truly wonderful week in a wonderful house in a wonderful location!
We had a family reunion here and the bedrooms were perfectly situated where everyone had their space without sacrificing any views.
Great communication with host prior to trip regarding house, area, activities. Easy check-in and out, house was fully equipped, spacious, in excellent condition and in a fabulous location.
We had a wonderful time at the Rising Sun. There was so much to do with Acadia Park nearby and the house was in beautiful condition. Owner was very communicative the entire stay and well before. Would definitely stay there again if in the area!
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