Review: Under Canvas Acadia

Why book? Under Canvas Acadia offers everything that brought you to Acadia in the first place—dense woods, a rugged shoreline, a sense of being completely enveloped by nature—yet it’s also meant to compliment the time you’ll spend in the National Park each day, with the comfort of real beds, a campfire to cozy around each night, and grown-up camping meals that’ll reward you for days of hiking.

Set the scene Under Canvas is a 30-minute-to-one-hour drive from the park’s entrance, depending on the day—a safe distance from the traffic and crowds that have come to characterize Acadia in the summer, which is primarily when Under Canvas is open (from mid-May to mid-October, to be exact), yet close enough to spend your days summiting the park’s peaks. You’ll find types of people who are looking for just that balance: Everyone seems to be dressed in activewear, and up and out of camp by 10 a.m., but the grounds fill come evening, with freshly showered guests kicking back in Adirondack chairs with a glass of wine and grilled seafood dinners, making friends with others around the campfire. There are families—no doubt, thanks to the fact that Under Canvas plans some activities for kids, like scavenger hunts and an abundance of s’mores supplies—and active couples in their late-twenties and beyond.

The backstory Under Canvas has outposts in a number of national park destinations throughout the country, including Moab in Utah, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone (where the brand actually launched, in 2012). There’s a growing number of glamping brands, with that term defined fairly loosely, but Under Canvas sticks to the criteria of upscale tents—safari style, and a far cry from your old Coleman—with modern amenities like West Elm furnishings, daily housekeeping service, and, crucially, hot running water. They also offer regular daily activities, which at Acadia range from morning yoga classes to painting sessions for children, though the concept is centered on the idea that your Under Canvas tent will act as a home base for exploring the national parks they’re near.

The rooms You know you’re in Maine, but zip your tent shut and you’re in a safari camp in Africa. There are solid wood floors, the walls are a thick ivory canvas you trust to hold up against the elements, and details like leather butterfly chairs and a vintage wood-burning stove (with a woodpile and instructions on fire-starting, no less) make you feel like you could maybe live there for months, chipping away at some sort of naturalist research project beneath the light of the bedside lanterns. The plush white linens are comforting after a day on your feet—both the cushy bed and the comfy towels—but there are a few elements that put the “camping” back in glamping. The showers, for instance, operate on a pull chain, so you have to pull and hold down to release the water. Great for the environment, which is the idea, but a selfish part of me longed to simply stand in a stream of warm water for a minute, without using any of my muscles—especially after five hours of hiking. Oh, and if you’re traveling with a partner? The tents with a bathroom in them, a seemingly obvious upgrade from those without (there’s a communal washroom), have toilets that aren’t completely enclosed. Plan accordingly.

Food and drink The food and beverage program is run by a guy who grew up just a few towns over—he’s passionate about Maine-made products, so don’t be shy to ask about where your lobster or the blueberry jam on a cheese board came from (guaranteed, the answer will be interesting). Breakfast includes smart versions of the usual suspects of avocado toast, bagels and lox, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch is grab-and-go sandwiches, asfew guests are milling around mid-day. Dinner is where it gets exciting. Nightly specials include fresh takes on Maine classics, like a Cajun lobster roll on a brioche (fantastic), but there’s also an extensive menu of starters, salads, sandwiches and burgers, and mains that will keep every member of your party happy. If you can, treat yourself to a private lobster bake one night: The team will set up a table right by the water, and pull out all the stops with two-pound lobsters, steamers, corn, bread, and a blend of house-clarified butters to dip it all in.

The neighborhood/area If you’re looking to really glamp near Acadia—a nice middle ground between actually roughing it in the park, or bedding down at a more traditional inn or rental—your two options are really Under Canvas and Terramor. Terramor opened late in the 2020 season, with Under Canvas following this spring, 2021. Terramor is much closer to Acadia National Bar, on Mount Desert Island itself. Guests at Under Canvas will need to be prepared to drive a bit to reach Bar Harbor or Acadia. But the best thing about that? Mount Desert Island is only getting more crowded, and Acadia isn’t the only spot to go in these parts. By staying at Under Canvas in Surry, we were able to pull out of our camp each day, and consider a range of areas to explore, Acadia being just one of them. (Ellsworth has a ton of local spots for food, and a fantastic farmer’s market on Saturdays, for example.) You really do have space from your neighbors at Under Canvas—it felt like we could retreat each night to our own private oasis. That said, anyone who gets run down by a mandatory commute (prepare for up to an hour from tent to trailhead, depending on where you’re planning to go), might have different thoughts.

The service The service is casual but thoughtful touches are there—golf carts, for example, are readily offered to drive you to your tent, and the front desk staff are reachable by text (and I can attest—they respond quickly when you send a 6:55 a.m. text asking if 7 a.m. yoga is still on, as you struggle to get out of bed).

For families There were a ton of families staying here. There’s plenty of room for adventurous children to run and play—within eyesight of the Adirondack chairs, I might add—and they’ll likely find other kids to explore with. Even better, there are add-on child-size tents (with capacity for two) for families that can’t fit into the two or four person tents.

Eco effort This feels front of mind, from the pull-chain shower to reusable metal water bottles offered at check-in. Frankly, how could it not be? With the pristine natural setting, every visitor is likely to feel a vested interest in supporting the brand’s eco-efforts.

Accessibility There are golf carts to help transport visitors around, but the paths leading to many of the tents are not paved, and are narrow, windy, and uneven. I imagine you would need to request one of the water-view tents, which have cleared, flat paths from the common areas to their front doors, if you’re on wheels, though given how one room type could be set in various parts of the camp, that’s something you’d absolutely want to confirm over the phone before booking.

Anything left to mention? 
I wish I’d known about the stargazing tents beforehand, which we noticed across the grounds after checking-in—they have clear skylights over the top half of the bed for a view of the night sky. Oh, and when they offer you more kindling for your wood-fire stove at check-in? Take it, to save yourself the 9 p.m. trudge back down for more.