Table at the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area in Acadia National Park

The Pretty Marsh Picnic Area is located on the west side of Mount Desert Island, and is in fact the most western attraction within Acadia National Park on the island. It is open from late May until mid-October.

The picnic area is accessed via Pretty Marsh Road, a side road off of Highway 102 that runs for about a half mile before ending in a loop. There is a pullout with a covered pavilion and three picnic tables (no grills) when you first turn onto Pretty Marsh Road, but most everything else is at the end of the road, including a portable toilet.

Table and pavilion located near the start of Pretty Marsh Road in Acadia National Park

There are individual driveways located farther down the road, plus an actual parking lot for a dozen vehicles near the end, but before the loop. The individual parking spots look like something you would see in a campground, and I would expect that a picnic table and grill would be sitting next to them. However, other than one table at the parking spot for disabled visitors, there are no picnic tables next to the parking spaces.

Parking space for the disabled visitor picnic table at the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area in Acadia National Park

So where are the tables and grills? Scattered haphazardly in the woods a tenth of a mile down a moderately steep hill. You’d have to be awfully hungry to want to haul your gear to these tables. Not only is this place out in the middle of nowhere, it’s like backcountry picnicking.

From the parking spots you can see the water of Pretty Marsh Harbor and perhaps some tables, but there is no trail that leads directly down to them. An established trail begins at the end of the road and is identified as a Fire Road, but this is a roundabout way to get down the hill. The forest is not very dense, so I just started walking down the hill and made my own path to the tables.

Forest where the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area is located, Acadia National Park

The picnic area extends down to a cliff that overlooks Pretty Marsh Harbor. There is a trail that runs along the cliff, and it is here that you will find many of the picnic tables. I counted four tables and grills, but there could be more that I did not see.

Table at the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area located on the cliff overlooking Pretty Marsh Harbor in Acadia National Park

There is also another covered pavilion with a couple of tables underneath it and a grill off to the side.

Covered pavilion near the water at the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area in Acadia National Park

Near the pavilion is a staircase that leads down to the shore. However, there are no tables on the shore of the harbor.

Staircase leads down from the Pretty March Picnic Area to the waters of Pretty Marsh Harbor in Acadia National Park

Shore of Pretty Marsh Harbor in Acadia National Park

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hold a family reunion or other event at the Pretty Marsh Picnic Area, but you can do it. However, all picnic areas in the park are open to visitors on a first come, first served basis, so you must show up early and hope to get enough tables for your event. Groups of 30 or more need a permit ($50 at the time of this writing), but this is to authorize a large gathering only, not to reserve tables. For more information and a permit form, visit the National Park Service’s Special Use Permits web page for Acadia National Park.

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