Thuya Garden: The Hidden Garden Above Asticou

If Asticou Azalea Garden feels like a quiet secret, Thuya Garden feels like the secret behind the secret.

Most people visiting Mount Desert Island know Bar Harbor. Many know Acadia. Some find their way to Asticou, tucked so beautifully into Northeast Harbor that it feels like a gift for anyone who slows down long enough to notice it.

But just up the road is another garden — one that is easy to miss and absolutely worth finding.

Thuya Garden sits above Northeast Harbor, reached by road or by a wooded path that climbs up from the Asticou area. It feels different from Asticou right away. Where Asticou is calm, reflective, and pond-centered, Thuya feels like a hidden summer garden tucked into the woods.

It is more colorful, more cottage-like, and more full of beds and borders, but it still has that same Mount Desert Island magic: granite, evergreens, quiet paths, and the sense that someone cared deeply about every turn.

And that is part of what makes it so special.

Thuya is closely connected to the story of Asticou. Many of the plants that helped shape these gardens came from Beatrix Farrand’s Reef Point estate in Bar Harbor. When that garden was dismantled, Charles Savage helped preserve and relocate plant material, using it to help create the gardens we can still visit today. In that way, Thuya does not feel like a separate stop as much as the next chapter in the same story.

Asticou is the garden people photograph from the pond.

Thuya is the garden waiting above it.

For a family visit, Thuya is a lovely kind of adventure because getting there can be part of the experience. You can drive up to the garden, but walking the Asticou Terraces path makes the visit feel more like a discovery. The path climbs through the woods, with stone steps, mossy places, trees, and little moments where the kids can feel like they are finding something hidden.

At the top, the garden opens into a very different world.

There are flower borders, a green lawn, rustic wooden details, stonework, and Thuya Lodge nearby. It feels less like a formal tourist attraction and more like being invited into someone’s beloved old summer place. It is beautiful, but not stiff. Carefully tended, but not cold. The kind of place where you want to walk slowly and then turn around and walk it again.

This is a wonderful stop for families who like gardens, history, nature, or just a quieter corner of the island. It is also a good choice when Acadia feels crowded or when you want something gentler than a hike but more interesting than simply sitting in the car between destinations.

Children may not care at first that Thuya is connected to Beatrix Farrand, Reef Point, or the preservation of historic garden plants.

But they may care about the climb.

They may care about the wooden gates.

They may care about the flowers, the paths, the little details, the feeling of reaching the top and finding a garden there.

And later, when they are older, they may remember that this beautiful place was saved, piece by piece, because someone thought it mattered.

That is a pretty good lesson for a family outing.

Visiting Tips for Families

Thuya Garden is located in Northeast Harbor, just up the road from Asticou Azalea Garden. If you have time, the two gardens make a beautiful pair: Asticou below, quiet and reflective; Thuya above, colorful and tucked into the woods.

You can drive to Thuya Garden, but the Asticou Terraces path is part of the charm if your family is up for a walk. The path includes wooded sections and stone steps, so sturdy shoes are helpful. It is not the same as a mountain hike, but it does feel like a real little adventure.

Plan to take your time. Thuya is not a place to rush through just to check it off a list. Let the kids wander carefully, notice the flowers, peek at the details, and enjoy the feeling of being somewhere a little hidden.

As with Asticou, this is a garden to treat gently. Stay on paths, leave flowers and plants for everyone to enjoy, and help children understand that part of the beauty here is how carefully it has been preserved.

Why We’d Go Back

Because Thuya Garden feels like finding the upstairs room in a house you already loved.

Asticou may be the better-known stop, but Thuya adds depth to the story. It is higher, quieter, and somehow even more hidden. It gives families a chance to see not just a beautiful garden, but a piece of Mount Desert Island history that was rescued and replanted for future visitors.

And sometimes the best adventures are the ones just up the road from the place everyone else already found.

Thuya Garden | Land&GardenPreserve