President Obama and his family are scheduled to vacation on Mount Desert Island next weekend, Rep. Chellie Pingree’s office said Friday.

Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia are expected to visit Acadia National Park, which is on the island, during their visit from July 16-18. The 47,000-acre park averages more than 2 million visitors annually and is the only national park in New England.

Mount Desert Island is about 108 square miles and a short distance off the Maine coast. It has long been a summer vacation haven for some of America’s wealthiest and most prestigious families.

Martha Stewart owns a home in Seal Harbor, which is on the island just outside Bar Harbor, the well-known tourist mecca.

“What an honor that the Obama family has chosen Maine for vacation when they could have gone anywhere in the country,” Pingree said in a news release. “I think the Obamas will really enjoy the quiet woods, beautiful coast, wonderful people and everything else that brings thousands of families here every year.”

Last summer the Obamas vacationed at Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. Similar to Martha’s Vineyard, Mount Desert Island offers a variety of expansive vacation rentals that can provide privacy to the first family.

Pingree’s office said the visit is personal and no public events are scheduled.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe has a vacation home in the coastal town of Hancock, which is a couple of miles by boat from Mount Desert Island.

 


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