On the way back from our trip to Boston and Cape Cod, we stopped in Acadia National Park, a forested and mountainous park located in Maine. It was a great spot to spend a couple nights before taking the CAT ferry back to Nova Scotia.
In just 48 hours, we biked 54 km of the renowned carriage roads, did a 3.3 km hike, drove the Park Loop Rd and visited Bar Harbour.
The carriage roads
Within Acadia National Park, there are 45 miles (i.e. 72 km) of wide gravel trails called carriage roads. These roads were gifted by John D. Rockefeller Jr. who wanted to travel on motor-free roads via horse and carriage. The roads were constructed between 1913 to 1940 and they have a unique style with beautiful stone bridges and granite guardrails known as “Rockefeller’s teeth”. But most importantly for us, the roads were quiet, well maintained and offered some great views. They are made of compact gravel, they go up and down and are never too steep. They are mostly forested and views are limited, so don’t forget to stop when there is a gap in the trees. The carriage roads are used by cyclists, pedestrians and horses.
The trail map provides details on each of the trails. When we arrived at the park, the visitor center was closed, but thankfully we snapped this picture of the map which proved to be very useful. There are not many maps on display throughout the park, so it can be confusing if you don’t know the trail names. Also, the elevation profiles shown in the picture don’t seem to be on display on the online copies of the maps. Knowing the elevation is definitely important!
All the carriage roads are connected to each other, so it is easy to join trails to create a longer ride. We completed 4 of the 8 named trails, but also completed several other connecting sections. After a while they all start to look the same, but there were some unique features worth mentioning.
- Eagle Lake: The 10 km loop is quite easy and offers a couple beautiful views on the lake. It is relatively flat with only one gradual hill. It offers only one view of a bridge.
- Day Mountain: We completed both the loop and summit trails (13 km total). We were hoping to get a great views on the way up, but there was really only one viewpoint just before reaching the summit. The average grade of the 2.5 km summit trail was 3.3%, with one small section reaching 6.7% — so steady, but not too hard. The condition of the trail was rougher than others because it is a popular route for the horse drawn carriages. We even met one on our way down!
- Around the Mountain: The full loop is about 14 km and offers amazing views of the park and passes over many stone bridges. Through gaps in the trees you can see the ocean, the mountains and the turquoise green inlet of Somes Sound. To get these views you do have a long 4.7 km climb to 218 m of elevation. Thankfully it is gradual with an average grade of 3.6%. It was definitely our favourite carriage road.
- Witch Hole Pond: This 8 km trail begins at the visitor center. It passes three small ponds that were covered in lily pads when we were there. It is mostly flat, except for a short 500 m section that has a grade of 9%!
Bridges
Throughout Acadia National Park there are 35 historic bridges — 16 of which were built and financed by Rockefeller. Most of the bridges cross streams and valleys throughout the carriage road system. Each stone bridge is unique and looks like a piece of art. We saw about 10 of them on our various rides.
South Bubble Hike
The Bubble mountains overlook the two main lakes of Acadia National Park: Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond. South Bubble, 233 m, is the smaller of the two. We completed the 3.3 km hike in about an hour and a half.
When we got to the first fork in the road, it pointed left for the “hard” route and right for the “moderate” route. We decided to take the hard way up and the moderate way down. Turning left took us south to Jordan Pond and from there we turned north and literally scrambled to the top. It was rocky and steep and definitely “hard”. At one point we had to pull ourselves up with a ladder rung that was secured into the rocks. But the views along the way and at the top were stunning! It is definitely the viewpoint that often makes the promotional material.
After passing the summit, we took a detour to see the “bubble rock” that looks like it is balancing on the edge of the cliff. Then we kept going north to take the moderate trail back to the car. It was definitely more gradual than the southern route!
Blackwoods Campground
There are four campgrounds in Acadia National Park. The Blackwoods Campground is the closest to the carriage road system and provides the easiest access to Bar Harbour. We booked our sites at the last minute, after being on a waitlist. So, we had no choice but to stay at two different sites — B019 and A119. Both sites were in a forested, quiet area.
The campground in itself is so big that you have to drive to go anywhere but the bathroom. There was apparently a short trail from the A loop to the beach, but it was rainy when we were there so we opted to shelter under our tarp instead. Our biggest surprise about the campground was that there were no showers! When we asked, we were directed to a private shop just outside the campground. It was coin operated and $2 or $3 for a few minutes.
Bar Harbor
One evening, we drove into Bar Harbor and explored by foot. We parked the car by Grant Park, at the bottom of Albert Meadow Road, for $4 an hour. There didn’t seem to be any free parking anywhere, which is fine by us!
We walked along the waterfront and had a beer at Atlantic Brewing Company. It was a cute little town that was far busier than we expected.
Final Thoughts
Our stop at Acadia National Park was a bit of a last minute decision. When we found a deal for the CAT ferry we decided to make the detour instead of driving straight back from Cape Cod. The campground was fully booked when we first looked, but at least 10 sites became available when we were on the wait list.
Our main interest in the park was the carriage roads and the beautiful bike trails did not disappoint. They were fun to ride with lots of ups and downs and great viewpoints along the way. There are a lot of forest sections that are less interesting, but because there is no traffic you can just let your mind wander as you pedal.
Our main disappointment in the park is how you basically need a car to get around. Everything is pretty spread out, so you have to drive to a parking lot to access the carriage roads and hiking trails from there. To get from the campground to the nearest carriage road was 9 km on a hilly, windy road. We had originally thought that we could one day just take the CAT ferry with only our bikes and explore the park from there, but I don’t think we will ever try that. Things are just too spread out and the main roads were hilly without much of a shoulder.
We really enjoyed our short stay at Acadia National Park and hope to do a fall trip someday. It must be spectacular with all the colours.
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