Five outings in Acadia

Hiking, biking, and tide-pooling in Maine's renowned national park

Allen Carroll, Esri's StoryMaps Team

Maine's Acadia National Park is the eighth most-visited of the U.S. parks, with over 3.5 million visitors annually.

Why is it so popular? One reason is its proximity to the big cities of the Northeast, including Boston and New York.

But it's much more than accessibility that makes Acadia so popular. The park has a wealth of natural and scenic wonders, most of them easily reachable by a network of trails and carriage paths that offer almost unlimited options for outings on foot or bike.

This story features brief slideshows of five single-day outings in Acadia. These aren't intended to represent the best Acadia has to offer; rather, they're a reasonably representative sampling of the park's beauty and variety. And they partially document a memorable late-summer vacation in 2019.

One of Acadia's amenities is a network of carriage paths, originally built by the Rockefeller family, whose donated lands formed the core of the original Acadia National Park. The unpaved paths are smooth and, for the most part, gently graded—perfect for cycling.

This loop, all on carriage paths, takes cyclists by three scenic lakes: Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond, and Jordan Pond.

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Jordan Pond bike loop

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The adventure begins at the northern end of Eagle Lake.

Bubble Pond provides an ideal picnic spot...

...with a view of a wooded, rocky mountainside.

The carriage path network includes handsome structures, like this gatehouse, and several imposing stone bridges.

The southern end of Jordan Pond offers a panoramic view of the Bubbles.

Jordan Pond House

Ideal break during the bike ride: tea at Jordan Pond House, famous for its outdoor seating and delicious popovers.

Acadia Outings

This hike begins near Cranberry Hill, not far from Mt. Desert Island's largest town, Bar Harbor. But it could have been shortened by starting at a parking area on Park Loop Road. Directly above the parking area is a very steep ascent up Champlain Mountain. The remainder of the hike is a gentle descent.

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The Precipice

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Despite the dire warnings, this trail is one of the park's most popular. The weather on the day of this outing was less than ideal—which turned out to be a blessing, because the trail was nearly deserted.

A hiker clambers up one of many sets of iron rungs set firmly (one hopes) into the granite.

The strenuous climb offers a reward: panoramas of Frenchman Bay and Schoodic Peninsula beyond.

The trail is sometimes closed when peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs.

A grasshopper hitches a ride.

At the clifftop

Grateful hikers celebrate near the summit.

Acadia Outings

The goal of this outing isn't to cover ground—it's to explore small pools at low tide and marvel at the marine life that thrives in these harsh conditions. One of the most popular areas of the park, Otter Cliffs offers stunning scenery and a rich intertidal zone.

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Otter Cliffs

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Those who were willing to brave slippery kelp beds and razor-sharp barnacles were rewarded with crevasses teeming with life.

Starfish on kelp

Snails on the move

That the snails were in motion was not readily apparent. A time-lapse video revealed their peregrinations.

A crab, held briefly captive

Park visitors sun themselves on the rocks like colorful seals.

Acadia Outings

Despite its proximity to busy (and touristy) Bar Harbor, this carriage path loop is peaceful and isolated, and takes cyclists along a chain of picturesque beaver ponds

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Witch Hole

It's hard to resist a stop at each pond.

Witch Hole, the largest of the ponds, was about equidistant from this part of the loop.

Busy beavers have created habitat that benefits many species of plants and animals.

Each pond had a distinctive look, having to do in part with the level of beaver activity. Apparently the animals had raised the level of this pond in recent years, drowning many trees.

Bullfrog

Signs of fall

Although it was early September, hints of change were in the air—and in the foliage.

Acadia Outings

This hike starts with a woodlands traverse to the shore of Somes Sound, then a steep but brief ascent to the summit of Acadia Mountain.

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Acadia Mountain

Woods, a climb, and great views

An easy walk along Man of War Brook leads to...

...a view of Somes Sound, the only fjord on the U.S. east coast.

A steep climb up the southeastern slope of Acadia Mountain.

Acadia Mountain's summit is only 681 feet above sea level, but the view is worthy of a much higher peak.

The photographs in this story were made by Allen Carroll during a memorable holiday celebrating a perennial, trans-Atlantic friendship. The participants: