If You Like

If You Like

Carriage Roads

Roads and cars often go hand in hand, but this is not always true in Acadia National Park. Between 1913 and 1940, John D. Rockefeller Jr. designed and funded the construction of more than 40 mi of carriage roads. Rockefeller, a summer resident of Mount Desert Island, wanted to maintain a way for horse-drawn carriages to safely travel the island after the arrival of automobiles.

Today, the carriage roads provide hours of enjoyment to walkers, joggers, and bikers. The roads wind through fields and forests, past lakes, ponds, and swamps, and around hills and mountains. You can admire the Canadian mayflowers and young, curled ferns in spring; nibble at blueberries that grow among the granite boulders in summer; collect the fallen crimson leaves of sugar maples in autumn; or enjoy the solitude of the winter landscape on snowshoes or cross-country skis. The network of roads offers excursions of varying length and difficulty, so be sure to pick up a map to plan your best routes.

Gorgeous Gardens

When Beatrix Farrand, one of the country's first well-known female landscape gardeners, was preparing to retire in the 1950s, she offered her own estate to Bar Harbor as a public park. Since she had designed plant-filled retreats for everywhere from the College of the Atlantic to the White House, she assumed the town would jump at the chance.

Instead, the town politely declined Farrand's offer, saying that the property taxes for the site would be too high. She decided to dismantle the garden and gave her friends a year to come and collect any plants they desired. Her friend Charles Savage, also a landscape designer, retrieved several of Farrand's rhododendrons and azaleas and used them when he created the Asticou Azalea Garden and Thuya Gardens in Northeast Harbor. Some of her beloved blooms remain in the gardens today.

On the Water

With its dramatic coastline, Mount Desert Island is a great spot for sea kayaking. There are shops all over the island that are happy to provide you with gear, offer expert instruction, and give tips on possible routes. Along the way you'll see cormorants and other birds, and you might catch a glimpse of harbor seals.

If you're an angler, stop by the Hulls Cove Visitor Center to find out which species thrive in the dozens of ponds and lakes scattered around the island. Some are popular in the warmer months, while others are better for ice fishing. You can rent canoes in Bar Harbor and other towns. Most of the lakes and ponds have well-marked public access points, making boating even easier. If you are planning on using a motorized watercraft anywhere besides the ocean, check with the park rangers first -- many lakes and ponds don't allow motorboats or may restrict the size of the engine.