Day of Biking Acadia National Park- suggestions?
 

We will be arriving in Bar Harbor and would like to spend the day biking Acadia National Park. We are all avid road bicyclists but it looks like the carraige roads are the way to go (moutain bike I assume). What road/trip would you suggest? We are in good physical condition so a bit of a challenge is ok.

I don't think we rented mountain bikes, it was "regular" road bikes...the carriage roads are "gravel", but fairly small pieces and mostly hard-packed if that makes sense.

I would ask a ranger at the visitor center for a suggested route considering your abilities and what you would like to see (bridges?, views from heights?, etc.) There are very few flat stretches, BTW.

~Liz

We rode on both the carriage trails and the road. Went to a restaurant at Jordan Pond and then back. Great cycling

Do you suggest a road bike or mountain bike? Do you remember the restaurant at Jordan Pond?

Jordan Pond House. Only restaurant in the park.

tbbeach,

The Jordan Pond House is famous for their popovers.

This is what I wrote on Biking in my TR from last year:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-sept-2011.cfm

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Biking
I wanted to bike on the historic Carriage roads, so DH & I plus sis-in-law did this one day.

We rented bicycles from Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor ($18/4hrs). http://www.barharborbike.com/

The bike shop is 1.5 miles from the start of the Carriage Roads. One can choose to take the free Island Explorer Bicycle Express bus to get to there http://exploreacadia.com/bikeexpress.htm

We decided to just bike there instead (gentle uphill for the entire 1.5 miles).

The Carriage roads are fun to ride. Scenery is great and the hills aren't too bad. We first rode south along the western edge of Eagle Lake and then around the southern end until we got to Bubble Pond where we stopped for lunch (~90 mins).
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...1/IMG_6587.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...1/IMG_6594.jpg

After lunch, we retraced our route up Bubble Pond and rode north along the eastern edge of Eagle Lake. We then rode the northern loop around Witch Hole Pond before returning to Bar Harbor (~90 mins).
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...1/IMG_6599.jpg

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At the bike rental shop, they provided us with bike trails and they are labeled with distances, markers, as well as trail difficulty. Enjoy!

I believe they rent hybrid bikes, a cross between mountain and road. While it would be great to have a road bike for the streets, the carraige roads are crushed granite. You may also want to consider taking the bikes on the ferry over to the Schoodic Peninsula and ride that circular route. It is the less crowded, more untouched section of the park. Whatever you choose you can't go wrong, it's all beautiful.

Thank you so much for all the information..perfect!