Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Acadia National Park is set within the boundaries of Mount Desert Island, just off the coast of Maine, although accessible by road. It is famous for its rugged coastline, pine-clothed landscapes, granite rocks and clear, deep blue Atlantic waters. Inland from the coast, Acadia is filled with a brilliant green forest populated with many varieties of pines, birches, hemlock, maples and aspen. Acadia is also a mecca for all outdoorsy types with an array of energy-sapping activities, including sea kayaking, mountain-biking, running, hiking and boating.

The Park was granted to the US Federal government in the early twentieth century by some of America's wealthiest citizens at that time, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (whom, anecdotally, also is also known as the son of the richest and most hated man in America). According to “The National Parks, Amercia's Best Idea”, by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, George Bucknam Dorr (after whom Dorr Mountain is named presumably), successfully petitioned the Federal Congress to create Acadia National Park. The bill creating the park was passed on February 26, 1919, and was originally named Lafayette National Park. Ten years later the park's name was changed to Acadia.

From my personal perspective, the highlight and the low-point of Acadia were the 57 miles of carriage road exclusively available to hikers, cyclists and horse riders. The carriage roads were constructed under the guidance of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. on his family's private estate on Mt. Desert Island. The obscenely wealthy J.D. Rockefeller Jr. created the carriage roads during 1913-1940, partly as a reaction to the automobile trend that was sweeping America at the time and which he personally lobbied to have banned throughout the whole of Mt. Desert Island. The roads were carved through the forest, over streams and around the mountains, designed specifically for horse-drawn carriage riding. Local granite was used in the construction of the bridges of the carriage roads and also along the edge of many of the roads (these road-side borders are known as “Rockefeller's Teeth”). One morning we did a spectacular cycle from the bike rental shop in Bar Harbor (Acadia Bike Rentals on Cottage St) to Acadia, where we met up with the carriage road system. We cycled for two hours through the lush forest and along the sparkling, clear, still waters of Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond and Jordan Pond. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the air was cool, the breeze was at our backs and our “comfort” bikes - with 24 gears - glided along effortlessly. This was the highlight. We stopped for lunch at Jordan Pond House, (also pretty good, I had lobster stew, Alex had seafood stew and there were popovers all round – more on that later). At the end of lunch a little drizzle of rain had started, but we thought nothing of it and commenced a 14-mile tour of the southern carriage roads of the eastern part of Acadia. About 30 minutes in, the drizzle had got a little heavier. By an hour in, the drizzle had turned to torrential rains, which continued for the next 3 hours, which is how long it took us to get back to Bar Harbor. Needless to say, we were both pretty fed-up by the time we got back to the bike shop! This was the low-point. We consoled ourselves with a massive seafood meal at a restaurant called “The Chart Room” - we shared Maine Mussels for starters. I had Maine Scampi for main course, which included a large strip of lobster tail and Alex had Macadamia crusted Halibut for his main. We shared a blueberry pie with local blueberries, a-la-mode, to finish. For good measure, we topped all this off with Irish Coffees to warm the hypothermia dwelling in our poor, tired bodies!

General Impressions

 

The coastline of Acadia is an inspiring sight. It is a landscape that is gentle on the eye with its rich greens, deep aquatic blues, colourful granites and sheer cliffs. The lakes within the island are calm, ringed with beautiful pebbles and red-and-green reeds and lilies and clean, deep blue in color. Somme Sound which separates the Eastern and Western parts of the island is similarly stunning, and is often proudly named as the only true fjord on the Eastern coastline of the U.S. The sound bobs and flapps with a proliferation of ocean-craft, from simple dingies and skiffs to opulent yachts.

Mount Desert Island initially became popular with the general public after landscape artists from the Hudson River School – including Frederic Church and Thomas Cole – traveled here in the early 20th Century to paint its wild shoreline. These artists went on to sell their wares in the “civilized” cities of America of the time - New York, Boston, Philadelphia. The contemporary “It” Set then went on to travel out to Mt. Desert Island to see the spectacular scenery depicted in their newly acquired artwork for themselves. They eventually built massive mansions, as is the want of “It” Sets in North Eastern America back then (and still today in some parts). The island is still dotted with these mansions today. This all happened when Acadia was all private land – mostly farmland occupied by descendants of the first European settlers in the mid-18th Century.

Today Acadia National Park is the feature of the island and most of the industry is based around the tourism brought by the park. Outside of the park, Mount Desert Island is spotted with seaside towns, which were once fishing villages but now offer a more touristy flavor.

The forests are very beautiful in a classical sense. There is a great variety of old, established trees and the forest floors and rocky outcrops are covered with mosses and many types of lichen. Hiking is another lovely thing to do in Acadia, and because it is not as popular as some other activities on the island, and also because of the sheer volume of trails in the National Park, you are likely to feel some isolation and enjoy some quiet contemplation in the forest on whichever walks you choose.

Food

 

We ate very well in Maine. Full Stop. The main theme (pun intended) in Mount Desert Island (and all of coastal Maine) in summertime, is lobster – delicious, fresh lobster. I personally ate it in the shell, in scampi, stew, soup and on a roll. No doubt there are many other forms of lobster preparation as well. Freshly caught from the clean Maine waters, it's hard to see how any lobster dish could taste bad in these parts.

Locally-grown blueberries were also big on the menu while we were there. We indulged in a few slices of pie, with and without ice-cream and cream. We also found them wild on many of the hiking trails.

Popovers, a brioche type of baked product was a new food for us in Maine (actually I ate one in Portsmouth New Hampshire as well). These seem to be served hot with jam and cream, much like scones in the old country, but we also had them with lobster rolls and soups. They are lighter and more buttery in texture than a brioche, although of a comparable size and shape. They are delicious with the jam and cream and I recommend you give 'em a go if you get the chance.

Maine is different from other parts of New England in some ways, but in other ways it is the same – it is the same when it comes to homemade ice-creams, old fashioned candies, jams, jellies, chutneys and other good things of this ilk. Tasty, freshly prepared and homemade with extra love. Love it. In Bar Harbor, I recommend Mount Desert Ice-cream Store (7 Firefly Lane, Bar Harbor) for homemade icecream. Three scopes of icecream, cream, hot chocolate fudge, nuts and a cherry on top. All now in my stomach. Also Pres Obama ate here apparently when he went to Mount Desert Island this summer – check it out: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/07/president_obama_5.html

Activities

Acadia is an activities-focused national park. If you like all that good outdoorsy stuff, this is the place for you. Some activities we participated in, include:

• Sand Beach for swimming;
• Park Loop Road for driving;
• Otters Point for lovely picnics, but unhappily no otters spotted;
• Jordan Pond House for lunch and gift shopping;
• Long Pond for hiking (actually, we strolled around the west side of Long Pond);
• “The Ladder” and Dorr Mount for hiking, complete with actual ladders and small crevices between boulders to squeeze through.
• Cadillac Mountain for driving or hiking (I did both) the highest point in Acadia at 1466ft, offering fantastic almost -360 degree views of Mt Desert Island and its surrounding archipelago;
• Eagle Lake for running (completed by Alex only); and
• Carriage roads for cycling, hiking and running.

Other activities include horse rides, canoing, kayaking, golf, cross country skiing – some items we missed out on, but thought looked worthwhile.

 

Camping

 

Lamoine State Park (public) - lovely secluded camping spot with a minimal number of sites. It is not actually on the island, but on the mainland across the bay.

 

Bar Harbour Campground (private) – great spot for camping and RV's. Nicely forested, good rates, clean and easy. You can pick your own site as well which is nice.

 

Blackwood in Acadia National Park itself (public) - Staying in the national park itself is best, but difficult to get a spot in summer. The rangers give presentations in the evening and you feel more a part of the Acadia experience when you actually sleep in the park. Very easy access to the hiking trails as well. No showers though. Seawall campground is also available in the Western part of the National Park, but we didn't get a chance to stay there this time.

 

Highlights

 

As mentioned above the carriage roads are a must.  Also driving the Park Loop.  Hikes are easy to moderate, less crowds on the hiking trails which are immaculately maintained.

View from Park Loop Drive

 

If you get a rainy afternoon or want a break from outdoorsy activities - Argosy Art Gallery in Bar Harbor displays primarily paintings, by living painters, of the Maine Coast, in particular the Mount Desert Island region. This region has a long history of art, and initial attraction to the island was for painters depicting rugged coastal scenes and the like. Amy Stapleton Sidman, the manager at Argosy, offers an education on each of the artists that she is currently displaying, and attests that the landscape school is again finding popularity amongst the established (read high-brow) art scenes in New York and Boston. We had a pleasant and informative hour with Amy in her gallery one afternoon whilst we were in Bar Harbor.

http://www.argosygallery.com/