Acadia National Park, National Park in Maine, United States
Acadia National Park covers about half of Mount Desert Island on the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor, along with part of Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula and portions of sixteen smaller islands. Its granite domes, glacial erratics, U-shaped valleys and cobble beaches surround more than twenty named mountains, from Flying Mountain at 284 feet to Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet. Somes Sound, a five-mile fjard, nearly divides the island in two.
The land became a national park in 1919 and was initially called Lafayette. Additional areas joined over the following decades, including parts of the Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut.
The carriage roads wind past sixteen stone bridges, each built to a different architectural design. Hikers and cyclists now use these car-free routes that once served horse-drawn vehicles.
The Park Loop Road runs one-way clockwise from Bar Harbor to Seal Harbor, giving access to Sand Beach, Thunder Hole and Jordan Pond. The visitor center is at Hulls Cove, northwest of Bar Harbor. Carriage roads are closed to motor vehicles and shared by walkers, cyclists and riders.
Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States to catch the morning sun between October and March. Many visitors drive to the summit before dawn to watch the sunrise.
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