Touted as the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi, Acadia National Park encompasses approximately 30,000 acres of Mount Desert Island in Northern Maine. The Park's carriage road system was built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. between 1913 and 1940, and today you can hike or bike 45 miles of these scenic carriage roads. The carriage roads are broken stone roads, a method commonly used around the turn of the century that required a lot of hand labor. Rockefeller aligned the roads to follow the contours of the land and to take advantage of the beautiful views. He also graded the roads so they are not too steep or curvy for horse-drawn carriages. One of my favorites is the 3.8 mile road around Long Pond, near Seal Harbor.
 |
| View of Long Pond |
 |
| It is even beautiful in the fog |
 |
| A view from the far side of the pond |
It was about this point that I ran into a large and handsome furry friend...
If running, walking or biking is not your thing, consider a carriage ride. Wildwood Stables is located near Long Pond and offers daily horse-drawn carriage rides and tours from mid-June through Columbus Day weekend in early October. They also board horses for those who bring their own with them to the island. You can choose from tours that include a climb to the summit of Day Mountain for spectacular views of the coast, as well as an afternoon carriage ride to the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers. Check them out at www.carriagesofacadia.com.
 |
| Taking a break |
As I wish you all a wonderful weekend, I will leave you with a few more images of Acadia National Park and the incredible views to be found from a few of the peaks in the area. For those of you who have read Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, his famous Blueberry Hill is in this area. It is one of our favorite books, and we had a lot of fun picking blueberries and pretending we were little Sal.
No comments:
Post a Comment