Bar Harbor - Acadia National Park Loop - Where's Tom?

June 11, 2015

Bar Harbor - Acadia National Park Loop

Another sunny day and a rest day of sorts. Biking but no luggage! Breakfast was not available nearby, so we ate some fruit and had a coffee at the hotel before jumping on our bikes and heading for Bar Harbor, 12 miles away. Other than breakfast and touring Acadia National Park, we had no firm plans except that Happy wanted to bike some carriage roads while in the park.

Today's ride through Acadia National Park

Heart

Comment

Link

So we headed south into a strong headwind and across the Mt Desert Narrows, the bay separating the mainland from Mt Desert Island.

Our next stop was probably the best. The National Park Service has an information center immediately after the bridge on Thompson Island. The ranger we got, Louise Handy, was extremely informed and helpful. And cheery to boot. She supplied maps and helped us plot out a course for today's ride that took in everything we wanted to see and/or do.

A tribute to a great NPS ranger, Louise Handy!

With that info in hand, we were off to Bar Harbor. It was a little hillier than we had expected, and the shoulder was narrow and sometimes nonexistent. Traffic was not horrible but not great either. And while the locals know to expect cyclists, the tourists seem less forgiving. But it was a Thursday and early in the season, so tourism is still light in these parts.

We arrived in Bar Harbor after about an hour and went straight to the waterfront and historic district. I'll be honest, it seemed more waterfront than historic. And very commercial (of course), but the view of the harbor is not bad.

If you have an expensive boat, this is where to dock it, especially if you have land to go with it.

Another view of the harbor looking toward some of the more high-end places to stay.

We grabbed breakfast at Jeannie's Great Maine Breakfast. And it was great on many levels. It more than fueled the balance of the day. Afterward, we made our way to the park, as downtown was about what you might expect in a tourist center like this. Shopping, shopping, and more shopping.

I did want to capture one last shot of the harbor from Main Street.

Getting back on ME-3, we made our way to the Sieur de Monts entrance. Then we started climbing. The park does not have overly steep climbs, but they are long. We ended up climbing about 3,000 feet today, but prior to starting, really did not know what to expect. But we were rewarded with spectacular views of the ocean and coastline.

Our first climb. This is on the park's loop road, which is mostly one-way (the cyclist is headed against traffic!).

And sometimes the road would be ensconced in pine trees. This one was on a long descent.

When we turned north again and neared the park interior, we started seeing the carriage roads Happy had talked about.

A bridge carrying a carriage road. All of the bridges are faced with stone like this one.

At Jordan Pond, we left the loop road and picked up one of the carriage roads that traverses the western edge of both Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake.

Gatekeeper's House (now a residence for park employees).

A typical carriage road. No steep grades, but very, very long grades.

We made our way back via the western side of the island and back across the bridge to Trenton. Then dinner back at the lobster pound . . . except I opted for haddock tonight!

Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 2,635 miles (4,241 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0