Acadia All-American Road

This view is taken from the Jordan Pond House where visitors can enjoy afternoon tea and popovers while taking in this magnificent view.

The Trenton Grange Hall is shown with a wooden sign advertising cultural events occurring within its simple, white clapboard exterior.

The view from the future Acadia Gateway Center offers astounding sights of Acadia National Park, including mountains, green fields, and trees.

An aerial view gives way to a scene taken up by the extra-wide Trenton Boat and Seaplane ramp descending into the Mount Desert Narrows.

Multicolored trees and flowers reflect on the water's still surface in Sommeville.

Blue waters contrast against fall hills at the Bubbles on Jordan Pond.

Ocean views capture the imagination on the Acadia Byway.

Visitors pause in their journey to take a break, take in the scenery, and read more at this overlook.

Prepare for your boating experiences at this boathouse on Jordan Pond.

Tourists seeking color fill the streets during the fall in Bar Harbor.

Leafless trees frame this photo of a white church in Bar Harbor.

White churches dot the New England scenery, accented in autumn by brilliant maple trees.

Learn where to catch the Bar Harbor bus by studying this sign.

The Thompson Island Information Center is a cluster of small, weathered wood structures with an interpretive sign in front.

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Maine occupies a jutting coastline where rocks meet towering conifers.

Fine landscaping surrounds a carriage road house in Acadia National Park.

The Park Loop Road provides the visitor with transportation options such as bicycling, walking, cross-country sking, and by automobile.

A blue harbor in late September welcomes the Queen Mary 2 on her first visit to Bar Harbor, ME, while another (smaller) cruise ship waits in port.

Summer fog blankets the distant landscape below a clear sky in this view from Cadillac Mountain.

Villages near the park represent the variety of life-styles on the island today.

The Acadia region offers unparalleled surf and opportunities for visitors to explore the fascinating world of the tidal zone.

A bike rider travels one of Acadia National Park's famed carriage roads.

A lobster boat makes its daily catch in the blue waters of Acadia.

The walkway to the Acadia National Park's Abbe Museum is shaded by serene trees and lined with benches.

A view from Paradise Hill overlooks Frenchman Bay in the Acadia National Park.

A quaint white cottage makes up part of Eden Village near Bar Harbor, Maine.

Rocks line the water in serene Otter Creek, Maine on a clear day.

Pink clouds fill the sky during sunset over Salisbury Cove, Maine.

Sailboats scatter throughout the water in Seal Harbor at sunset.

Waves crash against the rocks at Thunder Hole in Maine.

Fall colors dress up Upper Hadlock Pond in the Acadia National Park.

Calm water laps against the shore of Hulls Cove, Maine.

A unique feature of Acadia National Park is the 45 miles of rustic carriage roads which weave around the mountains and through the valleys of the Park. The roads were originally built between 1913 and 1940 as a gift of philanthropist John D Rockefeller, Jr., and family. Rockefeller had a selfish motive in building the roads. He was a skilled horseman and desired to travel on motor free byways via horse and carriage into the heart of Mount Desert Island, when it was still the exclusive domain of the rich and famous. The carriage roads have sweeping vistas and close up views of the landscape.

Acadia's carriage roads are made of broken stone, commonly used throughout America a century ago. They are about 16 feet wide and made with three layers of rock, stone, culverts, wide ditches and a six to eight inch crown of crushed stone.

The beauty of the graded roads is enhanced with stone retaining walls and numerous stone bridges which follow the contours of the land.

Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the carriage roads, which are very popular with hikers, bicyclists, horses and horse drawn carriages.

Though originally designed for carriages, these roads allow for pleasant afternoon rides like this one.

Eagle Lake is a nice spot to begin a scenic bike ride on the carriage trails.

Some travelers take in a beautiful day at Cadillac Mountain.

One of only a couple of beaches in the Acadia Region provides swimming opportunities for visitors.

Some bikers sit along the shore of Eagle Lake

One of the many granite bridge arches on Acadia's Park Loop Road.

The emphasis of fine details on a simple walking path captures the visitor's attention.

Numerous accommodations play host to the visitor when on Mount Desert Island.

Interesting historic storefront architecture and beautiful views of Frenchman Bay delight all who visit this special town.

This small mountain lake is formed from the watersheds of Champlain and Dorr Mountains.

A gorgeous aerial view of the Somes Sound and Norumbega Mountain

Cadillac Mountain (Height 1532') is the highest peak on Mount Desert Island.

Traveling Route 3 provides the visitor with so many opportunities for visually and physically experiencing the Maine coast.

Two outstanding Gatehouses exist along the corridor, providing access to the carriage road network in the park.

The scene from Trenton over the tidal Mount Desert Narrows of the Mount Desert Island shoreline and the Mountains of Acadia National Park exemplifies the tree-robed landscape.

Waves crash against the sand in this beautiful view of Sand Beach from atop "The Beehive" in Acadia National Park.

This cave is accessible at low tide where the Schooner Head Overlook trail meets the Atlantic Ocean. There is a pink tidal pool inside where the sea anemones live.