A Walk in the Park

The area, covering most of Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut was first designated a national park in 1916. It’s original name was Sieur des Monts National Monument, followed by Lafayette National Park in 1919 and, finally, Acadia National Park in  1929.

It was a beautiful day and we woke at dawn with help from the growl of passing by lobster boats heading out to haul traps. After a short dinghy ride ashore, we met with some Harley-Davison bikers from Québec. It turns out it was the Acadian national holiday and they took a road trip to the eponymous park to celebrate.

We rented e-bikes allowing us to cover the most ground and show Didier and Sandrine a good sampling of what the park has to offer. Acadia is cross-crossed by packed dirt roads called carriage trails, commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. These are now used by bikers and joggers. We biked along Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond to the trailhead of Penobscot Mountain, sharing the name with the bay it overlooks. Only 3 miles out and back, this hike offers a wooded approach, some challenging scrambling up rocks and a traverse to the summit. It was the first time we’d done it, but it’s our new favorite because of the variety, and mostly because of the 360º view it affords at the top, including other peaks of the park, Jordan Pond, Eagle Lake, and Penobscot Bay.

Near the peak, we met Dennis, a very nice and knowledgeable retired neuropsychologist who’s been hiking Acadia for 40 years. He was able to give us historical details about the park and the region.

After a picnic lunch at the peak, we made the trek down, and biked back to Bar Harbor.

The day was capped off by a delicious Italian dinner at Porcelli’s in Bar Harbor.

A perfect day as we near the end of Didier and Sandrine’s visit.