This is the most scenic route through Acadia National Park

Crushed stone crunches under feet, bike tires, and horse hooves on a late spring day in Acadia National Park. Finally free of snow, the popular carriage roads are open, and visitors inhale the spruce-scented air deeply as they meander along the 8.6-mile Jordan Pond Loop. “My first experience on the carriage roads was when I was growing up in Maine,” says MacKenzie Bowker, a guide for Summer Feet Cycling & Walking. “I loved cycling with my dad on the roads because it was a quiet place to be and the chances to see wildlife were plentiful.”

I’ve hiked hundreds of miles on national park trails in the United States, but have biked in far fewer parks because often the only option is to share crowded roads with vehicles. In Acadia, cyclists can enjoy the serenity of nature away from the noise of cars, and get a little history thrown in for good measure.

Fifty-seven miles of rustic carriage roads—45 miles in Acadia National Park and 12 in the Land & Garden Preserve—were constructed from 1913 to 1940, a gift of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his family. Today, the carriage roads are the best example of broken-stone roads in the U.S. and beckoned 3.96 million annual park guests in 2024 to walk, bike, ski, snowshoe, and ride in horse-drawn carriages along various connected loops. 

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Acadia National Park’s carriage roads

Rockefeller designed the 16-foot-wide carriage roads to wind through forests, along ponds, and up mountains, blending them with the natural landscape. The roads were constructed with three layers of rock, stone culverts, wide ditches, and a 6- to 8-inch crown for good drainage. Coping stones—large blocks of granite—line the roads and serve as guardrails. 

“Landscape architect Beatrix Ferrand had a home here in Bar Harbor and collaborated with Rockefeller on the vistas and planting design along the carriage roads,” says Lisa Horsch Clark, vice president of development and donor relations for Friends of Acadia (FOA), a nonprofit organization formed in 1986 dedicated to preserving and protecting the national park. An early proponent of native plantings like blueberry and sweet fern, Ferrand chose and placed shrubs and trees to frame views, as well as heal the landscape following the park’s construction.  

Rockefeller also financed 16 of the 17 bridges along the roads that span cliffs, roads, streams, and waterfalls. Constructed of steel-reinforced concrete, the bridges utilize native stone on their surfaces, and each of them is unique in design. Two gate lodges, Jordan Pond Gatehouse (now closed) and Brown Mountain Gatehouse, were built to mark the entrance to the carriage road network. 

There are eight popular carriage road loops. The shortest is the 4.2-mile Hadlock Loop, which includes three bridges along the way. Ambitious walkers and cyclists can take the 11.3-mile Around the Mountain Loop, which crosses seven bridges. Park maps show detailed mileage for the carriage roads, as well as note numbered intersection signposts, so visitors don’t get lost. 

(Related: A park ranger’s guide to Acadia National Park.)

Keeping carriage roads open

Maintenance of the carriage road system is a daunting task. Maine’s wet weather plays a major part in washing away surface materials and vegetation growth aids in eroding the roads, ditches, and drainage systems. “An extensive rehabilitation of the roads took place 30 years ago, from 1992 to 1995, and combined federal construction funds with matching funds from Friends of Acadia,” says Perrin Doniger, FOA vice president of communications and marketing. “The organization established an endowment to help protect the carriage roads in perpetuity, creating the first endowed trail system in the United States.”

The endowment enables more than $200,000 annually to be used by the park for carriage road maintenance and is combined with a portion of park user fees as well as federal funding for additional upkeep. Among these projects is the management of 182 historic vistas throughout the carriage road network, ensuring that they remain as close as possible to their original scale. 

Each year, FOA volunteers contribute thousands of hours to carriage road restoration tasks, especially clearing leaves from culverts and ditches to maintain drainage and weeding vegetation that grows between the coping stones. “Because the stones are nicknamed ‘Rockefeller’s teeth,’ we call it flossing instead of weeding,” says Nikki Burtis, FOA stewardship coordinator.

Visitors can participate in the half-day Drop-in Stewardship Volunteer Program, helping on maintenance projects offered every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from June through the end of October. On Take Pride in Acadia Day, the first Saturday of November, up to 400 volunteers “put the carriage roads to bed” in preparation for winter. 

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How to experience Acadia’s carriage roads

The lack of automobiles appeals to users of Acadia National Park’s carriage roads for hiking, exploring via motorized wheelchair, bicycling (including class-one e-bikes), horseback riding, traveling in a horse-drawn carriage, and cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in winter. Pets are welcome on leashes no longer than 6 feet.

“It’s important that visitors have a plan before heading to the park to experience the carriage roads,” says Amanda Pollock, public affairs office for Acadia National Park. “A lot of our parking lots and access roads can fill up early in the day, especially during the peak summer season. And the roads are closed during mud season—times when soft conditions can aid erosion.”

Visitors can bring their bike or rent from a local outfitter. The fare-free Island Explorer offers a van with a bike trailer on a seasonal basis between Bar Harbor and the Eagle Lake Carriage Road Entrance. MDI Wheelers provides rides on special electric-assist trikes for people who need assistance. Guided cycling trips are available from outfitters like Summer Feet, which has itineraries that range from weekend to weeklong as well as self-guided trips. 

Norman Patry, the “Big Toe” of Summer Feet, incorporated Acadia’s carriage roads into his tours 25 years ago, when he founded the company. “They are a wonderful meeting of design and the natural landscape,” he says. “There’s so much richness between the rocks, trees, lichen, and moss that I’m always dazzled whenever I’m riding.”

(Related: 10 incredible family adventures to try in Maine.)