The Carriage roads of Acadia

Hi!
We spent Monday riding around the carriage roads in the national park. Acadia national park was created by land donated by very wealthy people, one of them being John D. Rockefeller Jr. Mr. Rockefeller loved to build roads, and he built 45 miles of carriage roads in what is now Acadia park. These roads are not paved, but are smooth crushed gravel. 23mm tires would be fine on them.


Along the roads, he built 16 stone bridges with native granite.

They are in amazingly good shape. We rode to lunch in Northeast Harbor and back on these roads, stopping at a visitors center and other sites. About 30 miles. They are all smooth with gentle grades and fantastic views. See the first picture.

Nothing but walkers, bikes, and horses. Perfect....
Today (Tuesday) was a different story. It was a mileage day to Bangor, about 55 miles, half along busy roads. It is rainy for the next day or so. Our plan is to rent a car for a day to see more of the most eastern part of Maine. It would take us about four more days if we were to cycle it, and we don't have the time... or nerve. The roads in this area are narrow and busy with trucks. Several local residents said they hate to drive it! We'll be careful. One last note: We got the local fresh produce report! The cucumbers, summer squash, and zucchini are terrible. Small and soft. But raspberries are great and blue berries will be fantastic!! Our thanks to Annie's Pride Farm Market.