Aug 25 – We couldn’t start our exploration today till after Barry made a reservation online for us to go to Cadillac Mountain to watch a sunrise or sunset. 70% of the reservations are available months ahead, but we would not be able to factor in the weather that far in advance to select not only the best likely day, but also whether sunrise or sunset would be better. The remaining 30% are reserved for two days prior. Reservations open at 10am each day.
Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the Eastern US to see the sunrise. When we checked the forecast for the next couple days there wasn’t going to be a visible sunrise, so we chose go for sunset on Saturday. We got our reservation! Fingers crossed that Saturday will be a beautiful afternoon and evening with a pretty sunset.
On with our day…
We drove to Brown Mountain Gate House where we parked TJ, and rode our bikes on some carriage roads.
These carriage roads are amazing. John D. Rockefeller Jr, financed and worked with Acadia National Park between 1913 and 1940, establishing a network of 57 miles of carriage roads with bridges built by local craftsmen. It was important for the bridges to blend in, and even complement the environment where they become part of the view. The carriage roads network was a way for Rockefeller, his family and friends to enjoy this gorgeous area on horseback without the nuisance of motor vehicles, or fear of those vehicles scaring the horses. Later, Rockefeller turned over his home and all the carriage roads to the National Park Service to be maintained for the public to enjoy. Today 47 miles of carriage roads, 13 of the bridges, and the two stone gate houses are within the bounds of Acadia National Park. NO motorized vehicles are permitted on any of them. We selected the carriage roads that took us to the one and only waterfall in Acadia National Park, the two highest bridges in the park, and the oldest hemlock tree in the park.
Waterfall Bridge (upgraded in 1995) was the first bridge we reached. It spans Hadlock Brook, and is 125 feet long. It features a 20-ft rounded arch, and two viewing platforms. Being the bridge with the waterfall view, and that we were able to explore the area under the bridge, get closer to the waterfall as well as go to a little footbridge in the opposite direction, it was my favorite today.
Out the other direction…
Several others arrived to explore as we returned to our bikes. We were glad we timed it well.
There are 17 bridges. All supposedly have unique designs. We can attest that to be true for all bridges we experienced today. (Brick style pattern, shape of the arch, single or multiple arches or opening, cap styles on the start and end points of the bridge.) For more information about these carriage roads and the various bridges, click here.
Oldest Hemlock tree? It is not marked, so I’m not sure if I found it, but believe I did. Still a beautiful area regardless.
Additional bridges and views:
We reached the area of the Jordan Pond House. We locked up our bikes and hiked the Jordan Pond Trail that follows the perimeter of Jordan Pond all the way around.
The water in Jordan Pond is a public water supply, and therefore, had multiple signs for people and dogs (all pets) to stay out of the water. NO wading in the water is permitted!
Of course, there are always some people who think signs or rules don’t pertain to them – or they just don’t read them. Even if they don’t read English, there are the graphics that should be understood universally. At the other end of the lake someone let their dog romp around in the water.
The trail description stated this was a peaceful, easy stroll around the pond. We figured this would be perfect to include at this point. It was a nice, fairly flat, crushed granite trail that was very peaceful along the edge of the water.
The trail was almost getting boring, other than occasional tree roots or rocks that tripped me up a bit now and then. (Not hard to do – especially when I am soaking in the water views, or noticing cool trees like the one above.)
We approached the opposite end of the pond, and crossed over this cool little bridge.
And then the terrain totally changed. It was so cool.
Never have I seen a tree growing up through a boulder like this is!
The last “section” was a raised “boardwalk” that was very well made with frequent “pull offs” to let others get by either direction.
I’m so glad we started at the north end near the Jordan Pond Gate House and Restaurant, and walked counter-clockwise around the pond. We did not have the sun in our face. My favorite section was the part with all the rocks and boulders. It was so unexpected.
We were definitely getting hungry. Jordan Pond Gate House and Restaurant within Acadia National Park. It was supposed to be pretty good, so we hurried along the “boardwalk” trail portion to be able to get in before they closed.
The outside seating had great views of the lake (pond), and that would have been nice, but being on our bikes, we were afraid to wait for a table there, We said we preferred “next available” to ensure getting back to the Jeep before sunset.
This was a perfect ending to a great day. We had an awesome seafood stew at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant. It was so light with fabulous flavor and loaded with fresh haddock, crab, lobster. It is the only restaurant in Acadia National Park! The stew came with their famous popover roll. Since the area is known for the Maine wild blueberries, we ordered one homemade Maine wild blueberry crisp.
With our tummies satisfied, we headed back to our bikes and pedaled with a purpose back to the Jeep.
We didn’t see a single horse and carriage on the roads when we were on our bikes, but we did see evidence of one on a carriage road near Jordan Gate House as we began biking back to Brown Mountain Gate House where TJ was parked.
