The 27-mile Park Loop Road offers visitors to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island a chance to immerse themselves in Maine’s rugged beauty.
This scenic paved road goes through the eastern half of Mt. Desert Island, offering views of the coastline, forests, and Cadillac Mountain. At 1,527 feet, it’s the highest point on the United States East Coast.
The day after cycling Schoodic Peninsula, my tour with Summer Feet Cycling continued with a morning ride along Acadia’s Park Loop Road.
We began our day at the Sand Bar Cottage, a charming B&B in the town of Bar Harbor, and rode south along Great Meadow Drive. We were turning left (east) onto Park Loop Road within minutes.
If this entry point south of Bar Harbor were “12” on a clock, our turn to the left would take us in a clockwise direction.
We planned to ride along the coast and soak up the Atlantic views before following Park Loop Road inland to our endpoint at Jordan Pond.
In a little over two hours, we covered half the 27-mile road. The remainder was driven in Summer Feet Cycling’s van.
The reason we didn’t complete the entire Park Loop Road had to do with our scheduling. We needed to return to Bar Harbor for lunch and a lobster boat tour in the afternoon.
That and our guide, Norman, said we’d be cycling the more scenic section of the road, and it’s primarily uphill at that point. As it turned out, 13 miles on an e-bike was plenty of time for me to enjoy nature.
Here are the highlights from our second day of cycling in Acadia.
Where To Stop on Park Loop Road
Our first few minutes cycling Park Loop Road were pretty flat. It was still early spring in Maine, and many trees lacked full-sized leaves for the year.
This allowed us to see further into the dense forest than we might’ve experienced otherwise.
More importantly, the sun was out, and the temperatures were cool. There were fewer visitors, and the roads weren’t too busy since it wasn’t peak season (July and August).
Park Loop Road lacks dedicated bike lanes, and cars are allowed to park on the side of the road in addition to designated parking areas, which can be a hazard to cyclists. Fewer cars meant our ride was safer and more enjoyable.
The posted speed limit for everyone is between 25 and 35 miles per hour. The fastest I went on my Trek e-bike was about 33 mph on a downhill section.
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