the Way of the Turtle

A TURTLE IN MAINE, Part 3 -
ACADIA! Cadillac Mountain Summit Drive
Saturday, September 20, 2008

After taking care of paying for my motel room, I spent some time relaxing, eating my lunch, and trying to decide how to spend the afternoon. In the end I settled on riding what was supposed to be one of the easier carriage road loops, along Jordan Pond and Bubble Pond. Initially I thought I'd save money and avoid the Park Loop Road, but as I was driving back down to Acadia I changed my mind and made my first stop the Visitors' Center, where I picked up yet another park map and paid $20 for a 1 week pass to drive inside the park itself.

As I was heading along the Loop Road to the Bubble Pond parking area, I saw signs for the road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain and decided to drive to the top today instead of waiting for tomorrow morning. Cadillac Mountain is the highest peak on Mount Desert Island and also the highest point within 25 miles of the eastern coast of the US. There were some great views as I drove to the summit, along with several turnoffs where I could stop and take pictures. In particular, at a number of points I was able to look out over all of Eagle Lake (which I'd run around in the morning) and could see a number of peaks in the distance, as well as other ponds and bays.

The summit itself was crawling with people... I can only imagine what it must be like in the summer. Still, there were some excellent views out over Bar Harbor and the Porcupine Islands to the northeast, and out over the Atlantic Ocean and the Cranberry Islands to the southwest. I doubt my pictures can even begin to do the view justice.

If I visit Acadia again someday, hopefully I can hike to the summit instead of driving!

JMH