Wealthy landowners who once owned the land making up Acadia built 45 miles of historic carriage road with 17 stone-faced bridges during the early 20th century. All of them are now open to hikers and bicyclists.
The Eagle Lake Loop is among the best of the carriage roads to hike, if only for its namesake’s scenic beauty and the mostly flat terrain. The hike goes 6 miles round trip.
To reach the trailhead, from Bar Harbor take Maine State Route 233 (aka Eagle Lake Road) west into the park. When you reach Eagle Lake, roadside parking and a lot are on the right/north. From the lot, walk west on a short connector to the carriage road. Turn left/south onto and head under Eagle Lake Bridge.
The loop begins at Eagle Lake’s northwest corner. When junctioning two other trails there, continue straight/south, remaining alongside Eagle Lake. The trail then begins a series of long ascents.
Rockefeller’s roads
John D. Rockefeller Jr. paid for the construction of the rustic carriage roads on Mount Desert Island from 1913-40. A skilled horseman, he wanted the roads to showcase sweeping vistas and close-up views of the island’s beautiful landscape whenever he rode horse or took a carriage through the area.
“Acadia contains the best and most extensive example of a historic carriage road system in the United States,” Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider said in 2021.
About 1.4 miles from the trailhead, the carriage road veers from the lake to head around Connors Nubble, which rises to 588 feet. A side trail heads to its top while a walking path sticks close to the lake. To stay on the carriage road, go right/southwest.
Acadia’s carriage roads are made of broken stone, which was commonly used in the early 20th century. Construction methods using the material required a lot of hand labor. All of the park’s carriage are about 16 feet wide.
At 2 miles on a hill, another carriage road comes in from the right at intersection 8. Continue left/east as you begin to head around Eagle Lake’s south shore.
As walking along the lake’s south side, North Bubble rises to the right. It reaches a height of 872 feet, and a hiking trail heads to its summit.
Following contours
An expert road builder, Rockefeller ensured the roads could handle Maine’s wet weather. Each is built six to eight inches above the surface with three layers of rock beneath, wide ditches to the side, and stone culverts to ensure drainage. Roads use the landscape’s nature contours rather than by digging out and flattening hillsides.
At 3.8 miles, you’ll reach intersection 7. Continue left/north alongside the lake’s east side. Cadillac Mountain rises to the trail’s right.
For the broken stone, granite was quarried on the island. When the road was completed, blueberry bushes, sweet fern, and other native vegetation was planted alongside it.
The loop ends on the lake’s north side at 5.9 miles. Go right/north on the carriage road at intersection 6 and return to the parking lot. The Eagle Lake Loop was rehabilitated in 2021. The road surface, subgrade, and drainage were refurbished, retaining walls reconstructed, and stone slope protection walls stabilized.
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