Acadia harbors 57 miles of crushed-stone carriage roads. These roads were built for horse-drawn carriages. They were constructed between 1913 and 1940 under the close supervision of John Rockefeller. Today, they are used for hiking, horseback riding, and biking (no cars). Forty-five miles of the roads are open for this purpose.
The sights along the trail are beautiful. There are cliff-side overlooks, lake views, and even 17 hand-laid stone bridges - each one unique. We did some biking on the Carriage Roads. You can rent bikes in Bar Harbor at Acadia Bike & Canoe (48 Cottage St., 207/288-9605, www.acadiabike.com, opens at 8 am). We reserved by phone, and the price per bike was $16 for the day. This included a helmet, lock, and map. (Note: Walk-ins are charged $3 more) The service was wonderful, and the bikes were in very good condition. You should call ahead on a summer day to reserve a bike - this is a very popular activity in Acadia.
From Cottage Street, you can ride a short distance to the carriage road entrance, or you can hop on the Island Explorer and pick up the carriage roads from another point (each Explorer has space for two bikes on the front). We biked the Eagle Lake and Witch Hole Pond Loops. We would recommend them both. Beavers are known to make an appearance in Eagle Lake at sunset. These trails would also be good for families, as they are relatively flat.
We also biked the Jordan Pond/Bubble Pond Loop. These sections had great overlooks. They were more strenuous and probably not the best for families. We had a blast biking on the carriage trails. That particular day was the tail-end of hurricane Frances, so needless to say, we had the entire trial to ourselves minus a few brave hikers. On a nice day in the summer, however, the carriage trails can get extremely crowded. Get an early start for a more vacant path.
Along the carriage roads, you’ll find the only restaurant in Acadia Nat’l Park: Jordan Pond House (11:30am to 8pm, Park Look Road, 207/276-3316). We ended our very wet bike tour here for some tea, hot soup, and popovers. The service was friendly, and they were very nice to seat us given that we had been biking in the rain for several hours. The popovers were warm and delicious. They are served with homemade jam and tea. The prices are somewhat high (given that popovers are made from flour, milk, and eggs), but a stop at Jordan Pond House is an Acadia tradition and the popovers and jam are really very good. You can pick up the Island Explorer from the Jordan Pond House.