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Park Loop Road

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Park Loop Road
The Park Loop Road viewed from a bridge on Champlain Drive
TypeScenic toll road (partial)
Length27 mi (43 km)
Construction
Completion1958 (66 years ago) (1958)
Other
WebsitePark Loop Road

Park Loop Road is a scenic road through part of Acadia National Park in Maine, United States. 27 miles (43 km) long,[1] it traverses the eastern side of Mount Desert Island in a (mostly) one-way, clockwise direction, from Bar Harbor to Seal Harbor. The road is two-way for a section between Wildwood Stables, toward the middle of Mount Desert Island, and the Hulls Cove entrance near Bar Harbor. A toll is required for vehicles continuing on the Loop Road beyond the entrance station immediately inland from Schooner Head overlook;[2] the 5.3-mile (8.5 km) section between Paradise Hill Road, at the foot of Cadillac Mountain, and the entrance station is toll-free.[3]

Completed, under the watchful eye of John D. Rockefeller Jr., in 1958, after a 37-year process, the road passes geographical features such as Champlain Mountain (location of a popular, exposed cliffside trail named Precipice),[4][5][6] the Beehive (another, smaller mountain), Sand Beach (a saltwater swimming area), Gorham Mountain, Thunder Hole (a crevasse into which waves crash loudly), Otter Cliff, Otter Cove, Seal Harbor, Jordan Pond, Pemetic Mountain, the Bubbles, Bubble Rock, Bubble Pond, Eagle Lake, and the side road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain.

The Loop Road opens annually on April 15. In winter (from December 1), only one 1.8-mile (2.9 km) section of the road remains open to vehicles: Ocean Drive, between the Sand Beach entrance station and Otter Cliff Road.[7] This section of the road is one of the most heavily visited areas of the park.[8]

Two of Acadia's 32 historic bridges span the Park Loop Road:[9] the Sieur de Monts Spring Bridge[10] and the Blackwoods Bridge, both of which carry State Route 3 (Champlain Drive) and were built in 1939.[11]

Points of interest

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Beginning at the junction of Paradise Hill Road and traveling in a clockwise direction, the following points of interest are passed:[12][13]

Sand Beach, viewed from the Park Loop Road
Otter Cliff overlook
Bubble Rock
  • Jessup Path and Hemlock Loop trailhead
  • Sieur de Monts and the Wild Gardens of Acadia
  • Beaver Dam Pond
  • Champlain North Ridge trailhead
  • Sols Cliff overlook
  • Egg Rock overlook
  • Precipice trailhead
  • Champlain Mountain (end of toll-free section)
  • Beehive Trail
  • Sand Beach
  • Newport Cove
  • Thunder Hole
  • Gorham Mountain trailhead
  • Boulder Beach
  • Otter Cliff overlook (where the Loop Road splits briefly between an upper and lower level)
  • Otter Point overlook
  • Fabbri picnic area (named for Alessandro Fabbri)
  • Otter Cove
  • Otter Cove Bridge and causeway
  • Western Point overlook
  • Hunters Beach overlook (southern tip of the Loop Road)
  • Wildwood Stables
  • Jordan Pond Gatehouse
  • Jordan Pond House
  • Bubble Rock
  • Bubbles Divide trail
  • Bubble Pond
  • Eagle Lake overlook

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "36 Hours in Bar Harbor, Me." – The New York Times, July 14, 2011
  2. ^ "Park Loop Road - Acadia National Park". www.acadia.ws. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  3. ^ "Entrance Station on Acadia's Park Loop Road (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  4. ^ "Visitor rescued from fall on Precipice Trail" (archive). nps.gov. National Park Service. July 25, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Hiker suffers fall on Precipice Trail in Acadia National Park" (archive). nps.gov. National Park Service. December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  6. ^ "Man transported by LifeFlight from top of Champlain Mountain after fall in Acadia National Park" (archive). nps.gov. National Park Service. September 12, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Harbor, Mailing Address: PO Box 177 Bar; Us, ME 04609 Phone: 207 288-3338 Contact. "Park Loop Road - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "How Crowded Are America’s National Parks? See for Yourself." – The New York Times, July 8, 2021
  9. ^ Harbor, Mailing Address: PO Box 177 Bar; Us, ME 04609 Phone: 207 288-3338 Contact. "Historic Buildings & Bridges - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Sieur de Monts Spring Bridge, Spanning Park Loop Road at Route 3 near Sieur de Monts Spring, Bar Harbor, Hancock County, ME". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  11. ^ Harbor, Mailing Address: PO Box 177 Bar; Us, ME 04609 Phone: 207 288-3338 Contact. "Historic Buildings & Bridges - Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Drive Park Loop Road (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  13. ^ "The History of Motor Road Development at Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
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