https://ridewithgps.com/routes/55340821
This 13.5-mile gravel loop in Acadia National Park follows a trail created by the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. as part of a 45-mile network of carriage roads to give visitors to Mount Desert Island peaceful motor-free byways. Start from the Jordan Pond House, and soon you’ll be climbing next to the pond (most of the route’s 1,000 feet of total climbing is front-loaded), over hand-hewn stone bridges and alongside waterfalls. Much of the rest of the ride winds among dense forests and lakes (at times so close you can see a snapping turtle’s nose rising above the crystal water). End back at the Jordan Pond House for its famous popovers, a blueberry lemonade and views of the Bubbles, the park’s iconic twin peaks, bathed in light worthy of a landscape painting. Riders can take the free Bicycle Express shuttle (no e-bikes) from Bar Harbor to the Eagle Lake Carriage Road Trail entrance and start there.