Acadia National Park is poised “any day now” to take over the vacant Bass Harbor Head Light Station, setting the stage for a new era for the iconic lighthouse, one of the most popular attractions within the park’s boundaries. Ahead of becoming the new owner, Acadia is weighing recommendations in a new study of Bass […]
If you’ve ever marveled at Acadia National Park’s hiking trails, here’s a chief reason they look so good: Gary Stellpflug, the Acadia trails foreman. In this Q&A with Stellpflug, find out what he revealed during a National Trails Day hike on the Valley Trail, and his updates of trail work throughout the park. There’s no better way to celebrate Acadia’s 103rd anniversary of being founded as a national monument on July 8, 1916, than to appreciate the work of the Acadia trails crew and volunteers.
Many people know that Acadia National Park celebrated its centennial in 2016, but few realize that it was 110 years ago this month that Eliza Homans of Boston provided a stunning donation of land that helped launch the creation of the park. In May 1908, Homans, then a longtime seasonal resident of Mount Desert Island, […]
A new book about Baker Island tells the fascinating history and lore of the Acadia island known for its lighthouse. Author Cornelia J. Cesari is president of the board of directors of the nonprofit Keepers of Baker Island, which helps preserve a place that so many visitors to Acadia National Park have cherished.
As we mark Presidents Day and think of the challenges facing Acadia National Park under the Trump administration, may we remember the Antiquities Act signed by Theodore Roosevelt that ultimately led to creation of Acadia, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps that helped build Ocean Path and other trails.
A terrific aspect of hikes in Acadia National Park is that people can almost always get back to the start without retracing steps. Acadia’s tight, carefully designed network of 150 miles of trails allow hikers to create a nearly countless number of loop trips. There are many circular hikes in Acadia National Park, but perhaps […]
Jordan Stream Path is among the shortest and most overlooked hikes in Acadia National Park, but it travels to one of the park’s most unusual sights – Cobblestone Bridge, which is quietly marking its own centennial this year. Previously badly eroded, the Jordan Stream Path looks mostly pristine, following an extensive rehabilitation overseen by Christian Barter, a park trail crew supervisor who is also the park’s poet laureate.
The bulging tree roots that used to dominate a section of the Deer Brook Trail in Acadia National Park appeared so scary that they were featured in a scene in the Stephen King horror film, “Pet Sematary.” An elegant rehabilitation, led by the park’s trails crew, gave the Deer Brook Trail a major facelift, but […]
One in a series on Acadia’s Bates cairns Within minutes of stepping onto the popular Cadillac South Ridge Trail, Tim Henderson spots a couple of Acadia stone cairns vandalized by passersby. “These two cairns are usually broken, destroyed, knocked over or piled up with stones, because it is easy access,” said Henderson, one of an army of […]
Robin Emery is well known in Maine as a trailblazer and champion in women’s running, but many people may not be aware of her deep connections to Acadia National Park hiking.
