When John D. Rockefeller, Jr. started building the 57-mile network of carriage roads on Mount Desert Island in 1913, I am quite sure he did not have cross country skiing in mind. Long, long before that, the island’s incredibly varied geologic history, including periods of erosion and sedimentation, plate tectonics, volcanic eruption, and glaciation, shaped the dramatic landscape that we see there today.
As beautiful as Acadia National Park is during the summer, it is no less majestic in the winter. Acadia is famous for it’s juxtaposition of mountains and sea. Throw snow into the mix and you have something even more amazing.
Make it several feet of pristine white snow that stretches right down to the water’s edge, miles of groomed trails (thanks Friends of Acadia), no entrance fee, free parking, and it is probably the best cross country ski value in North America.
All those factors combine to make it a very special place for skiing.
After making the drive from Belfast, we pulled into the Hull’s Cove visitors area. A ranger recommended the groomed trails in the Jordan Pond area. By that time, we were eager to minimize driving and maximize skiing, so we split the difference, drove to Eagle Lake, found a place in the nearly full parking area, and headed out along the western shore of the lake.
Along Eagle Lake, the trails were tracked but not groomed. Nothing to complain about for those accustomed to Waldo Country snowmobile trails, snowshoe trials, and just plain bushwacking. On the Jordan Pond section of the trail (see map below), we were treated to something seldom found in midcoast Maine: groomed tracks for both classic and skate skiing.
The tracks had iced over in the mid-afternoon shadows — it was a long sweet ride down the graded trail to Jordan Pond.
Next, still on groomed tracks, we headed down a long hill with tight turns toward Lower Hadlock Pond. The trail continued good on past Upper Hadlock Pond — and then became less groomed at some point. The winter quiet of Aunt Betty Pond was compelling, but so we were also getting increasingly hungry, tired, and cold — and eager to close our 15-mile loop by continuing on through the diminishing light back to the Eagle Lake Parking area.
Day 2 featured skiing into Sand Beach after Parking at the end of the Schooner Head Road. After skiing on the beach itself, (we are not the first to try this out), we headed out along the footpath that leads from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole and then on to Otter cliffs.
Resources: