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Acadia National Park
Maine's Acadia National Park was the first national park established in the east. Visitors can explore the rugged beauty of Mount
Desert Island from two distinct road systems. The older of these is a 60-mile
network of carriage roads constructed by summer resident John D. Rockefeller,
Jr. and subsequently donated to the park. Although automobiles are not allowed
on the carriage roads, motorists can enjoy much of the same scenery from
a splendid motor road system, also funded largely by Mr. Rockefeller.
Carriage Roads
Sixty miles of carriage roads providing access to many
of Acadia's scenic charms are the legacy of industrialist, philanthropist
and Mount Desert Island summer resident John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Starting
in 1911 with a series of carriage drives on his Seal Harbor estate, over
the next four decades Mr. Rockefeller constructed a network of broken stone
roads winding between and across the island's mountains. Seventeen striking
stone bridges are among the most interesting features on the system.
Motor Roads
Considered the most scenic seaside roads in the eastern
states, the Acadia motor road system was also funded in part by John D.
Rockefeller, Jr. to provide motorists with an alternative use to his
carriage road system. The system includes a 20-mile loop road largely skirting
the rocky coast of Maine's Mount Desert Island; a summit road to the top
of 1,530' Cadillac Mountain, the highest mountain on the east coast, and
other scenic drives.
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