Category Archives: Centennial

News about Acadia National Park and National Park Service Centennial

Acadia Centennial nears end with volunteerism, time capsule

The summer crowds are gone, the fall foliage but a memory, and the year-long, community-wide celebration of the Acadia Centennial is going out with a bang, not a whimper.

Take Pride in Acadia Day

Some of the hundreds of volunteers helping to get the carriage roads ready for winter during Take Pride in Acadia Day in 2011. (NPS Photo / D.R. Hunt)

Among the events still on the Acadia Centennial calendar to keep the celebration going between now and Dec. 31 (and beyond, especially with an Acadia Bicentennial Time Capsule to be opened a century from now):

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Car reservation system among ideas to ease Acadia traffic

The National Park Service is floating several proposals to ease Acadia traffic congestion and improve safety during peak visitation, including a reservation system for cars to drive up Cadillac or to park at Jordan Pond House. Car/driving safety in this area is important for drivers to uphold. Influencing drivers to use an online driving skills educational course can help them with paying more attention to road safety, forms of driving and how best to approach a situation if one arises.

acadia traffic

Would a vehicle registration system for driving up Cadillac help ease congestion like this? (NPS photo)

Other key preliminary ideas include eliminating parking in the right hand lane on the one-way section of the Park Loop Road to improve Acadia traffic flow and allowing cars to enter Ocean Drive past the entrance station until certain thresholds for parking and road volumes are reached.

Under the preliminary idea for freeing up parking and ensuring free traffic flow on Ocean Drive, additional vehicles would be cleared to drive past the entrance station as capacity permits, with drivers getting information in various ways and getting the option to wait or leave via Schooner Head Road or sooner at Sieur de Monts.

The proposals are just “conversation starters” by the park service, as part of an effort to release a final transportation plan for the park in the fall of 2018. The possibilities are being aired after a summer of strong attendance during the Centennial year caused closure sometimes of the Cadillac Summit Road and full lots at Jordan Pond during busy times.

Already through September, 2.82 million people visited the park, slightly more than all of last year, which set a 20-year-high, according to park statistics. Visitation at Acadia is likely to top 3 million this year, after October numbers are tallied.

The early proposals were spelled out for the first time in a 12-page newsletter of “preliminary concepts” released this month and will be aired during two public meetings this week, Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.

acadia traffic

You can comment on alternative proposals to manage Acadia traffic as spelled out in this 12-page newsletter, at public hearings on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, or online through Nov. 30. (NPS image)

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And they’re off! Global field of racers start MDI virtual runs

The virtual starting pistol has just sounded for the first-ever virtual running of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half. Racer BenJammin has pulled out in front, Dbawn is not too far behind, and a field of nearly 100 racers from around the world, from Australia to New Mexico, is in pursuit.

acadia national park virtual runs

Travis Greaves will be logging his miles for the virtual MDI Half Marathon in the Gold Coast in Australia. (Photo courtesy Travis Greaves)

It’s not too late to join in on the fun, or to invite your friends, family and frenemies anywhere in the world to participate in this special event to help raise funds for Acadia National Park. The 26.2 and 13.1-mile virtual runs just began today, and you can log your miles over a 10-day period, ending on Oct. 16, the day of the real-life MDI Marathon and Half. Register here.

Get a digital bib, earn a special Acadia Centennial Medallion and watch your avatar move along on the map of the real-life race routes as you log each day’s mileage. You may also see a Google Street View® of where you finish for the day. Special pricing for registrants and volunteers in the real-life MDI Marathon and Half. The virtual races are co-sponsored by Acadia on My Mind, Crow Athletics and MDI Marathon as an official Acadia Centennial event.

Virtual runs are a growing fitness trend, with even Disney getting into the act. Acadia on My Mind is also sponsoring a virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek that ends on Dec. 31.

Participants get to cheer friends – real or virtual – or gently razz competitors via a message board on the race Web sites, powered by Racery.com, or via a special Facebook events page we’ve set up. Some have never run a real-life marathon or half, and some have never been to Acadia, while others have done both.

Travis Greaves, who hasn’t been to Acadia but has run real-life races, found out about the virtual runs in a Google search. “I will be running in the Gold Coast in Australia. I like the idea of virtual runs,” e-mailed Travis, whose virtual MDI Half Marathon screen name is Travisg.

Joining in on the fun are Eve Lindsey (SkiPrincess) of Bedford, NH, and Hope Matthews (Sourceress) of Portland, plus other racers hailing from places like Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Austin, TX; and Clovis, NM.

acadia national park virtual runs

BenJammin is out in front, with Dbawn not too far behind, at the start of the first-ever virtual running of the MDI Marathon. Not too late to register and join the nearly 100 racers in this and the virtual MDI Half Marathon, during the 10 days that the races are live, Oct. 7 – Oct. 16.

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On your marks! ‘Princesses,’ ‘witch’ join first MDI virtual runs

Racers with fun names like Incaprincess, SkiPrincess, TrailWitch and Sanity Clause – some hailing from as far away as Australia, Texas and New Mexico – are lining up at the start for the first-ever virtual runs of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half, to help raise funds for Acadia.

Acadia virtual runs

Incaprincess (Suzanne Wiegand) and husband Duane, pictured here on trails near their Cuyahoga Falls, OH, home, are running the virtual MDI Marathon together. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Wiegand)

The virtual gun goes off on Oct. 7, and racers have 10 days to complete the virtual runs, with the final day coinciding with the real-life MDI Marathon and Half on Oct. 16. There’s still time to join in on the fun, with registration open until the end of the day on Oct. 3. Special pricing for registrants and volunteers in the real-life races.

Racers get a special Acadia Centennial Medallion, a digital race bib and the chance to see their avatar move on a map of the virtual 26.2 or 13.1-mile route with each day’s mileage entry, whether they run, hike or walk the miles, wherever they are in the world. They may also see a Google Street View® of where they finished for the day.

Virtual runs are a growing fitness trend, with even Disney getting into the act. Acadia on My Mind is proud to be co-sponsor with Crow Athletics and the real-life MDI Marathon of this official Acadia Centennial event.

acadia national park hiking

You too can earn the right to this Acadia Centennial Medallion, and help raise funds for Acadia.

Participants get to cheer friends – real or virtual – or gently razz competitors via a message board on the race Web site, powered by Racery.com, or via a special Facebook events page we’ve set up. Some have never run a real-life marathon or half, and some have never been to Acadia, while others have done both.

Incaprincess (Suzanne Wiegand) and her husband Duane, of Cuyahoga Falls, OH, are running the virtual MDI Marathon together, and have been to Acadia many times.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be running the actual MDI Marathon this year, but definitely planning on it next year!” said Suzanne, who said in an e-mail that her nickname came from an anthropology class field trip. “The nickname kind of stuck around and it has now translated into my trail running nickname. But you can just call me Inca.”

acadia virtual runs

Registration for the first-ever virtual running of the MDI Marathon and Half ends on Oct. 3.

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Acadia fall foliage just one focus of rest of Centennial year

The days are shorter, the nights chillier, and Acadia fall foliage is getting ready to put on its spectacular color show. The season to visit Acadia National Park has been gradually getting longer, and this year, Centennial events promise to make the fall – and even winter – busier than ever.

With about 100 days left in the Centennial year, and Acadia fall foliage still to peak, among the major events and projects featuring the park still on the calendar:

treasured lands

QT Luong, whose large-format photographs of all of America’s national parks was featured in Ken Burns’s and Dayton Duncan’s PBS series, has a new book coming out on Oct. 1 in celebration of the National Park Service Centennial. The book includes a section on Acadia. Pre-orders placed by Oct. 1 eligible for special offers. (Image courtesy of QT Luong)

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Running in Acadia National Park a real and virtual delight

Scaling the Goat Trail and jumping off low rock ledges, Kristy Sharp discovered a new loop over the weekend for running in Acadia National Park, along Norumbega Mountain.

acadia centennial trek

Kristy Sharp flies off a low rock ledge on Norumbega Mountain, as she lives up to her virtual Acadia Centennial Trek trail name of @TrailWitch. (Photo courtesy of Kristy Sharp)

“Not one of my usual routes but it will likely go on my rotation. It was great!!” said Sharp, a certified personal trainer in Southwest Harbor, in an e-mail. She’s run the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon the last couple of years, and is participating in virtual runs, featuring portions of the MDI race routes, to celebrate Acadia’s Centennial this year.

Running in Acadia National Park attracts both area residents like Sharp, and visitors from around the world, with the dramatic scenery, the challenging trails and the miles of well-graded carriage roads. No wonder area races draw thousands of runners a year. This year’s MDI Marathon and Half Marathon is on Oct. 16, and the MDI YMCA Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Fall Half Marathon, on Sept. 17.

New this year: Virtual running in and around Acadia National Park, to bring the experience to anyone anywhere in the world, whether they’re logging miles on a treadmill or walking in their neighborhood, whether they are lifelong fans of Acadia or have never stepped foot in Maine. Virtual races are a growing fitness trend, with even Disney getting into the act, with some offering T-shirts, finisher’s medals or a chance to raise funds for charity.

acadia national park virtual runs

The first-ever virtual running of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon routes is an official Acadia Centennial event. At least 5% of gross proceeds from virtual runs’ registration fees go to help support the park. Registration ends Oct. 3.

We’re co-sponsoring the first-ever MDI Marathon and Half Marathon – Acadia100 Virtual Edition with Crow Athletics and MDI Marathon, powered by Racery.com, to help raise funds for the park, as an official Acadia Centennial event.

The virtual races, which go live from Oct. 7 through Oct. 16, allow participants to log their running or walking miles over those 10 days. They watch their progress on a virtual map of the real-life 26.2-mile and 13.1-mile race routes, and see Google Street Views® where available for the day’s ending mileage. Finishers get a special Acadia Centennial Medallion. Special pricing for registrants in the real-life races. Registration ends Oct. 3.

We’re also sponsoring a free year-long virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek, which certified personal trainer Sharp has completed not just once, but three times, under her Trek name of @TrailWitch.

“Running is good for my soul, so I try to make time to run every week,” said Sharp, who’s a personal trainer at the Harbor House Fitness Center in Southwest Harbor, and continues logging her miles on the Trek even though she is beyond the virtual finish line, three times over. While she won’t be running the real-life MDI Marathon or Half this year, she’ll be volunteering at the real-life finishing line for those races, which end right in front of the Harbor House.

Scenes from a year of virtual Acadia running, training and trekking

acadia national park runningburning manmount desert island marathon treemount desert island marathonsomesville bridgeperpendicular trailkurt diederich's climbsomesvillemount desert island marathon

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Ties that bind Acadia, new Maine Woods national monument

BAR HARBOR – Pulled up to town at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, because we just had to be in Acadia on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, to celebrate the park and the new Maine Woods national monument inspired by it.

maine woods national monument

You’re more likely to see moose in the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, than you are in Acadia. (Photo by Mark Picard all rights reserved)

As we hiked the trails of Acadia throughout the day, wishing strangers “Happy 100th” and joining up with friends, we not only commemorated the gift of Acadia, but also the latest addition to the National Park Service, the new Maine Woods national monument.

Since the spring, we’d suspected President Barack Obama might do what Woodrow Wilson did 100 years ago: Use the Antiquities Act to create a new Maine Woods national monument, just as Wilson had in creating the monument that became Acadia on July 8, 1916.

At an Acadia Centennial Trek meet-up we hosted in Bar Harbor in early June, a couple of well-connected locals told us that it was going to happen. One source even thought President Obama might come back to Acadia to make the announcement, since he and his family seemed to enjoy their vacation here in July 2010.

George B. Dorr is father of Acadia National Park

George B. Dorr, pictured along the shores of Jordan Pond in 1926, far right, fought to protect the lands that would become Acadia. A critical tool in that effort was the Theodore Roosevelt-signed Antiquities Act, saving it first as a national monument. (NPS photo)

Obama vacationed at national parks out west instead, but in a speech at Yosemite last month about his administration’s record of land protection, he said, “We are not done yet.”

In an article we wrote on his speech, we speculated that he might have been referring to the national monument in Maine.

Sure enough, on Aug. 24, the eve of the National Park Service’s Centennial, President Obama created the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. So far, the Obama administration has protected more than 265 million acres, more than any other president, from the North Woods of Maine to the San Gabriel Mountains in California, using the same 1906 Antiquities Act that Theodore Roosevelt wielded to protect Grand Canyon as a national monument first. Continue reading →

First-ever virtual runs of MDI Marathon to mark Acadia 100th

For the first time ever, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park, runners and walkers anywhere in the world can join virtual runs of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon, and earn a special Acadia Centennial Medallion.

acadia national park virtual runs

The first-ever virtual runs of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon is an official Acadia Centennial event. At least 5% of gross proceeds from virtual runs’ registration fees go to help support the park. Find more details and register here.

The MDI Marathon and Half Marathon – Acadia100 Virtual Edition is a special collaboration between three Acadia Centennial Partners, Acadia on My Mind, Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon and Crow Athletics, host of the real-live races. An official Acadia Centennial event, the virtual runs will help raise funds to support the park, with at least 5% of gross proceeds going to benefit Acadia.

“The MDI Marathon and Half couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Acadia on My Mind to offer this cutting-edge virtual edition of our event,” said Gary Allen, race founder and director. “Our partnership is an innovative way for our organizations to join forces to offer anyone, anywhere in the world, a chance to be part of the historic Centennial of Acadia National Park and participate in our award-winning event.”

The real-life MDI Marathon and Half Marathon are being held on Oct. 16, while the virtual runs give participants 10 days to log their miles, from Oct. 7 through end of day Oct. 16. Registration for the real-life MDI Marathon closes Sept. 1, while the real-life MDI Half Marathon is already full. Registration for the virtual MDI Marathon and Half Marathon is open now until the end of the day on Oct. 3.

Virtual runs are a growing fitness trend, offering runners and walkers the ability to be part of a real-life race anywhere in the world, and the chance to raise funds for charity and earn a finisher’s medal. We teamed up with racery.com to power the MDI Marathon and Half Marathon – Acadia100 Virtual Edition, after having worked with them on the year-long virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek, which also helps raise funds for Acadia.

virtual runs

The racery.com virtual map of the MDI Marathon route. You have 10 days to log your 26.2 miles, whether it’s half a mile here and another couple of miles there, or all 26.2 miles all in one go on the day of the actual MDI Marathon on Oct. 16. Each day’s mileage entry moves your race avatar along the map (Bubble Rock on the map represents @AOMM, or Acadia on My Mind, at the virtual starting line in Bar Harbor). You may see a Google Street View(C) photo of where you ended that day, if available. Registration for the virtual MDI Marathon and Half Marathon is open now, and closes at the end of the day on Oct. 3. Virtual runs go live on Oct. 7. (Image courtesy of racery.com)

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Trail of history, tales of adventures in Acadia run thru Orono

ORONO, Me. – Carrying a map of Maine’s Ice Age Trail that he helped create, Harold W. Borns, Jr., shared some incredible stories about Acadia National Park geology during a recent Centennial event at the Dirigo Pines Retirement Community.

adventures in acadia

Joan Netland and Harold W. Borns., Jr., shared stories of their adventures in Acadia during an Acadia Centennial event at Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono.

His friend Joan Netland brought some amazing memories from decades ago, of adventures in Acadia when she was a young woman.

She talked about a summer hike around Eagle Lake with a friend when they became desperate and dehydrated on the then-more-wild carriage roads and were forced to stop strangers for a drink of water or a ride on a bike. She also told a harrowing story about becoming disoriented and hiking down the wrong side of Beech Mountain after visiting the fire tower during the days it was staffed by lookouts.

During a presentation that was part of an official Acadia Centennial event, some of the about two dozen Dirigo Pines residents in the audience told stories about being among the first Friends of Acadia members, while others shared tales of knowing some of the early architects of the park.

adventures in acadia

Amanda Smith, life enrichment director at Dirigo Pines, helped coordinate the Acadia Centennial event, “Adventures in Acadia.”

We were there to share our adventures in Acadia, as co-authors of Falcon hiking guides to the national park and writers of this blog, during the free event at the retirement community. Amanda Smith, life enrichment director of Dirigo Pines, invited us to speak after reading our blog in the Bangor Daily News.

But little did we know that the audience would have even more interesting adventures in Acadia to share with us, than we with them. Continue reading →

Acadia campers fired up over Schoodic Woods Campground

At the new Schoodic Woods Campground in Acadia National Park, Bill Mulvey paused to admire his site as he and his son, Pat, set up their tent last week.

Bill Mulvey of Phoenixville, Pa. and his son, Pat Mulvey, pitch their tent at the Schoodic Woods Campground.

Bill Mulvey of Phoenixville, Pa., left, and his son, Pat Mulvey of Philadelphia, right, begin pitching their tent at the Schoodic Woods Campground at Acadia National Park after arriving on the day of the 100th anniversary of Acadia.

Mulvey, a retired assistant manager for a supermarket company, said he reserved the site about a month before arriving on a Friday for the weekend and it was the only spot available at the “very popular” campground. Mulvey, of Phoenixville, Pa., and his son, a middle school teacher in Philadelphia public schools, are among people camping at the Schoodic Woods Campground during its first full season of operation.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, pointing to the greenery that buffers sites. “Look at these trees. This is great.”

Located on the dramatic Schoodic Peninsula, the only part of Acadia on the mainland, the 94-site campground opened on Sept. 1 of 2015.

Schoodic Woods Campground

From left to right, Eleanor Goldberg and Malcolm Burson, both of Portland, Jon Luoma and Cathy Johnson, both of Alna, stand in their site at the Schoodic Woods Campground at Acadia National Park after a bike ride together on the 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park.

The campground was made possible by an anonymous donation of 1,400 acres south of Route 186 to the park in 2011, preventing it from being developed into a possible resort.  The anonymous donor also paid for planning and design, construction and furnishing of the beautiful Schoodic Woods Campground, 100-seat amphitheater, ranger station and visitor center, maintenance building,  multipurpose paths, new hiking trails, an underground utility line along the main road and a causeway bike lane and bridge.

During a visit on the actual 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park, July 8 in 2016, campers lauded the new campground which includes 4.7 miles of new hiking trails and 8.3 miles of new bike paths styled after the park’s carriage roads on Mount Desert Island.

“The bike paths are great,” said Eleanor Goldberg of Portland, who teaches English as a second language in adult education. “They are wide.”

Goldberg joined Malcolm Burson, public policy advisor for the Conservation Law Foundation, Cathy Johnson, a project director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Jon Luoma, a watercolor painter, for a planned two nights at the Schoodic Woods Campground. Continue reading →

Top 5 things to see and do for first-time visitors to Acadia

If you’re first-time visitors to Acadia National Park this year, you’ll soon see why generations of families, artists, millionaires and even presidents have been lured by the magnificent scenery.

Centennial logo for Acadia National Park

The official Acadia Centennial logo

The first national park east of the Mississippi, and still the Northeast’s only such park, Acadia boasts about 155 miles of hiking trails, from easy ocean walks to strenuous cliff climbs; 45 miles of carriage roads for biking, walking and riding in a horse-drawn carriage; scenic Park Loop Roads; a lighthouse; and the amazing contrast of deep blue sea and pink granite shores.

There’s plenty to see and do for first-time visitors to Acadia, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. But there will also be plenty of company too, with the park counting about 3.5 million visits a year.

Here are the top 5 things to see and do for first-time visitors to Acadia National Park, as well as some insider tips on avoiding the crowds during the busy summer and fall foliage seasons. And be sure to check out our 5 tips to beat the crowds while visiting Acadia National Park, and the park’s official Web site to help you plan your trip:

Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

1. Soak in the panoramic view on Cadillac Mountain

The highest peak in Acadia, and the first place to see the sun rise in the United States during certain times of the year, Cadillac is a must-see stop. From here, you can see all of Frenchman Bay, the distinctive Porcupine Islands and down to Bar Harbor. Continue reading →

For Acadia Centennial, here’s a picture a day for 100 days

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a picture of Acadia a day for 100 days is worth 100,000 words – or maybe 1 million, since we are talking about Acadia National Park.

Centennial logo for Acadia National Park

The official Acadia Centennial logo

Happy 100th Birthday Acadia! We celebrate all the hard work and dedication that led to its founding 100 years ago as Sieur de Monts National Monument on July 8. We appreciate all the efforts today and into the future of those who help to preserve this special place, especially during this Acadia Centennial year.

At the Friends of Acadia annual meeting today at the Bar Harbor Club, big news is expected to be announced to mark the Acadia Centennial. It’s part of the year-long celebration that has included more than 400 Acadia Centennial Partners coming together, including Acadia on My Mind, to plan hundreds of events and help raise funds for the park.

While we won’t be there for that official Centennial celebration, we’ll be commemorating the occasion in our own small way. We’ll hike a trail in Acadia, and get our Passport to the Parks(R) stamped with an Acadia Centennial stamp by our favorite Acadia ranger.

acadia centennial

We’ll be getting this stamp in our Passport(R) to Your National Parks from our favorite Acadia Ranger on the actual day of Acadia’s 100th. (Image courtesy Eastern National)

We’ll be  working on our Acadia Centennial Partnership projects, like the free year-long virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek, to celebrate the park and help raise funds for it with an optional finisher’s medal.

Years into the future, we will remember what we were doing on July 8, 2016, the day of the Acadia Centennial. If you don’t happen to be visiting Acadia today or at any other time this year, may this one-a-day-photo-of-Acadia project be our way of sharing this special place with you. We’re not professional photographers, but thankfully Acadia’s beauty makes the picture.

Once we’ve got at least 10 photos up, we’ll start putting them into a slideshow, to make it easier to see the complete album. Bookmark this post to check back on the Acadia Centennial photo album.

We’ll also be posting each new photo on our Facebook page. And feel free to share your own favorite photos of Acadia on our Facebook page as well. Many of these photos have been featured in our Hiking Acadia National Park guide published by Falcon.

Happy 100th Birthday, Acadia!

Acadia slideshow – 100 photos, 1 a day – click on last dot to see latest

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Grand Tour of Acadia Peaks: How many to hike in 1 day?

ask acadia on my mind

Ask Acadia on My Mind!

Another in a series of “Ask Acadia on My Mind!” Q&As

If you have a question about Acadia National Park on your mind, whether you’re a first-time visitor or long-time fan, leave a comment below, or contact us through the About us page. We may not be able to answer every question, or respond right away, but we’ll do our best. See our page linking in one place all the Q&As.

How many peaks is it possible to connect together in one day? We want to hike all of them when we arrive in September. Thank you. – Bonnie Jean

Dear Bonnie Jean,

That’s an ambitious goal to do what we like to call the Grand Tour of Acadia Peaks – hope you’re aiming for it as part of the free year-long 100-mile virtual Acadia Centennial Trek that we’re sponsoring, because you deserve an Acadia Centennial Trek Medal for it!

If you’re in good physical shape, get an early start each day, and have the right equipment, that Acadia National Park hiking goal should be achievable, especially if you make use of the Island Explorer bus that runs through Columbus Day.

Some park visitors and area residents have been fanatic enough to try to hike all Acadia peaks in a 24-hour period. But hopefully you have more than just 1 day to attempt the feat. It’s more fun to hike at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights and sounds along the way, rather than rushing to the top to bag another summit by a certain time.

acadia centennial

If you hike all 24 Acadia peaks with trails on them, that’s an accomplishment worth marking with an Acadia Centennial Trek Medal, even if you haven’t finished all 100 miles of the virtual Acadia Centennial Trek yet.

There are 26 peaks of Acadia on Mount Desert Island, according to a National Park Service list that used to be prominently featured on the park Web site. Two of them don’t have maintained trails to the top of them.

Assuming you don’t want to bushwhack and risk getting lost up McFarland and Youngs Mountains, and assuming you don’t plan on heading over to Schoodic or Isle au Haut for the Acadia peaks there, here are some suggested ways to connect Mount Desert Island peaks, estimated mileage, and Island Explorer routes to get you back to the start, or on to the next destination. Continue reading →

Acadia National Park hiking books eye history, aid park

Like a tour guide through time, generations of Acadia National Park hiking books shed light on historic trails, from volumes dating back to the late 1800s, all the way through the Centennial edition of our “Hiking Acadia National Park.”

Hiking Acadia National Park

The 3rd edition of “Hiking Acadia National Park” is being donated to Acadia-area libraries, historical societies and village improvement associations. Autographed copies available for purchase directly from the authors help raise funds for Acadia.

To celebrate that past, we as Acadia Centennial Partners are donating copies of our 3 editions of Acadia National Park hiking guides to more than a dozen Acadia-area libraries, historical societies and village improvement associations. The letters announcing the donation went out last week, and the books can be made available for lending or added to a research collection.

And to help fund the future, we are donating at least 5% of gross proceeds from sales of the latest edition of our books via our online shop to benefit the park, as another aspect of our Centennial partnership. The official Acadia Centennial product pages for “Hiking Acadia National Park” and “Best Easy Day HIkes, Acadia National Park” went live last week as well.

Maybe it’s a bit early to call the 1st edition of “Hiking Acadia National Park” historic, since it came out in 2001.

But when we found a family referring to that edition just a few weeks ago in the Beech Cliff parking lot, we jokingly described it to them as just that.

acadia centennial

Acadia on My Mind also sponsors the free year-long virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek, with this optional finisher’s medal to help raise funds for the park.

We hope that one day, perhaps the 3rd edition of the book may be viewed that way.

Published by FalconGuides in April, it was included in the reading list of the special Acadia collector’s edition of DownEast Magazine, with this recommendation: “An encyclopedic take on Acadia’s trail system, from quiet nature walks to heart-pounding cliff climbs.”

And it would be our choice for the Acadia Bicentennial Time Capsule, if we do indeed have a chance to contribute, as Acadia Centennial Task Force co-chair Jack Russell has suggested. On Dec. 10, the capsule is being sealed at a celebratory event at the Criterion Theatre, to be opened in 2116. Continue reading →

President Obama “not done yet” with land conservation

In a speech at Yosemite National Park, President Barack Obama may have given some new hope to supporters of a new national monument in Northern Maine, saying he is “not done yet” in protecting public lands.

president obama

President Obama and family visit Yosemite on Father’s Day. (White House photo)

President Obama did not specifically mention the proposed 87,500-acre monument in Northern Maine in his remarks on Saturday, but he emphasized his record of creating monuments and taking other conservation actions, and suggested there’s more to come. He mentioned President Abraham Lincoln’s creation of Yosemite park and President Theodore Roosevelt’s famed visit to Yosemite with John Muir.

“Since I took office, I have been proud to build on the work of all those giants who came before me to support our national resources and to help all Americans get out in the great outdoors. We protected more than 265 million acres of public lands and waters – that is more than any administration in history.

“We have designed new monuments and historic sites that better reflect the story of all our people. Along with those famous sites like Gettysburg we can also see monuments to Cesar Chavez or Pullman porters in Chicago.”

“We have more work to do to to preserve our lands and our culture and our history. We are not done yet.”

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