Category Archives: Features

Features about Acadia National Park.

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.”

Continue reading →

Camping in Acadia National Park? Ask Acadia on My Mind!

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.

1) Appreciate your time to help us out. We will be first timers to Acadia. We’re going the end of July for 4 days and have made tent reservations at Blackwoods Campground. It will be just my wife and I. We’ve bought our 2 man tent ahead of time. We are 50 and in pretty good health for hiking/biking. We usually camp in a pop up but are tenting to save on travel and cost and for the convenience of not trailering. A few questions:
– Does it get cold for tent camping in July?
– We like to bike – is biking a good option to get around and see the sites?
– Is swimming an option nearby to Blackwoods?
– Can you recommend a good place to have lobster?
– Given we’re only there 4 nights, what would be the top 3 destinations we should hike or ride to?
Thanks so much for your help. – Steve and Janet

2) Hi, we were just wondering if it is possible to stay on a non-electric RV site in a tent only? Thanks! – Anna

3) We (family of 5) are thinking about visiting Acadia next week before the Island Explorer shuttle is running, but we are traveling in an RV. How difficult is it to maneuver through the park in an RV, or is there a place to park it and ride bikes in order to see the park? Can you bike to Bar Harbor easily? – Jaymi

Dear Steve and Janet, Anna, and Jaymi,

Of your 3 camping in Acadia National Park questions, we have to say Anna’s is the most unusual. Why would you want to tent out on a non-electric RV site? The only reason we could think of: Is it because all the tent-only sites for the dates you’re looking for are booked?

camping in acadia national park

Blackwoods features 214 tent sites and 61 RV sites. (NPS photo)

In any event, Anna, we called Blackwoods Campground, where there are 61 non-electric RV sites, to ask that very question. As long as you set up the tent on the RV pad, you can, indeed, stay on a non-electric RV site, according to the park ranger. Policies may vary by campground, so you might want to check the campground you’re planning on staying at.

The Blackwoods direct line is (207) 288-3274; Seawall, (207) 244-3600; and Schoodic Woods, (207) 288-1300, according to the official campground reservation Web site, www.recreation,gov.

But as you may know, you cannot make tenting or RV reservations by calling the park campgrounds directly. For that, you must go to www.recreation.gov, or call the National Recreation Reservation Service at (877) 444-6777. You can also find out more details about camping in Acadia National Park through the park’s Web site. Continue reading →

Meaning of the Trek, in the year of the Acadia Centennial

Roger and Julie Grindle of Hancock joined a virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek at the perfect time, with Roger having just retired, and the both of them wanting to walk more to stay fit. They just completed their 100th mile on Ocean Path last week and have the finisher’s medal to prove it.

acadia centennial

Julie and Roger Grindle of Hancock at the finish line of their 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek. (Photo courtesy of Julie Grindle)

Bob and Helena Herrmann of Bowie, Md., are into their 2nd and 3rd rounds of the Acadia Centennial Trek, logging their miles in their home state. When they see their map icon move along the virtual route, from the top of Cadillac and along the hiking trails and roads of Acadia, it makes them long for the next trip to their favorite park.

Cookie Horner, co-chair of the Acadia Centennial Task Force, and her husband, William, plan a personal real-life Acadia trek of 100 miles, up and over the 26 peaks of Mount Desert Island, and along the park’s carriage roads, to deepen their appreciation of the park even more, although they may not necessarily plot their mileage on the virtual map as the Grindles and Herrmanns have.

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Some of the attendees at the first-ever Acadia Centennial Trek meet-up at Side Street Cafe in Bar Harbor.

These and other stories, shared on the occasion of the first-ever Acadia Centennial Trek meet-up last week at Side Street Café in Bar Harbor, show the many meanings of the Trek, no matter who’s doing it, where they’re doing it, and how they’re doing it.

The free year-long Trek, sponsored by this blog as an official Acadia Centennial event, and hosted by Racery.com, offers an optional Acadia Centennial finisher’s medal for purchase. Made by Ashworth Awards, the same company that has made the finisher’s medal for the Boston Marathon and the MDI Marathon, the medal helps raise funds for the park.

Nearly 250 people have signed up for the virtual Trek so far, from marathoners in Scotland to runners in last weekend’s Acadia Half Marathon and this weekend’s Ellsworth Public Library’s My Way 5k, from walkers in Maine and Maryland to park rangers and Friends of Acadia volunteers. Even Racery.com CEO Henry Copeland (Trek name @hc) and Bar Harbor naturalist Rich MacDonald (Trek name @MDIbirdnerd) have joined in on the fun. Continue reading →

Endangered falcons take the stage at Acadia National Park

Endangered falcons gave birth to 11 chicks this year at Acadia National Park and now are putting on a show for hundreds of visitors to the park.

endangered falcons

Park Ranger Andrew Wolfgang shows visitors the location of the endangered falcons and their nest during peregrine watch in Acadia National Park.

On Saturday alone, about 160 people stopped to catch the action of the state-listed endangered falcons at a “peregrine watch” site in the Precipice Trail parking area below a nest high on the east face of Champlain Mountain.

“We got a bird up,” said Park Ranger Andrew Wolfgang, pointing to the cliffs when one of the endangered falcons flew back to the nest after a brief absence. “It’s a really nice look at an adult in this scope right now.”

Wolfgang and Samuel Ruano, a peregrine falcon interpretive guide and raptor intern, supervised the use of two spotting scopes that allow visitors some excellent views of the peregrine falcons. Wolfgang and Ruano also spoke frequently to visitors about the history of the peregrines in the park and the need to temporarily close popular hiking trails to give the nestlings time to mature.

With the scopes, visitors could clearly see a peregrine falcon perched upright on the cliff face outside the nest or even the nestlings themselves.

“Amazing,” said Keith Spencer, a grade 7 English teacher in the public schools of Everett, MA, after he looked through the scope and saw a falcon. Continue reading →

Q&A with Lucas St. Clair on Maine Woods monument

Lucas St. Clair is the president of Elliotsville Plantation, a private nonprofit organization that owns 87,500 acres in Northern Maine just east of Baxter State Park. Elliotsville is seeking to donate the land to the federal government for creation of a Maine Woods National Monument. St. Clair is the son of Roxanne Quimby, the wealthy philanthropist who purchased the land and created Elliotsville Plantation. St. Clair discussed with Acadia on My Mind the bid for a national monument, how Acadia National Park inspired the proposal, as well as the foundation’s plans to donate more than 60 acres on Mount Desert Island to Acadia this year. St. Clair is among those invited to speak during  a U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources hearing at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1, at the East Millinocket Town Office, according to a memo by the committee. The committee is chaired by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican. [Livestream hearing]

What makes the land special that it qualifies for national monument status?

maine woods

Lucas St. Clair, president of Elliotsville Plantation, was born in Dover-Foxcroft and grew up in a hand-built log cabin. (Photo courtesy of Lucas St. Clair)

Lucas St. Clair: There’s many, many things. The ecosystem has lots of flora and fauna that only live in this part of Maine. It is a unique part of the national landscape. It is a Northern Hardwood Forest and is not well represented in the National Park System. This landscape influenced the birth of America’s conservation movement through Henry David Thoreau and Theodore Roosevelt. The understanding of plate tectonics from a geologic standpoint was proven on this landscape by a USGS geologist in the 1950s. It has three incredible watersheds – the east branch of the Penobscot River, Seboeis Stream and the Wassataquoik Stream. And incredible views of Mount Katahdin. It acts as a climate refuge and it is also a very important piece of landscape for the Wabanaki people.

What are the main reasons you want to create a national monument?

St. Clair: To protect a resource that offers all of the things I just described and beyond that, to bring economic benefits to the Katahdin region, a region that needs economic revitalization and a diversified economy. National parks have been proven to do that all across the country.

Are we at a crucial time in the process with President Obama leaving office at the end of the year?

St. Clair: It’s the centennial of the National Park Service and these communities are not getting any better. From an economic standpoint, we are at a very crucial time. We are at a crucial time to revitalize the economy of the Katahdin region. Continue reading →

Following in the footsteps of George Dorr, “father of Acadia”

From the top of Cadillac to the garden-like paths around Sieur de Monts, from the stacks at Jesup Memorial Library to the labs of 2 major research institutions on Mount Desert Island, the presence of George Dorr can be felt.

george dorr

Ronald H. Epp’s biography of George Dorr is published by the Friends of Acadia.

Not only was Dorr the “father of Acadia,” he had a hand in creating Bar Harbor’s public library, the Wild Gardens of Acadia and surrounding paths, MDI Biological and Jackson laboratories, and Abbe Museum. George Dorr even played a role in renaming some of the 26 peaks of Acadia, among them Green and Robinson to the now-iconic Cadillac and Acadia mountains.

These, and other fascinating aspects of the life and impact of Dorr, can be found in historian Ronald H. Epp’s new Dorr biography, “Creating Acadia National Park,” published by the Friends of Acadia on the occasion of the park’s Centennial.

The more than 2 million visitors a year who come from across the country and around the world to admire the beauty of Acadia National Park have George Dorr, in large part, to thank. Yet Dorr’s story and the role he played in shaping Acadia, conservation, Mount Desert Island and beyond, have been largely untold – until now.

“Dorr was not a major historical figure,” writes Epp in his introduction to the first-ever biography of Dorr. “Nor was he recognized as an administrator jockeying for ever-more important positions of responsibility. Unlike John Muir, his published writings did not transform national policy.”

George B. Dorr is father of Acadia National Park

George Dorr’s spirit lives on in this historic photo, which was once on display at the Sieur de Monts area of  Acadia National Park.

Yet, Epp writes, “this grand old man of the National Park Service on Mount Desert Island brought about a federal investment in the conservation of nearly half the landmass of the island. The resultant loss of property tax revenue was offset by the ever-growing number of visitors that clearly contributed to village prosperity. At the county level, Dorr extended the scope of Acadia National Park beyond Mount Desert Island, to other shorelines and islands within Hancock County.”

The legacy of the Boston Brahmin and lifelong bachelor, who used his energy, connections and family wealth to create Acadia, lives on not only along the trails he helped build, from Beachcroft Path to Kurt Diederich’s Climb, or atop the coastal peaks and ridgelines he helped preserve.

Dorr’s gift to the generations can also be felt in the region’s cultural and scientific institutions, and even offers a perspective on the current debate over the attempt by Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby and family, to donate private land for a national monument or park in Maine’s North Woods. Continue reading →

5 lessons from Acadia for Katahdin-area monument

When National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis came to Maine this month to gauge local opposition and support for a proposed Katahdin-area national monument, he got an earful.

Millinocket Marathon & Half

Gary Allen, founder of Mount Desert Island Marathon, used this photo of Katahdin, as seen from Millinocket, on Facebook, to try to help the local economy with a Millinocket Marathon & Half in December. Outdoor recreation can bring much needed jobs and dollars. (Image courtesy of Gary Allen)

He has only to look to Acadia National Park for these 5 lessons for a Maine Woods national monument, proposed by Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby and family. They want to donate nearly 88,000 acres east of Baxter State Park, and contribute and raise a $40 million endowment.

Over the years, we’ve hiked and backpacked all through Maine, along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in the state, and in Baxter State Park. We’ve climbed all the mountains that are 4000 feet and higher in the state, as well as the 26 coastal peaks of Acadia on Mount Desert Island. In our travels, we’ve seen how Millinocket and other paper mill towns have struggled economically. And we’ve seen the hustle and bustle of Bar Harbor and other towns that have diversified their economy to include tourism and outdoor recreation.

While the Katahdin and Acadia areas seem worlds apart, these 5 lessons apply to both. Continue reading →

acadia national park hiking

Acadia Triple Crown: Run, walk for park, a cause – and bling!

Call it the Acadia Triple Crown: Join the free year-long virtual Acadia Centennial Trek to celebrate the park, do a real-life race to raise funds or give back to community in other ways, and reward yourself with a special medal.

Acadia Centennial Trek medal

Show your support of Acadia with this officially licensed Acadia Centennial Trek Medal, available exclusively on Acadia on My Mind Shop.

Or maybe create your own family or friends Summer Olympics with an event or activity that everyone, from toddler to grandparent, can participate in, give to a cause, and make everyone a winner with an Acadia Centennial medal of their own.

The officially licensed medal, featuring the Acadia Centennial logo set in a bright silver wreath, is assembled and mostly made in the USA by Ashworth Awards, the same company that has made the medals for the Boston Marathon and the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Half Marathon. (The ribbon comes from overseas.)

We designed the medal as part of our sponsorship of the virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek, hosted on Racery.com, to celebrate the trails of Acadia, and help raise funds for the park. At least 5% of gross proceeds from the sale of the medal go to support the park. The medal just became available on the Acadia on My Mind Shop, and has been submitted to the official Acadia Centennial Web site’s merchandise section.

acadia virtual race

Hailing from all over the world, Acadia Centennial Trekkers are all over the 100-mile virtual map, starting at Cadillac and ending in Southwest Harbor at the finish line of the real-life Mount Desert Island Marathon. You have until Dec. 31 to join and finish the free race.

As an Acadia Centennial Partner, we wanted to broaden the meaning of community and deepen the appreciation of Acadia throughout the year. So instead of limiting the Acadia Centennial Trek Medal only to participants in the Trek, we came up with the idea of the Acadia Triple Crown and teaming up with other Centennial Partners and local groups. (In reality, you can purchase the medal simply to express your appreciation and support of the park without doing anything else – but it’s more fun to earn the medal as part of a real-life fitness challenge or community effort!)

Among the Acadia Centennial Partners and local groups we’re formally or informally teaming up with, and the possible ways you can earn an Acadia Triple Crown: Continue reading →

Visiting Acadia during Centennial? Ask Acadia on My Mind!

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.

We are starting to plan our first trip to Acadia National Park. We are looking into a trip in August but now I see it’s the very busiest month and I’m concerned it will be too crowded. I don’t like traffic and feeling like an ant on trails when hiking.

We hope to stay in a rental home for a week. Which locations would you suggest? How hard is driving around the area in August? We like to bike. Are there bike rental companies? Are dogs allowed on the hiking trails in the park? About how long does it take to get from say, Bar Harbor, to the Schoodic part of the park? Thank you! – Peter from Eugene, OR

Dear Peter,

We’re with you – we don’t like feeling like an ant on trails when hiking either! Good idea to start planning your trip so early, with bigger crowds than usual expected to be visiting Acadia National Park during this Centennial year. But even though August is the busiest month, it’s still possible to find relative solitude, as we have that time of year.

See our recent blog post “5 tips to beat the crowds while visiting Acadia National Park,” with such ideas as buying your park pass online and hiking popular trails early or late. For example, if you climb the popular Beehive Trail early (before 11 a.m. but the earlier the better) or late (4 p.m. or later), you won’t feel like you’re part of the swarm, or like an ant on a trail.

Island Explorer bus in Acadia National Park

Take the Island Explorer to minimize Acadia traffic jams. While the bus is fare-free, be sure to buy a park pass to help support this and other park services. (NPS photo)

Since this is your first trip to Acadia and it sounds like you want to minimize driving in traffic while maximizing access to bike rentals, dog-friendly hikes and the Schoodic section of the park, you might want to find a place to stay in or near Bar Harbor, preferably on the fare-free Island Explorer bus route.

We have a page of year-round Bar Harbor lodging, restaurants and other businesses that you may find helpful, although we don’t have specific links to rental home listings. We’ll soon be adding businesses that are open only seasonally to that page, so check back for updates. Continue reading →

5 tips to beat the crowds while visiting Acadia National Park

UPDATE 5/20/2017: See updated “7 ways for a stress-free visit to Acadia National Park”

With Memorial Day weekend around the corner and this being the park’s Centennial year, more crowds than usual are expected to be visiting Acadia National Park in 2016 – possibly even more than last year’s 2.8 million visitors.

crowds in acadia

Crowds in Acadia can make for an unpleasant experience as seen here on the Park Loop Road and Ocean Path. (NPS photo)

Here are 5 tips to avoid long lines, frustration of finding parking, and other aspects of what can be a maddening crowd. Yes, visiting Acadia National Park during peak times can be stress-free. Why line up behind dozens of other people to pay for a pass, or ask a ranger “Where’s a good place to hike?”

1) Buy your Acadia National Park pass online, go early or late to the main Hulls Cove Visitor Center, or get the pass at one of the other local sites. This is the first year that visitors can buy the usual 7-day pass – and even the annual pass – online. If you’re age 62 or older, you can buy the lifetime Senior Pass for $10 in advance at a participating federal recreation site near home, or via mail. Hulls Cove is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in May, June, September and October, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. July and August. And there are plenty of other local sites you can buy a pass at, as listed on the park’s Web site:

acadia national park pass

For the first time this year you can buy Acadia National Park passes online, whether the  annual pass for $50, or the 7-day passenger vehicle pass for $25. If you buy online, the pass is e-mailed to you for printout. (NPS image)

  • Park headquarters – ME 233 (Eagle Lake Road) – passes sold 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Bar Harbor Village Green Information Center – late May to Columbus Day, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Thompson Island Information Center – early May to mid-October, hours vary
  • Sand Beach Entrance Station
  • Blackwoods Campground
  • Schoodic Woods Campground
  • Seawall Campground
  • Cadillac Mountain Gift Shop
  • Jordan Pond Gift Shop
  • Mount Desert Town Office
  • Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce
  • Southwest Harbor / Tremont Chamber of Commerce
  • L. L. Bean in Freeport, ME

Continue reading →

Springtime blossoms with things to see and do in Acadia

The peregrine falcons have returned to nest, the rhodora and lady’s slippers are within weeks of blooming, and Acadia National Park is getting ready to open the Park Loop Road for visitors.

acadia centennial

A book launch party on April 7 celebrates the first-ever biography of George B. Dorr, the “Father of Acadia.” Author Ronald H. Epp and publisher Friends of Acadia will be on hand at the event at the Jesup Memorial Library. (Image courtesy of Friends of Acadia)

It’s springtime in Acadia, a season of rebirth and renewal. And making this spring even more worth looking forward to: The Acadia Centennial, and special things to see and do in Acadia National Park.

For instance, this Thursday, April 7, there’s a party to celebrate the publication of the first-ever biography of George B. Dorr, the “Father of Acadia,” without whom there may never have been a national park in Maine. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, with author Ronald H. Epp on hand, along with publisher Friends of Acadia.

On Saturday, April 16, a day after Acadia opens the Park Loop Road and Hulls Cove Visitor Center, the “Centennial Edition” of Acadia Quest launches, letting kids, teens and their grown-ups experience and learn about the park and its history in a fun, interactive way. It’s an earlier than usual start for the annual scavenger hunt, which runs until November.

Throughout the spring, events like Lego Day at the Seal Cove Auto Museum (April 9), National Junior Ranger Day (April 30 and May 14), free admission for the opening of a new exhibit at the Abbe Museum (May 1), art shows and musical celebrations, birding in the park and the gardens of MDI on International Migratory Bird Day (May 14), Acadia Birding Festival (June 2 – 5), National Trails Day and Acadia poet laureate reading (June 4), and many others fill the calendar.

rhodora

Pink rhodora goes well with the pink granite of Cadillac Mountain, and usually blooms in May.

“Spring opens our land and waters and brings adventure – this year with a special centennial spirit,” said Acadia Centennial Task Force Co-Chair Cookie Horner, in announcing the springtime events on the official Centennial calendar, in a Friends of Acadia news release.

Who says there are few things to see and do in Acadia National Park in springtime? Continue reading →

Trail magic casts spell on Acadia National Park hiking trails

There’s trail magic in Acadia National Park, and it shows up in the most wonderful ways.

acadia virtual race

Maureen Fournier, left, celebrates reaching the 100th mile of the virtual Acadia Centennial Trek, by hiking for the first time with Kristy Sharp. They virtually met while logging their miles for the race, and might have never met in real life if not for the Trek to celebrate the park’s 100th anniversary. (Photo courtesy Maureen Fournier)

Just last week, 2 hikers who might never have crossed paths except for the virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek – an official event to mark the park’s 100th anniversary – climbed together for the first time on the Acadia National Park hiking trails.

“We’ve never met before,” said Maureen Fournier, seasonal park ranger, of Kristy Sharp. “But now we’ve become hiking buddies,” e-mailed Fournier. “We have a lot in common too, besides hiking…and share our love for Acadia.”

Fournier, who goes by the Trek name @MG, and Sharp, who goes by the Trek name @TrailWitch, had a couple of close encounters while hiking Gorham Mountain separately as part of the virtual race, but only discovered they’d missed each other at the end of the day, while logging their miles for the Trek. On Wednesday, they met and scaled Acadia Mountain together, celebrating Fournier’s completion of the 100-mile route in 24 days.

“Maureen has a great knowledge of the park, a true passion for being outdoors and was great fun to hike with!” said Sharp, who retired to Mount Desert Island with her husband in 2011, after a career in criminal justice in Ohio. “I am truly thankful for meeting her through the Centennial Trek,” e-mailed Sharp, who is now a certified personal trainer and teaches fitness classes at the Harbor House Fitness Center in Southwest Harbor.

acadia centennial

Be part of history by joining the first-ever 100-mile virtual Acadia Centennial Trek, sponsored by Acadia on My Mind and hosted by Racery.com. You will have the option of buying a finisher’s medal to help raise funds for the park. You have until Dec. 31 to complete the free virtual race.

You won’t find a definition of trail magic in the dictionary. But for those who’ve done Acadia hiking trails, the Appalachian Trail or any other walking path, you know trail magic when you experience it.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy calls trail magic “an unexpected act of kindness” that’s part of the AT experience for long-distance hikers. But the term has been used by many to refer to any unexpectedly wonderful thing happening on the trails, for day hikers or thru-hikers.

What trail magic have you experienced on Acadia hiking trails, or during the virtual Acadia Centennial Trek? Let us know in a comment below, or on the About us page.

Continue reading →

Acadia virtual race draws global field of runners, hikers

Sidelined by pneumonia for a few weeks, Jennifer VanDongen of Bar Harbor was behind in training for her 4th Boston Marathon. Then came the first-ever 100-mile virtual Acadia Centennial Trek, launched last month to celebrate the park’s 100th anniversary.

acadia virtual race

Jennifer VanDongen of Bar Harbor set a course record in finishing the virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek in 8 days. She ran or hiked most of the miles in Acadia, some of them with her daughters, but here she’s seen completing 13.1 of the miles at the Lamoine Half Marathon on March 5. (Photo by Bob Carroll, courtesy of Jennifer VanDongen)

“This Trek was a great motivator!” said VanDongen, outdoor track coach for Mount Desert Island High School. “I completed my daily run, then would go back out and log some miles hiking, sometimes with my daughters.” VanDongen, whose Trek name is @jennvan, crossed the Acadia virtual race finish line first, in just 8 days, logging most of her 100 miles running and hiking in Acadia, and watching her position on an online map of the Trek get updated instantly with each day’s entries.

Across the country, on the other side of the Atlantic, and from one end of Maine to the other, 153 participants have signed up so far for the free year-long Acadia virtual race. They’re logging miles by hiking, step-counting, running, biking, cross-country skiing, walking their dog, doing yoga or other workouts, whether they’re on Mount Desert Island, in Fairfield or Mars Hill, Maine, or in far-flung locations in California, Oregon, Hawaii, the United Kingdom or Denmark.

Sponsored by Acadia on My Mind as part of its Acadia Centennial Partner commitment, and hosted on Racery.com, the race helps celebrate the park’s 100th throughout the year. The virtual 100-mile route begins on Cadillac, goes over the park’s 26 peaks on MDI and along sections of the Park Loop Road, carriage roads, MDI YMCA’s Acadia and Fall Half Marathons, and ends at the real-life finish line of the MDI Marathon and Half Marathon.

There’s an optional finisher’s medal featuring the Acadia Centennial logo that will be available for purchase, to help raise funds for the park. And there’s an online guide to the virtual miles, with links to Google Maps photos and other resources that can let participants visualize where they are in the park as they pass each milestone in the Acadia virtual race.

acadia virtual race

A teacher at Lawrence Junior High in Fairfield, Maine, Marc Maheu can’t wait to hike the trails of Acadia this summer, so he signed up for the Acadia Centennial Trek to keep the park on his mind while he step-counted, rode an exercise bike and did other workouts during the off-season. He’s seen hiking the Jordan Cliffs Trail here last year. (Photo courtesy of Marc Maheu)

Some Trek participants have joined as a way to achieve their fitness goals, whether it’s training for marathons or starting a walking program. Others are inviting family, friends and co-workers as a new way to interact. Yet others are doing it to keep Acadia on their mind, wherever they may be, and whether they’ve ever set foot in the park or not.

“I make several trips to Acadia every summer to hike and bike some of the best trails I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy,” said Marc Maheu, a teacher at Lawrence Junior High in Fairfield, Maine, who finished the virtual 100-mile Acadia route in 2nd place, just 1 day behind @jennvan. “Since I’m almost 2 hours away, and school is still in session, I did all my miles virtually,” said Maheu, who logged his miles step-counting, biking and doing other workouts. Maheu, whose Trek name is @MNM, even invited a co-worker to join the Trek with him, and has continued to log his miles virtually on a personal “My Trek” on Racery.com, and is already up to 191 miles. Continue reading →

Off to the races! Strong start to 100-mile Acadia virtual race

virtual races

First day of the inaugural 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek is in the record books. Join in any time; you have until the end of the year to finish the virtual race.

The first-ever Acadia Centennial Trek, a free virtual 100-mile race to help celebrate Acadia’s 100th anniversary, jumped into action on the Leap Day of Feb. 29, with dozens of participants strong out of the gate.

Beginning at sunrise, at the virtual top of Cadillac, @Mac (as represented by HM on the map) did an 11.4 mile run, ending just shy of Gorham Mountain. Never participated in a virtual race?

acadia centennial

Be part of history by joining the first-ever 100-mile virtual Acadia Centennial Trek, and have the option of buying a finisher’s medal to help raise funds for the park.

Not to be outdone, more than 30 other of the approximately 80 participants logged their miles, stretching out the icons down Cadillac Mountain Road, along the 1-way Park Loop Road, past Sand Beach and Precipice, all over the virtual map.

Participants all over the world have all year to join the race, log their 100 virtual miles in Acadia National Park, covering all 26 peaks of Acadia on Mount Desert Island, sections of the real routes of the MDI YMCA’s Acadia and Fall Half Marathons, and ending at the finishing line for the real MDI Marathon.

There’s the option to purchase a finisher’s medal, featuring the Acadia Centennial logo (details to come), to help raise funds for the park, part of our Acadia Centennial Partner commitment. Continue reading →

Ready, set, go! First ever of Acadia virtual races about to start

UPDATE 5/20/2016: Optional finisher’s medal to help raise funds for Acadia now available for purchase.

UPDATE 2/29/2016: New Acadia Centennial Trek page to serve as online guide to virtual 100-mile route, including mileage marker links to Google Maps views, other resources

On your marks! The starting pistol is about to go off for the first-ever Acadia Centennial Trek, a free virtual race that begins at the top of Cadillac and takes you 100 miles over mountains, on carriage roads, and along parts of the Mount Desert Island Marathon and Acadia Half Marathon.

acadia centennial trek

The virtual 100-mile Acadia Centennial Trek begins at the top of Cadillac; goes over sections of the Park Loop Road, carriage roads, and MDI YMCA’s Acadia and Fall Half Marathons; and ends at the finish line for the MDI Marathon. Each racer’s icon moves along the map with miles logged.

Whether you run, hike, walk or step-count your miles, and no matter where in the world you are, your position on the map of Acadia and MDI will move along as you log your distance. Only about a dozen more participants need to register for what might just be the first of many Acadia virtual races, before this year-long event goes live.

The Acadia Centennial Trek, part of our Acadia Centennial Partner commitment, is a special way to celebrate Acadia’s 100th anniversary, share about the park and local races and places, get more fit and encourage others. And it’s a way to keep Acadia on your mind, whether you live nearby or halfway across the world, whether you’re a perennial visitor or have yet to set foot in the park. There will also be the chance to purchase a finisher’s medal to help support the park.

ultramarathon

Christa Brey, the first to sign up for the Acadia Centennial Trek, is all smiles while running the 24-hour Croatan Ultramarathon in North Carolina in November 2015. (Photo courtesy Christa Brey)

The first person to sign up is Christa Brey of Lamoine, who works in the marketing department of Jackson Laboratory. She’s already invited a couple of friends to join her in the virtual race. Her map icon will be “CB,” and her runner’s handle, @Christa.

“I will be running and hiking. I run (a lot) in Acadia,” Brey says in an e-mail of how she’ll log her miles. A member of Crow Athletics, which sponsors the MDI Marathon, and a veteran of races real and virtual, Brey says virtual races are a “fun way to be involved from afar.”

It’s already starting to feel like a virtual Acadia running and hiking community. Thanks for being the first to join, @Christa! Continue reading →