Places

Because people have interacted with this place since time immemorial, history is infused in every rock and road. They lived with the land and sea, leaving behind a window into the living heritage of this landscape. With the creation of Acadia National Park, engineers, planners, designers and skilled workers added places and spaces with visitors in mind. Explore these places that make up Acadia National Park.

 

Carriage Roads & Gatehouses - 1913-1940

Learn the history behind the design, planning, and construction of the famous carriage road system.

Historic Trails - 1800s - 1930s

Mount Desert Island’s present-day trail system evolved over centuries of human use and settlement of the land.

Motor Roads - 1922-1958

Acadia’s motor road system involved engineers, landscape architects, conservationists, local skilled laborers, the federal agencies.

Lighthouses

Lighthouses play an important role in understanding the nautical history of Mount Desert Island and along Maine's coastline.

Historic Structures & Bridges

Learn about the buildings, bridges, and other historic structures of Acadia and the people who built them.

Memorials & Monuments

The park today contains a wealth of memorials that give us information into its history, establishment, and management.

Fire Towers

Two lookouts were located on Beech Mountain and Sargent Mountain, and used for short periods of the park's history.