Park Loop Road

If you never leave your car, you can still get a pretty good sense of Acadia's rugged natural beauty by driving the 21-mile Park Loop Road and its 6-mile spur to the top of Cadillac Mountain. If you plan to explore further, the road also provides easy access to most of Acadia's major sights. Park Loop Road begins at the Hulls Cove Visitor's Center. Along the way, there are various spots where you can pull off and enjoy spectacular vistas of mountains, lakes, forests, and stretches of rocky coastline. Driving the full loop will take you 3 to 4 hours, which includes some brief stops, longer if you linger to explore at length. The road is one-way except for the section between the turnoffs for the Park's Stanley Brook Entrance to the south and the Hulls Cove Visitors Center to the north. Bikes are also welcome on Park Loop Road, but be aware that the road has no shoulder. Weather permitting, Park Loop Road is open April 15 to Nov. 30, but the most scenic two-mile stretch -- along the coast south of Bar Harbor and including the popular Thunder Hole stop -- remains open year-round.