Acadia National Park: A Hub-Cation

Acadia National Park, located in Maine, consists of most of Mount Desert Island and a few smaller islands off the coast.

The area which is now Acadia was designated as a National Park in 1919 as Lafayette National Park, and renamed in 1929.

The terrain of the area includes ocean coastline, forests, lakes, and mountains. The total area of the park is about 73 square miles, and while most of it is on Mount Desert Island, it also comprises parts of Isle au Haut, the Schoodic Peninsula, and Baker Island.

Notable features of the park include Cadillac Mountain (on the Eastern side of Mount Desert Island), Somes Sound (a fjord-like sound going into the island), Thunder Hole, and Jordan Pond, to name a few.

Approximately 40 species of mammals inhabit Acadia. You will see red and grey squirrels, white-tailed deer, chipmunks, and muskrats.

If you are lucky you may be able to catch a glimpse of the moose, beavers, porcupines, or foxes that inhabit the area. But be careful! Black bears, coyote, and bobcats inhabit this area.

Extinct species such as the sea mink and Hare Indian Dog have been excavated in the area, along with bones of elk, wolf, lynx, and mountain lion/puma which no longer inhabit the park.

The native peoples of this region were the Wabanaki Native Americans, who played a role in the American Revolution supporting the US.

Between 1915 and 1933, John D Rockefeller, Jr. designed, directed, and funded over 50 miles of carriage trails around the park.

In 1947, there was a large fire that burned 10,000 acres of the park and lasted for nearly a whole month.

It has been suggested that the fire enhanced the natural beauty of the park as it added diversity and depth to the scenery.