Abstract
The coastal islands and rugged shorelines of Maine serve as the setting for the historic hiking trail system at Acadia National Park, located in Hancock County. Acadia was the first national park established east of the Mississippi River and today encompasses over 47,000 acres across Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, and numerous smaller islands. Upwards of 2.5 million visitors annually experience the park’s diverse landscape of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes, marshes, and shorelines of Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Three distinct yet integrated circulation systems allow visitors to explore these resources: 115 miles of historic hiking trails offer woodland walks and rugged climbs, 57 miles of historic carriage roads track around lakes and along mountainsides, and 33 miles of historic motor roads stretch from mountain summits to the rocky coasts.