XC Skiing Acadia’s Park Loop Road
Skiing on Acadia National Park’s park loop road is definitely my favorite Maine adventure to share with others, partially because it’s an adventure that not a lot of people have experienced, and because it took place the day after we got engaged, on our five-year anniversary! Keeping with tradition, our anniversary weekend is always accompanied by a large snowstorm, and this weekend was no exception. Thank god for snow tires!
Sidebar: my husband booked us a suite at the CUTEST Bed and Breakfast, The Coach Stop Inn, which we found out several months later was rumored to be one of the most haunted places to stay in Maine. I think the spirits were vacationing at their Florida homes during our stay, much to my pleasure. That being said, the accommodations and food were above and beyond, so we would definitely return in a heartbeat! Click here to check it out!
Most people are unaware that Acadia National Park operates in the winter, which I personally think is a godsend. There are so many activities to take advantage of, including: Schooner Head, Jordan Pond, Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole via park loop road (weather permitting), 47 miles of carriage roads for skiing and snowshoeing, winter camping at Blackwoods Campground, winter hiking (obviously not on the steeper trails and using proper equipment), snowmobiling on the park loop road, ice fishing, etc. For more information about these winter activities, click here.
To view the winter access park map, click here.
To view the winter trails map, click here.
There are a few ways in which you can access the park loop road in the winter. One way is by taking Schooner Head Road, parking at Schooner Head, then walking into the park. The other begins in Seal Harbor, which involves turning right before entering downtown, driving until you meet the loop road just below Jordan Pond, and parking at Jordan Pond House Restaurant. If you’re skiing on the park loop road, I would park at Schooner Head, because it is easier to find and closer to all of the good sightseeing spots.
We began our cross-country skiing journey by parking the car at Schooner Head. After which, we strapped on skis and headed for the park loop road entrance station, which was only about .1 miles away. Then, we made our way down the park loop road, which included sightseeing at sand beach, thunder hole, otter cliff, and otter cove. All in all, it probably took us about 45 minutes to ski to otter cove, but we stopped quite a bit to take pictures and videos along the way.
This venture was quite a sight to see, since we had gotten over a foot of snow the night before and it was freezing rain while we skied along the park loop road. We thought about turning back for a second, but the views were truly once-in-a-lifetime and our winter gear was doing a great job at keeping us safe and dry. The ocean waves were far outdoing thunder hole by thrashing onto the rocks and walls. All of the trees were sparkling like something out of a fairytale. This was Acadia National Park as I had never seen it before, a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.
