Acadia's Beautiful Fall Foliage

Photo by: Jim Dollar via Flickr [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]

Even in a region that is known for its beautiful displays of fall color, Acadia National Park stands out from amongst the crowd. Acadia boasts a mix of evergreens and hardwood trees that commands attention and will satisfy the yearnings of even the most discerning of leaf peepers. Visitors to Acadia park in northern Maine often comment about the striking contrast that can be seen between the vivid fall colors of the flaming hardwoods against the backdrop of the dark green coniferous forests and the blue-green waters of the Atlantic ocean.

Colors begin to appear throughout the parks higher and cooler elevations in late September, but the peak season for color is usually during the first few weeks of October. For a particularly beautiful fall scenic drive, take a trip along the park loop road, a 27-mile scenic loop that begins at the Hulls Cove Visitors Center and winds through some of the parks most beautiful and popular areas. During the fall, this drive will take you past jaw-dropping overlooks and viewpoints where you can view breathtaking panoramas of the parks vibrant hardwood colors flaming against the dark evergreen forests and azure sea. Be sure to stop off at Cadillac Mountain for even more amazing views.

Of course to really experience the incredible beauty of fall in Acadia you need to step out of your car and off the pavement and explore the famous Carriage Roads that stretch for miles both inside the park and at its borders. These quaint old roadways were built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the early 1900s and feature one of the best examples of broken stone roads in the US. These roads wander through some of the parks beautiful hardwood forests and provide an unmatched opportunity for experiencing the true beauty of fall in Acadia National Park.