the park by horse and carriage. Carriage roads, seasonally available for cycling and horseback riding, are open during the winter only to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking (as dictated by weather conditions). Given that it is sufficiently cleared of snow/ice, the 27-mile-long Park Loop Road serves winter visitors seeking to explore the park by car, providing access to popular areas such as Sieur de Monts, Sand Beach, Otter Point, Jordan Pond and Cadillac Mountain. Among the park’s myriad hiking trails, we can suggest two relatively easy ones that are usually open in the winter: the 1.7-mile Great Head Trail and the 2.2-mile Ocean Path Trail. Both offer spectacular views of rocky, cliff-lined shores and the roiling Atlantic Ocean. A final tip: Acadia’s only restaurant, the Jordan Pond House, is closed during the winter so guests are advised to bring their own food and drink.
Cross-country ski in Acadia National Park.
Acadia National Park, Maine Rightly heralded as the “Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast” on its NPS website, Acadia National Park protects the highest and arguably most scenic rocky headlands along the entire Atlantic coastline. Attesting to its breathtaking beauty are the more than four million visitors who visit the park annually — a figure that places Acadia among the top ten most visited of the nation’s 63 national parks. Truth is it’s too popular in the summer when crowds and traffic tie-ups make for a lot of wasted time and frustration. A winter visit can pose some challenges too — but crowding is definitely not one of them. Acadia is located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, immediately southwest of Bar Harbor. The park appears small on a map but it encompasses nearly 50,000 acres – most of it on Mount Desert Island – but also the Schoodic Peninsula, Isle au Haut and a few other outer islands. Touring the park is facilitated by 33 miles of paved road, 158 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of graveled carriage roads. The latter roadways were designed and gifted to the park service in the early 1900s by wealthy philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, who wanted to properly travel
For more information: www.nps.gov/acad 207-288-3338
One of the most beautiful animals in Everglades National Park is the Florida panther (puma).
Everglades National Park, Florida From November to April, the subtropical dry season brings sunny, 70-degree days and a break from the pesky insects that plague South Florida’s wetlands during the rest of the year. Less precipitation also leads wildlife to concentrate at watering holes, increasing your odds of spotting the Everglade’s iconic alligators and wading birds like herons, egrets and roseate spoonbills.
NATIONAL PARKS TO VISIT IN WINTER
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2023 | 16
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