Cadillac Mountain and Arcadia National P

Amazing views at the top of Cadillac Mountain and driving through the smallest US National Park. A volcanic island, originally the home of the Wabanaki peoples, it became the playground of the wealthy during the Gilded Age (1880-1930), with the likes of Rockefeller and JP Morgan having houses and yachts here. After the mountain we looked at Thunder Hole, but tide too low for any thunder! Love the pink granite in this area, and the pretty red ‘winter berries’ (left to last by the birds in favour of the better-tasting blueberries and cranberries).

The land was owned by the ‘new rich’ during the Gilded Age. John D Rockefeller determined that motor vehicles shouldn’t drive on the main island of Mont Desert (the main island in the 6000-strong archipelago) and built ‘carriage trails’ which still exist as walking and cycling trails today.

The rich owned the forest but began to be taxed on it in 1912, so they gave it to the state as a National Park.Læs mere