Acadia National Park Maine's Acadia National Park was the first national park established in the east.
Visitors can explore the rugged beauty of Mount Desert Island from two distinct road systems.
The older of these is a 60-mile network of carriage roads constructed by summer resident John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and subsequently donated to the park. Although automobiles are not allowed on the carriage roads, motorists can enjoy much of the same scenery from a splendid motor road system, also funded largely by Mr. Rockefeller. Jr. Starting in 1911 with a series of carriage drives on his Seal Harbor estate, over the next four decades Mr. Rockefeller constructed a network of broken stone roads winding between and across the island's mountains. Seventeen striking stone bridges are among the most interesting features on the system. Motor Roads Considered the most scenic seaside roads in the eastern states, the Acadia motor road system was also funded in part by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to provide motorists with an alternative use to his carriage road system.