It’s the Saturday of a holiday weekend. The weather is beautiful and it’s mid day.
You hear about crowds in Acadia.
Not here.
The Duck Brook Connector Trail is a short, sweet hike that brings you from the Acadia Inn on Route 3 (across from the College of the Atlantic) right to the Duck Brook Road.
From the Duck Brook Road (not open to cars) you can access Witch Hole Pond and all the carriage roads of Acadia.
Sweet deal, right?
You are supposed to walk your bike on the connector. That, however, doesn’t seem to always happen. Rules breakers! :)
Friends of Acadia writes, “Duck Brook Connector: Access beside the Acadia Inn on Rt. 3 in Bar Harbor, across the street from College of the Atlantic. Connects to the Duck Brook Road and the Duck Brook carriage roads. Note! There is no available parking at this trailhead. Please use area sidewalks to access the trail.”
There’s a mapn that shows the “Village Connectors” on the ANP website or click here for the full-sized map.
According to Friends of Acadia, “Since 1996, Friends of Acadia has been putting Village Connector Trails on the map. These trails re-establish the tradition of walking and/or biking into Acadia National Park, into town, and in neighborhoods.”
That’s right. This is just one of many connector trails. They are lovely.
“Village Connector Trails enhance the character of Mount Desert Island’s villages and improve the quality of the island’s air by reducing the number of cars on island and park roads and at trailheads. Connector trails complement the Island Explorer buses, providing another option to get into the park, out into quiet landscapes, or to in-town destinations,” FOA writes. “The trails provide an opportunity for a long, one-way hike or bike ride with a return by bus.”
