There is one authorized stable within Acadia National Park, Wildwood Stables. This is located on the south end of the Park Loop Road near Seal Harbor and run by Carriages of Acadia. The stable provides boarding for those with their own horses and parking for horse trailers (fees apply). No public horseback rides are given, but from May through October Carriages of Acadia does offer three different horse-drawn carriage rides. I took the Mr. Rockefeller’s Bridges Tour, a two-hour ride that passes three stone bridges built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the early 1900s. See the Mr. Rockefeller’s Bridges Carriage Ride web page here on National Park Planner for details. Carriage ride schedules and fees, as well as information about Wildwood Stables, can be found on the Carriages of Acadia website.
Visitors with their own horses, with or without a carriage, are allowed to use most of the carriage roads within Acadia National Park and those on private land. No horses are allowed on the hiking trails. Maps of the carriage road system are available at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center and the Thompson Island Visitor Center.
Per the National Park Service website, the use of pack animals is permitted on the following trails, routes, and roads:
- Carriage roads, except for the Witch Hole Pond and Paradise Hill loops, and the Eagle Lake loop except between junctions #7 and #8
- Western Mountain Connector Trail, when Western Mountain Road and Lurvey Spring Road are closed to motor vehicles
- Motor vehicle roads when closed to motor vehicles
- Established crosswalks
- Hio Fire Road, Man-O’-War Brook Fire Road, Marshall Brook Fire Road, and Valley Cove Fire Road (all dirt roads)
- Within the developed area of Wildwood Stables
Free trailer parking is allowed at the Brown Mountain parking lot, which is located on Route 3 just south of Upper Hadlock Pond near the Brown Mountain Gate Lodge. See the National Park Service’s Oversized Vehicles web page for trailer restrictions within Acadia National Park.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on August 21, 2023