Cliffside Bridge

Cliffside Bridge carries Acadia's car-free Amphitheatre carriage road across a ravine on Jordan Mountain. The roughly 250-foot bridge sits against a rock ledge, and its crenellated stone parapets give the crossing a castle-like look. It is a worthwhile pause if you are already exploring the carriage roads, but it is not a drive-up stop.

Two projecting platforms open onto the Jordan Stream valley, with Jordan Pond House visible nearby. The asymmetrical arch spans about 50 feet, and its rough-laid granite facing makes the structure seem to grow from the ledge. From one of the lookouts, frame the parapet in the foreground with the wooded valley beyond; from the carriage road, the arch and cliff show how tightly the bridge fits its setting.

Built in 1932, the bridge completed a key link in the 13-mile Around-Mountain loop around Sargent, Penobscot, and Cedar Swamp mountains. Superintendent George B. Dorr proposed an arch that would span a footpath without breaking the cliff's line; New York architect Charles W. Stoughton designed the bridge. Work on the road had paused after 1924 protests over its effect on the bowl-shaped valley called The Amphitheatre, then resumed in the early 1930s. Its earlier names included Bluff Arch, Half Arch, and Amphitheatre Bridge No. 3.

Reach it on foot or by bicycle along the carriage-road network; hikers can connect from Spring Trail or Penobscot Mountain Trail. Horses also use the roads. Spring mud-season closures often affect carriage roads in March and April, so check the park's current access information before planning an early-spring visit.