Tri-Lakes Loop

Tri-Lakes Loop is a 10.9-mile circuit on Acadia's historic carriage roads, linking Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond and Jordan Pond. It is a long walk on broad roads surfaced with broken stone, not a set of short paths around any one pond. Allow about five hours with stops. An estimate of 75 to 105 minutes sometimes quoted for this route refers to manual bicycling, not hiking. Come for a full circuit through the island interior and its five stone bridges; skip it if you want a brief shoreline stroll.

Start at carriage-road Intersection 6 beside Park Headquarters and follow 6–7–17–16–15–14–10–8–9–6. The 10.9 miles are the complete loop, not an out-and-back. You can enter at another junction, but that changes the access and the walk before you return to your car. The east side is much flatter; the western side rises toward the high ground around intersections 8 and 10. Distance is the main commitment, with a hillier stretch on the west side.

These roads are closed to motor vehicles but shared by walkers, cyclists and carriages. Stay to the right, give a clear warning before passing, avoid sudden stops on loose gravel, and yield to horses. Dogs may join on a leash no longer than six feet. Bring enough water for the whole loop.

The circuit crosses Eagle Lake, Bubble Pond, Triad-Day Mountain, Jordan Pond Dam and Deer Brook bridges. At Bubble Pond, the stone arch crosses a remnant of the old motor road, left behind when that road was realigned in the early 1960s. Triad-Day Mountain Bridge, completed in 1940, was the last of Acadia's 17 carriage-road bridges. Jordan Pond Dam Bridge crosses Jordan Stream beside the pond's small dam; Deer Brook Bridge is by a waterfall near the pond's north end. At Bubble Pond Bridge, the arch and the road continuing beneath it make the route's clearest bridge photograph.

Parking is marked by Intersection 6 at Park Headquarters off ME 233. The circuit can also be entered at other numbered junctions, which changes where you start and finish. Acadia requires an entrance pass all year. Jordan Pond House is a separate dining stop beside Jordan Pond, with tea and popovers; its season varies, so check before building it into your plan.