Bike transportation (early July)

Hello,

We%26#39;ll be in Bar Harbor right after July 4th (7/5 - 7/8) and I%26#39;d like to rent bikes one of those days. Will it be so crowded during that time that we will have problems getting our bikes on the Island Explorer? There%26#39;s 3 of us and it sounds like the shuttle%26#39;s only have room for 4 bikes.

Alternatively I was thinking of just renting a bike rack and taking our car to the park instead of worrying about space. If the shuttles only come every 1/2 hour and we can%26#39;t get on, it sounds like we could potentially be waiting an hour for the shuttle?

Thanks for any thoughts / advice!

Bike transportation (early July)

At the height of the season, the Shuttle adds a van and trailer just for bikes. It goes to and leaves from the Jordan Pond House.

But, yes, it is crowded at that time of the season. A bike rack might be a good idea. But then you have the problem of finding a parking spot for your car, which can be pretty difficult at either Jordan Pond or Eagle Lake. And you would need to always bike in a circle so that you get back to your car. The Jordan Pond House is a pretty pleasant place to sit and wait for the shuttle.

Bike transportation (early July)

For the past couple of years, the Island Explorer has operated a bike shuttle---independent of the buses---which ran from the Village Green to Jordan Pond. The rig is an open trailer that can handle a dozen bikes, maybe more, and a van for the riders.

I haven%26#39;t heard any specific information to the contrary, so I assume that the bike shuttle will operate again this year.

Depending on how many passengers there are, the buses can haul a few more bikes inside by loading through the rear handicapped-access door, but that time of July, especially on the more popular routes, e.g., Jordan Pond, Sand Beach, I wouldn%26#39;t count on it.

I%26#39;d get the bike rack so that you can consider other destinations.

We got to Eagle Lake in the morning and decided it was too crowded, so we packed our bikes back up and went to Northeast Harbor, where we hopped a mailboat to the Cranberry Islands.

When we got back later that afternoon the Eagle Lake parking lot had cleared out and we had the carriage path almost to ourselves!