03/01/2010

Jordan Pond House

photo courtesy of the National Park Service

It is unusual to find a famous restaurant in a national park. After all, the park service is all about preserving the great outdoors and providing a way for humans to enjoy it. A somewhat less important responsibility is to preserve the cultural heritage of an area as it existed before it was given to the federal government. This is where the Jordan Pond House comes in. The land on which it stands used to be part of a farm owned by the Jordan family of Seal Harbor. The family built the restaurant in the 1870′s and in the next 70 years it became a regular meeting spot for high society gatherings. Read about the rich and famous of Bar Harbor here. It was during these years that the character and rustic elegance of the restaurant were established.

In the mid 1940′s, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased the restaurant and gave it to Acadia National Park and stipulated that it continue. Since then it has been operated by the Acadia Corporation with a commitment to preservation. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1979 but soon after rebuilt with private funds. At the end of beautiful Jordan Pond with views of Bubble Mountain the setting couldn’t be better, but it’s the popovers that keep folks coming back. Served with tea or coffee and homemade strawberry jam, they are required fare. For non tea drinkers, the classic lemonade is served fresh squeezed and the old custom of supplying sugar in a simple syrup separately is followed. Your lemonade can be as sour or super-sweet or somewhere in between, just as you like it.

Good basic New England classic food are served including salads, crab cakes, lobster quiche and seafood chowder of haddock, scallops and shrimp. Dinner is served from 5:30 PM on.

In the tradition, afternoon tea is available outdoors on the lawn, the elegance continues. The sloping lawn and shaded tables provide ample seating. Spring and fall visitors prefer the giant fireplace inside. Although usually quite busy, they have a nice pager system so that folks can wander the grounds and gardens while waiting for a table. Also, there’s a gift shop to browse in which features many unique items. The restaurant is open from 11:30 AM, mid May to late October. Reservations can be made at 207.276-3316.

Jordan Pond House also serves as the start and end of several hiking and carriage trails. The easiest one, the Jordan Pond Nature Trail is one mile in length. The more ambitious Jordan Pond Shore Trail is a level 3.3 miles and circles the pond. Both serve well as before or after lunch outings. My personal favorite is to bike down from the visitors center along the carriage trails, have tea and popovers and then let the Acadia Island Explorer take my bike back to the visitors center on their bike rack.