As our boat pulls into Bar Harbor (pronounced Baa Haabaa), Maine, light patchy fog still clings to the ocean on this sunny late August morning. It’s already beginning to get warm.

For some reason I want to think that it should be cool since we’re all the way up north in Maine. I tend to forget that Portland, Maine, is actually south of Portland, Oregon. And, in this lovely little town of Bar Harbor, 45 miles southeast of Bangor, we are actually south of Oregon’s North Coast.

Bar Harbor is kind of a gateway to Acadia National Park. Much the same way Cannon Beach is a gateway to Ecola State Park. In fact, Cannon Beach and Bar Harbor have a lot of similarities. They both have quite a community of visual artists and musicians. They both have an interesting variety of shops and galleries. They both sit next to some of the prettiest scenery you’ll find anywhere.

Ecola Park in Cannon Beach is made up entirely of donated land from private parties such as the Minot family and others. The same is true of Acadia Park. In fact, it’s the only national park that has this distinction. George B. Dorr was one of the people who worked tirelessly to set this land aside for future generations to enjoy. He also donated a sizeable chunk of his family fortune. Another was John D. Rockefeller Jr. who constructed the carriage roads and also donated 11,000 acres.

Acadia Park is 40,000 acres and contains 120 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads for walking and biking. For the most part, the park itself is really a series of islands. Much of the park is on Mount Desert Island which is where my wife and I decided to go biking. We joined our guides and hopped into the van.

Soon we were riding our bikes up one of the carriage roads. They were originally built for horse carriages which still use them to this day.

Rockefeller built the 16-foot wide carriage paths using three layers of ground rock. The surface has a pleasing crunch under your bike tires, yet they don’t sink in.

Instead of metal guardrails along the more hazardous stretches, he used pieces of stone. He also built 16 stone-faced bridges made from rock found in the area. Instead of taking away from the natural beauty of the surroundings, they actually enhance it.

Though the ideal time to be in Acadia is the fall, which we missed by a couple weeks, the scenery was still memorable. Trunks of birch trees lined the trail like ivory columns. In places the path hugged the edge of the mountain and the trees opened up revealing panoramic views of the ocean below.

Visiting the coast of Maine was certainly a treat. Acadia is world class, for sure. But traveling has helped me develop an even deeper appreciation for what we have right here in our own back yard. I’ve yet to find a coastline as pretty as the one we have on the North Coast of Oregon.

Mark Mizell is an English teacher at Seaside High School. His column runs the first Thursday of each month in The Daily Astorian.