Meanwhile, here in New England
Don’t feel like making a long-haul road trip? Our close-to-home national parks offer some features for travelers with challenges. Acadia National Park in New England, known for its accessible features, has been named one of the 10 most-visited national parks in the country. The park's 45 miles of carriage roads make it easy to tour by car, but there are also numerous accessible features such as a ramp to the main viewing area at Thunder Hole and Echo Lake Beach. The restrooms, changing rooms, and foot washing station at Echo Lake are wheelchair-accessible. The Jessup Path and Hemlock Path Loop boardwalk trail in the Sieur de Monts Spring section of the park will be accessible to some guests. The free Island Explorer shuttle service is also wheelchair accessible. The 40-mile-long stretch of coastline offers features for the mobility challenged, including those with vision and hearing issues, parking lots, trails at Doane Rock in Eastham and the Marconi Station Site in Wellfleet have been surfaced to accommodate wheelchairs. The National Park Service will assist with any accessibility-related questions or planning plans via phone and email at 508-255-3421 or [email protected].
प्रकाशित : 4 सप्ताह पहले द्वारा Pamela Wright, Diane Bair में Lifestyle
Acadia is no secret — its dramatic landscape of rocky coastline jutting to the sea has made it one of the 10 most-visited national parks in the country. The park’s 45 miles of carriage roads make it easy to tour by car, but Acadia boasts other accessible features as well. Among them: Thunder Hole has a ramp from Park Loop Road to the main viewing area, and Echo Lake Beach is accessible thanks to a sloped, paved path that runs from the parking lot to a connector boardwalk that extends onto the beach. The restrooms, changing rooms, and foot washing station at Echo Lake are wheelchair-accessible.
Also, the Jessup Path and Hemlock Path Loop boardwalk trail will be accessible to some guests. Located in the Sieur de Monts Spring section of the park, the 1.5-mile roundtrip loop consists of two mostly-level trails that create a figure-eight, traversing stands of white birch and hemlock forest into the Great Meadow. Acadia’s free Island Explorer shuttle service is also wheelchair-accessible. Note that not all shuttle stops are wheelchair accessible. Looking to camp at Acadia? Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods campgrounds offer accessible sites. www.nps.gov/acad
AccessibleGO travel forum expert Paul Choquette is a fan of this 40-mile-long stretch of pristine sand, marshes, ponds, and uplands, dotted with lighthouses and wild cranberry bogs. This park offers features for the mobility challenged, plus those with vision and hearing issues. Parking lots are designed with accessible parking and curb cuts, and trails at Doane Rock in Eastham and the Marconi Station Site in Wellfleet have been surfaced to accommodate wheelchairs. Mobi-mat® roll-out material lines the approaches to many beaches in the park, providing a firm surface for wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
Coast Guard and Herring Cove beaches provide accessible parking, restrooms, changing facilities, and beach wheelchairs. Herring Cove offers showers that can accommodate wheelchairs. Salt Pond Visitor Center is fully accessible with wheelchair and companion seating provided in the auditorium. Province Lands Visitor Center also has an accessible ramp. Many overlooks in the park accommodate wheelchairs. For any accessibility- or trip planning-related questions, park staff will assist via phone and email at 508-255-3421, ext. 0 or [email protected]. www.nps.gov/caco.
Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at [email protected]