Longtime Acadia visitors vent about speed and disruptive impact of e-bikes in park 30

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 9, 2026

Mount Desert Island residents have grown weary of the staggering rise of e-bikes on Acadia National Park’s sprawling carriage road system. It’s been roughly seven years since the National Park Service announced a blanket policy allowing Class 1 e-bikes — which cannot travel faster than 20 mph— in parks across the country. Since then, many MDI residents have grown tired of the persistent congestion, speed and generally disruptive impact that some say has accompanied the electric bicycles’ introduction to park life. But while e-bikes have annoyed many longtime park visitors, they’ve also provided others, some of whom have various physical limitations, with a new way to enjoy Acadia’s beauty.