Acadia National Park’s scenic Ocean Drive begins at the park entrance station and continues along the coast, passing Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Otter Cliffs. This was the most complicated stretch of the Park Loop Road to complete, because much of it originally ran through private land. The first segment, along an old town road, was built in 1929, and other sections were completed as more parcels of land were added to the national park. The final piece, which completed the entire Park Loop Road, was finished in 1958 by the Bureau of Public Roads, predecessor of the Federal Highway Administration.

The first 1.8–mile section of the Ocean Drive, connected by Otter Cliff Road to Maine Route 3, is one of the two short stretches of the Park Loop Road kept open all year long. (Most of it is closed from December 1st through April 14th.)

The Ocean Trail, a path from the upper parking lot at Sand Beach to Otter Point, is an easy two-mile walk that parallels the Ocean Drive for much of its length. It was rebuilt during the New Deal by workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Fun Facts: The earliest road in this area, which followed a popular walking route of the Rusticators, was built in 1886.