At the overlook at Cadillac Mountain's summit, a wayside exhibit features an informational panel angled atop a stone.
The exhibit's title, "From Shores to Summits," appears over an expansive view of Frenchman Bay and its islands. Labels point out landmarks, including Bar Harbor Airport, Dedham Bald Mountain, Mount Katahdin, Hulls Cove, Lead Mountain, Schoodic Mountain, Gouldsboro Hills, Schoodic Peninsula, and Winter Harbor.
Offshore islands dot the calm blue water. "Maine has over 3000 islands dotting the 3478-mile coastline. The islands are capped with hard diabase rocks that kept them from being totally eroded by glaciers."
Text reads: "Few places offer the variety and access to the mountain, lake, and ocean experiences that you can have on Mount Desert Island. This island has 26 mountains that can be hiked for amazing views. Car-free carriage roads crisscross the island's interior providing bike and foot access to lush forests and hundreds of freshwater lakes and streams. Bounding these mountains, lakes, and forests are the scenic rocky shorelines for which Acadia National Park is best known."
A quote: "Standing on this great whaleback of granite, with this wide coastal world at your feet, you can see the roundness of the earth in your mind's eye and sense keenly the orderliness of the solar system." - Christopher Camuto, Time and Tide in Acadia: Seasons on Mount Desert Island, 2009
Two inset photographs invite visitors to explore the summit of Cadillac Mountain:
-The first photograph shows a hiker wearing a backpack walking over furrowed rock on the 3.5-mile South Ridge Trail.
-The second photograph shows a park-ranger with a dozen birdwatchers watching the fall migration of raptors. Some people peer through binoculars.
More text provides Safety Tips:
-The half-mile paved Summit Path is rated easy, but it does have dips and rises and a short climb back to the top.
-Weather changes rapidly. Wear or carry a jacket.
To protect the park, follow these recommendations:
-Subalpine plants are fragile. Avoid trampling plants.
-Remain on trails. If you must leave trails, walk on bare rock.
