Jordan Pond is the deepest lake in Acadia at 150 feet, and the Park Service calls it the clearest lake in Maine, with visibility that normally reaches at least 45 feet. A ridge of rubble left by the glacier holds it in at the south end, and the rounded domes of North and South Bubble rise above the far shore. The pond is a public water supply, so it isn't for swimming. Beside the water, the Jordan Pond House has been famous for popovers since Thomas and Nellie McIntire took over in 1895. The original house burned in 1979, and the one standing today replaced it. The Passamaquoddy name, Mimuwipon, means the water is perfectly calm and smooth, and on a still morning it lives up to it. This is the tour's best place to stop for a meal, in season.
The pond is behind the house, so walk down to the shore to see it. Jordan Pond is a hundred and fifty feet deep, the deepest lake in the park, held back by a wall of rubble left at the front of the glacier. The Park Service calls it the clearest lake in Maine, and says you can normally see at least forty-five feet down. Don't plan on a swim. It's Seal Harbor's drinking water. The Passamaquoddy name is Mimuwipon, meaning the water is perfectly calm and smooth. On a still morning that's a plain description. The Jordan family ran a sawmill here and built the first house in eighteen forty-seven. In eighteen ninety-five Thomas and Nellie McIntire took over and added the popovers, and people have been coming for them ever since. The original house burned in nineteen seventy-nine, and the one you see replaced it. If you park here, turn left out of the lot when you leave, and the tour carries on.
Photo: Victoria Stauffenberg, National Park Service, public domain · Public domain