Acadia National Park
Walking & Hiking Trails
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Round-Trip |
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Trail |
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Distance |
Difficulty |
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Trailhead |
Description |
Time |
Elevation Gain |
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Bar Harbor Shore Path |
A gravel trail with views of the four Porcu |
1.0 mile |
very easy |
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Bar Harbor town pier |
pine islands and, on the shore side, views |
30 minutes |
level |
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of Bar Harbor. |
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Jordan Pond Nature |
A self-guiding nature walk alongside Jor |
1.0 mile |
very easy |
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Trail |
dan Pond with views of The Bubbles. |
30 minutes |
level |
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Jordan Pond North parking area off Park Loop Road |
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Ocean Patch |
A gently rolling footpath following Park |
3.6 miles |
easy |
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Sand Beach parking area |
Loop Road to Otter Cliffs with views of |
2 hours |
fairly level |
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the rock-bound coast. |
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Schoodic Head Trail |
A gentle trail offering views of Schoodic |
1.0 mile |
easy |
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Schoodic Peninsula Loop |
Peninsula and Mount Desert Island. |
30 minutes |
440 feet |
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Road opposite West Pond |
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Ship Harbor Nature Trail |
A walk through spruce forests and along |
1.3 miles |
easy |
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Ship Harbor parking area |
the salt marsh shore of Ship Harbor. |
40 minutes |
mostly level |
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off Route 102A |
Great bird-watching. |
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(some rocky areas) |
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Beech Mountain Trail Beech Mountain parking area off Route 102 |
Steep in some sections, this trail, on the western side of Mount Desert Island, offers views of both Long Pond and Echo Lake. A firetower crowns the summit. (not open to the public) |
1.2 miles 1 hour |
moderate 839 feet |
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Great Head Trail |
This cliff walk loop provides views of |
1.4 miles |
moderate |
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Eastern end of Sand Beach |
Frenchman Bay, Sand Beach and |
45 minutes |
145 feet |
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off Park Loop Road |
Gorham Mountain. |
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Gorham Mountain Trail |
A short but spectacular climb up |
2.0 miles |
moderate |
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Gorham Mountain park- |
an oceanside mountain offering |
1 hour |
525 feet |
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ing area off Park |
continuous views. |
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Loop Road |
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Jordan Pond Shore Path |
This relatively level, but rocky, trail loop |
3.3 miles |
moderate |
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Jordan Pond parking area |
boasts views of five mountains. |
1.75 hours |
level |
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off Park Loop Road |
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Cadillac Mountain |
This is the least demanding of four trails |
4.2 miles |
moderate |
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North Ridge Cadillac parking area off Park |
up Acadia's highest peak with views of Frenchman Bay, offshore islands and |
2.5 hours |
1,530 feet |
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Loop Road |
Schoodic Peninsula. |
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The Beehive |
Bowl Trail offers a longer, gentler climb. |
1.8 miles |
strenuous |
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Just north of Sand Beach |
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45 minutes |
520 feet |
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area off Park Loop Road |
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Acadia Mountain Trail |
The park's best views of Somes Sound |
2.0 miles |
strenuous |
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Acadia Mountain parking |
are to be had from this trail. |
1.25 hours |
681 feet |
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area off Route 102 |
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Dorr Mountain Trail |
A steady and sometimes steep climb, the |
2.4 miles |
strenuous |
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Sieur de Monts |
first section is terraced with granite steps. |
2.25 hours |
1,270 feet |
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spring area |
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Cadillac Mountain |
A long, sometimes strenuous, hike up Aca |
7.4 miles |
strenuous |
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South Ridge |
dia's tallest peak offers excellent panoramic |
4.75 hours |
1,530 feet |
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100 ft. SW of Blackwoods |
views of the ocean and mountains. |
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Campground entrance off |
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Route 3 |
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Acadia In Depth
News from the Parks
Denali National Park Goes Greener With New Hybrid Commercial Bus From IC Bus
July 18, 2008 - 12:55pm
DENALI, Alaska, July 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Visitors to Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, one of the largest protected intact ecosystems in the world, will now have the opportunity to explore the park with the aid of an environmentally friendly vehicle -- a fuel-efficient and emissions-reducing hybrid bus. IC Bus, North America's largest school bus and commercial bus manufacturer, is delivering the Park's first hybrid bus on July 17.
July 18, 2008 - 12:55pm
DENALI, Alaska, July 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Visitors to Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, one of the largest protected intact ecosystems in the world, will now have the opportunity to explore the park with the aid of an environmentally friendly vehicle -- a fuel-efficient and emissions-reducing hybrid bus. IC Bus, North America's largest school bus and commercial bus manufacturer, is delivering the Park's first hybrid bus on July 17.
Canyoneering Heaven At Zion National Park
July 18, 2008 - 10:17am
Lee and Brian are loaded like sherpas, each hauling an end of the 700-foot-long rope and moving in lockstep as they hike down a dry creek bed through a ponderosa pine forest atop a mesa about 6,000 feet above sea level. Behind us, at the end of a wretched logging road that almost made a couple of people in our group sick, is Lee's truck, which we'll come back for the next day. Ahead of us is . . . one big drop. The creek bed ends at a sheer cliff that plunges into what looks like an enormous hole. Walking to the edge, I peer over and can't see the bottom. This is the start of Engelstead Canyon.
July 18, 2008 - 10:17am
Lee and Brian are loaded like sherpas, each hauling an end of the 700-foot-long rope and moving in lockstep as they hike down a dry creek bed through a ponderosa pine forest atop a mesa about 6,000 feet above sea level. Behind us, at the end of a wretched logging road that almost made a couple of people in our group sick, is Lee's truck, which we'll come back for the next day. Ahead of us is . . . one big drop. The creek bed ends at a sheer cliff that plunges into what looks like an enormous hole. Walking to the edge, I peer over and can't see the bottom. This is the start of Engelstead Canyon.
Shenandoah National Park Launches Multimedia Tour Inviting Visitors to Experience the Blue Ridge Mountains Like Never Before
July 18, 2008 - 9:30am
Austin, Texas - Greta Miller, Executive Director of the Shenandoah National Park Association announced today the launch of a new interpretive tool, the GPS Ranger™, for visitors at Shenandoah National Park. Visitors to the park can experience the Blue Ridge Mountains and learn more about the park’s unique history, land, plants, and animals with the assistance of the multimedia GPS Ranger™ tour guide system. Informative and educational ranger-narrated videos automatically play as guests hike.
July 18, 2008 - 9:30am
Austin, Texas - Greta Miller, Executive Director of the Shenandoah National Park Association announced today the launch of a new interpretive tool, the GPS Ranger™, for visitors at Shenandoah National Park. Visitors to the park can experience the Blue Ridge Mountains and learn more about the park’s unique history, land, plants, and animals with the assistance of the multimedia GPS Ranger™ tour guide system. Informative and educational ranger-narrated videos automatically play as guests hike.
Hiker tackles every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
July 18, 2008 - 9:28am
Sixty-three year old Diane Scarbrough loves to spend time in the Smoky Mountains. "Anybody that can be out there for any length of time," she says. "It's uplifting." Diane's passion for hiking turned into a mission to hike every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "We call it the 900 mile club. Actually it comes out to be 845, but I think they round that off because it takes a long time to get to a trail. We may hike 4 miles to get to the trail we are hiking on," Diane explains.
July 18, 2008 - 9:28am
Sixty-three year old Diane Scarbrough loves to spend time in the Smoky Mountains. "Anybody that can be out there for any length of time," she says. "It's uplifting." Diane's passion for hiking turned into a mission to hike every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "We call it the 900 mile club. Actually it comes out to be 845, but I think they round that off because it takes a long time to get to a trail. We may hike 4 miles to get to the trail we are hiking on," Diane explains.
Rabid bat in Olympic National Park puts visitor, three employees in treatment
July 18, 2008 - 9:25am
The Olympic National Park's first possible case of rabies since 1977 has struck a woman who was in the Ozette campground late last week. The 55-year-old woman is getting rabies prevention treatment after a bat scratched her in the Ozette campground. Three Olympic National Park employees who responded to the incident are also receiving treatment. The bat approached the woman at her campsite. She knocked the bat to the ground and got scratched. The stunned bat remained on the ground until the next morning. Park employees removed the bat for rabies testing. The rabies virus was found in the bat. The only other known case of rabies in Olympic National Park was recorded 33 years ago in July 1975, when a child was bitten by a bat in the Elwha Valley.
July 18, 2008 - 9:25am
The Olympic National Park's first possible case of rabies since 1977 has struck a woman who was in the Ozette campground late last week. The 55-year-old woman is getting rabies prevention treatment after a bat scratched her in the Ozette campground. Three Olympic National Park employees who responded to the incident are also receiving treatment. The bat approached the woman at her campsite. She knocked the bat to the ground and got scratched. The stunned bat remained on the ground until the next morning. Park employees removed the bat for rabies testing. The rabies virus was found in the bat. The only other known case of rabies in Olympic National Park was recorded 33 years ago in July 1975, when a child was bitten by a bat in the Elwha Valley.
