A Take to the Trails F FALCON Hiking W A H GUIDE® E L R E C T O Acadia O H N IK E G S E U National Park R IE I S D E S A Guide to the Park’s Greatest Hiking Adventures ® “FalconGuides point the compass to the H best spots to play, climb, hike, fi sh, and be.” —CNN.com i k Established as the fi rst national park in the Features E i s eastern United States, Acadia National Park • Hikes suited to every ability n s e has 120 miles of hiking trails through more • Mile-by-mile directional cues n than 40,000 acres along the coast of Maine. g t • Diffi culty ratings, trail con- i Fully revised and updated, this edition of a tacts, fees/permits, and best l g Hiking Acadia National Park covers ridge hiking seasons A trails, forest paths, oceanside strolls, and cliff e • An index of hikes by category c a climbs for hikers of all ages and abilities.  r —from easy day hikes to hikes a fo For more than thirty years, FalconGuides® to waterfalls d r have set the standard for outdoor guidebooks. • Invaluable trip-planning e i Written by top experts each guide invites you v information, including local a e to experience the adventure and beauty of r lodging and campgrounds y the outdoors. N • GPS location for each trailhead a d a • GPS-compatible maps of v e Cover photos © Dolores Kong each trail t n i o t u n r e Dolores Kong and Dan Ring have long hiked and backpacked together in : a O New England and elsewhere. Dolores is a reporter at the Boston Globe and Dan FALCON l u is statehouse bureau chief in Boston for the Union-News in Springfi eld, Mas- t GUIDES® P fi sachusetts. Th ey are the authors of Best Easy Day Hikes Acadia National Park t Y (FalconGuides) and live near Boston. falcon.com a r o u US $18.95 / Canadian $20.95 k r FalconGuides ® M is an imprint of 2 i Globe Pequot Press nd n E d DIT DOLORES KONG AND DAN RING ® IO N HHiikkiinngg AAccaaddiiaa NNaattiioonnaall PPaarrkk A Guide to the Park's Greatest Hiking Adventures Second Edition Dolores Kong and Dan Ring Introduction i Hiking_Acadia.indd 1 2/13/12 11:04 AM FALCONGGUUIIDDEESS® Copyright © 2001, 2012 Morris Book Publishing, LLC. Previous editions of this book were published by Falcon Publishing, Inc., in 1998 and 2000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P O Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437. FalconGuides is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press. Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your Mind are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC. All interior photographs by Dolores Kong, unless otherwise noted. Text design: Sheryl P. Kober Project editor: Julie Marsh Layout: Sue Murray Maps: Trailhead Graphics © Morris Book Publishing, LLC. TOPO! Explorer software and SuperQuad source maps courtesy of National Geographic Maps. For informa- tion on TOPO! Explorer, TOPO!, and Nat Geo Maps products, go to www.topo.com or www.natgeomaps .com. The Library of Congress has catalogued the previous edition as follows: Kong, Dolores. Hiking Acadia National Park / by Dolores Kong and Dan Ring.— 1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-56044-923-2 1. Hiking—Maine—Acadia National Park—Guidebooks. 2. Trails—Maine—Acadia National Park—Guide- books. 3. Acadia National Park (Me.)—Guidebooks. I. Ring, Dan (Daniel) II. Title. GV199.42.M22 A324 2001 917.41'450444—dc21 2001023941 ISBN 978-0-7627-6147-0 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The authors and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book. Hiking_Acadia.indd 2 2/13/12 11:04 AM Contents Overview Map ................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................vii Introduction .....................................................................................................1 How to Use This Guide ..................................................................................10 Trail Finder .....................................................................................................12 Map Legend ...................................................................................................14 Mount Desert Island East of Somes Sound ...................15 Bar Harbor and Champlain Mountain Area 1 Bar Island Trail ........................................................................................18 2 Compass Harbor Trail .............................................................................21 3 Beachcroft Path .......................................................................................24 4 Champlain North and South Ridge Trails (Bear Brook Trail) ...................27 5 Orange & Black Path (East Face Trail) .....................................................31 6 Precipice Trail .........................................................................................34 7 Murphy Lane to Schooner Head Path and Overlook ...............................37 Gorham Mountain Area 8 Sand Beach and Great Head Trail ............................................................40 9 Ocean Path .............................................................................................43 10 The Bowl Trail ........................................................................................47 11 The Beehive Trail ....................................................................................50 12 Gorham Mountain and Cadillac Cliffs Trails ............................................53 Dorr Mountain and Sieur de Monts Spring Area 13 Kebo Mountain Path and Dorr North Ridge Trail ..................................57 14 Homans Path ..........................................................................................60 15 Emery and Schiff Paths (Dorr Mountain East Face Trail) .........................63 16 Kurt Diederich’s Climb ...........................................................................67 17 Kane Path (Tarn Trail) .............................................................................70 18 Dorr Mountain Loop via Ladder and Dorr South Ridge Trails ................74 19 Canon Brook Trail ..................................................................................78 20 A. Murray Young Path via Canon Brook Trail ..........................................81 21 Hemlock Trail via Gorge Path .................................................................84 22 Stratheden Path .......................................................................................87 23 Jesup Path to Great Meadow Loop ..........................................................90 Cadillac Mountain Area 24 Cadillac North Ridge Trail ......................................................................94 25 Cadillac Summit Loop Trail .....................................................................98 26 Gorge Path ...........................................................................................101 Introduction iii Hiking_Acadia.indd 3 2/13/12 11:04 AM 0 Kilometers 10 Overview–Acadia National Park 0 Miles 10 Bucksport To Bangor and 95 Gouldsboro 1 Ellsworth To 3 West Machias Gouldsboro 1 15 172 3 195 186 Blue Hill Bar 186 Harbor Mount Desert Island 3 Schoodic 102 Peninsula Northeast Harbor Southwest Harbor Baker 15 Bass Island Harbor Stonington Isle au Haut Hiking_Acadia.indd 4 2/13/12 11:04 AM 27 Cadillac South Ridge Trail and Eagles Crag Loop ..................................104 28 Cadillac West Face Trail .........................................................................108 Pemetic, Triad, and Day Mountain Area 29 Pemetic Northwest Trail (Bubbles–Pemetic Trail) ...................................111 30 P emetic North and South Ridge Trails (Pemetic Northeast Face and Southwest Trails) ...................................................................................114 31 Triad and Pemetic East Cliff Trails (Pemetic Mountain Trail) ..................118 32 Hunters Brook Trail (Triad–Hunters Brook Trail) ..................................122 33 Hunters Beach Trail ..............................................................................125 34 Little Hunters Beach .............................................................................128 35 Day Mountain Trail ...............................................................................131 36 Bubble & Jordan Ponds Path (Pond Trail) ..............................................134 Jordan Pond, Bubbles, and Eagle Lake Area 37 Jordan Pond Nature Trail .......................................................................138 38 Jordan Pond Path (Jordan Pond Shore Trail) ...........................................141 39 Jordan Stream Path ................................................................................145 40 Asticou & Jordan Pond Path (Asticou Trail) ...........................................148 41 Bubbles Divide (Bubble Rock Trail) ......................................................151 42 Jordan Pond Carry to Eagle Lake and Bubbles Trails Loop .....................155 Penobscot, Sargent, and Parkman Mountain Area 43 Spring Trail (Penobscot Mountain Trail) ................................................159 44 Penobscot Mountain Trail via Asticou & Jordan Pond Path ....................162 45 Jordan Cliffs Trail via Spring Trail ..........................................................165 46 Deer Brook Trail via Jordan Pond Path ..................................................169 47 Sargent East Cliffs Trail via Jordan Pond Path and Deer Brook Trail .......173 48 Sargent Mountain Loop via Giant Slide and Grandgent Trails ................177 49 Sargent South Ridge Trail via Carriage Road ........................................181 50 Amphitheater Trail via Asticou & Jordan Pond Path and Carriage Road .185 51 Sargent Mountain via Hadlock Brook and Maple Spring Trails ..............189 52 Parkman Mountain and Bald Peak Loop via Hadlock Brook Trail ..........193 53 Norumbega Mountain and Hadlock Ponds Loop ..................................196 54 Lower Hadlock Pond Loop ...................................................................200 Mount Desert Island West of Somes Sound ................204 Acadia Mountain Area 55 Acadia Mountain Trail ...........................................................................206 56 St. Sauveur Mountain and Valley Peak Loop...........................................210 57 Flying Mountain, Valley Cove, and Valley Peak Loop ..............................213 Contents v Hiking_Acadia.indd 5 2/13/12 11:04 AM Beech Mountain Area 58 Beech Cliffs and Canada Cliff Trails (Beech Cliff Ladder Trail) ...............217 59 Beech Cliff Loop ..................................................................................220 60 Beech Mountain Loop Trail ..................................................................223 61 Beech Mountain via Valley and Beech South Ridge Trails ......................226 62 Beech West Ridge Trail .........................................................................230 Bernard and Mansell Mountain Area 63 Long Pond and Great Notch Trails (Great Pond and Western Trails) .......233 64 Perpendicular and Mansell Mountain Loop via Long Pond Trail ............237 65 Razorback Trail via Gilley Trail ..............................................................240 66 Bernard Mountain Loop .......................................................................243 Bass Harbor Area 67 Wonderland ..........................................................................................246 68 Ship Harbor Trail ..................................................................................249 69 Bass Harbor Head Light Trail ................................................................253 Isle au Haut ........................................................................................256 70 Duck Harbor and Deep Cove Trails ......................................................259 71 Duck Harbor Mountain and Goat Trails ................................................262 72 Western Head and Cliff Trails ................................................................265 73 Eben’s Head Trail ..................................................................................268 74 Bowditch and Long Pond Trails via Duck Harbor Trail ..........................271 75 Median Ridge and Nat Merchant Trails .................................................274 Schoodic Peninsula .......................................................................277 76 Schoodic Head Trails .............................................................................280 77 Sundew Trail .........................................................................................283 Hike Index ...................................................................................................286 About the Authors ........................................................................................287 vi Contents Hiking_Acadia.indd 6 2/13/12 3:57 PM Acknowledgments For sharing with us their knowledge and passion for Acadia National Park, and being so generous with their time, we’d like to thank Wanda Moran, Charlie Jacobi, Gary Stellpflug, Chris Barter, David Manski, Kathy Grant, Stuart West, Karen Anderson, Anne Warner, Tony Linforth, Maureen Fournier, Todd Miller, Benton Shattenberg, and the rest of the Acadia National Park staff; Margaret Coffin Brown of the National Park Service’s Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation; Ann Marie Cummings of Eastern National; Marla S. O’Byrne of the Friends of Acadia; park volunteers Jim and Jan Allen and Ed Hawkes; Sue Turner and Stew Foelix; Dianna and Ben Emory; Donald P. Lenahan; and Jill Weber. We'd also like to acknowledge the historical per- spective provided by Ronald Epp in his writings on park pioneer George B. Dorr and his estate. And we’d like to thank our nieces Sharon and Michelle Kong for providing a new perspective on Acadia for us. We hope they’ve come away with special memories, as we have. HELP US KEEP THIS GUIDE UP TO DATE Every effort has been made by the author and editors to make this guide as accurate and useful as possible. However, many things can change after a guide is published—trails are rerouted, regulations change, techniques evolve, facilities come under new management, and so on. We would appreciate hearing from you concerning your experiences with this guide and how you feel it could be improved and kept up to date. While we may not be able to respond to all comments and suggestions, we’ll take them to heart, and we’ll also make certain to share them with the author. Please send your comments and suggestions to the following address: Globe Pequot Press Reader Response/Editorial Department P.O. Box 480 Guilford, CT 06437 Or you may e-mail us at: [email protected] Thanks for your input, and happy trails! vii Hiking_Acadia.indd 7 2/13/12 11:04 AM Hiking_Acadia.indd 8 2/13/12 11:04 AM Introduction Maine’s Acadia National Park is a place like no other. You can stroll along Ocean Path and be awestruck by the contrast of pink granite cliffs, blue skies, and white surf. From atop Cadillac, the highest mountain on the Atlantic seaboard, you can look below and see fog rolling in over Frenchman Bay, even as the sun shines brightly above. No wonder artists, millionaires, generations of families, and even presidents— notably Barack Obama in 2010—have been attracted to all that’s preserved in Acadia. In fact, the place has meant so much to area residents and visitors that Acadia in 1919 became the first national park created east of the Mississippi, after starting as a national monument in 1916. It is also the first national park to consist primarily of privately donated lands and the first to have trail maintenance funded by an endow- ment, Acadia Trails Forever, coming from $4 million in park user fees and federal appropriations and $9 million in private donations from Friends of Acadia, a private nonprofit organization based in Bar Harbor. Over the years the scenery inspired such passion that nineteenth-century paint- ers Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, of the Hudson River School, came here to capture the landscape; one of the wealthiest men in America, John D. Rockefeller Jr., donated millions and left miles of scenic carriage roads and uniquely designed stone bridges; and prime mover George B. Dorr dedicated his life and exhausted his family fortune to create the park. Today more than two million visitors a year make Acadia one of the top ten most visited national parks, even though it’s the fifth smallest in land area. The Sierra Club even put Acadia first on its 2011 “Top Ten Wild Places to Hike,” a “bucket list” of sorts. But with more than 125 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads throughout its approximately 49,500 acres (including about 12,000 acres under con- servation easement), the park provides plenty of opportunities for tranquility and for experiencing nature, history, geology, and culture. This second edition of Hiking Acadia National Park covers nearly all the park’s trails. Most of the trails are located on Mount Desert Island, within a short ride—and in some cases a short walk—from Bar Harbor, the island’s main town. The book also includes trails on Isle au Haut, reachable only by mail boat from Stonington, and on Schoodic Peninsula—the only part of the park on the mainland—accessible by ferry from Bar Harbor during the peak season or by car anytime. No backpacking is allowed in the park except for a limited amount at designated campsites on Isle au Haut; the lean-to shelters require a special use permit obtained in advance. No camping is allowed on trails anywhere in the park. Some of the forty-three granite steps that take you to the site of George B. Dorr’s former estate (hike 2). 1 Hiking_Acadia.indd 1 2/13/12 11:04 AM