acadia national park
 

i will be there in july. i have a list of the various trails/hikes you can go on but was wondering if anyone who's been there can recommend any they really enjoyed. i'd want easy to moderate, up to 4 miles total and really enjoy ocean views, waterfalls (i don't know if there are any)...any suggestions are appreciated.

Hi Itt, Acadia is beautiful in July! I believe there are hiking trails for various levels of difficulty. We didn't hike but biked on the carriage paths which you could also walk on...they'd fit your easy to moderate category, being wide, relatively flat paths with some gradual inclines. The one that runs along the back side of Jordan Pond was very pretty... I'd have to go back and look at a map myself to give more specifics. I don't remember seeing any waterfalls.

You can get an idea from some of my photos about what those trails look like http://www.pbase.com/tpatricco/maine2002

Whatever you do, make sure you stop at Jordan Pond restaurant for Popovers and Tea one afternoon!

This URL is a good place to start:

www.nps.gov/acad/pdf/trailrating.pdf

Note that it's a PDF file.

I hiked part of the trail that runs from Sand Beach to Otter Point. I started at Thunder Hole and went to Otter Point and back. You get great ocean views. Climbed out onto rocks along the way. Really enjoyed it.

Also go up to the top of Cadillac Mountain (driving, not hiking), the views were great.

hi,
if you'd like, you can also bike the carriage roads. it's great. only hills were the ones from the bike shop in town to the park. also kayaking is fun too. we took a 2 hour trip around frenchman's bay. highlight was porpoises swimming next to our kayaks!

hikes i enjoyed:
cadillac mtn
sieur de mont spring
beech mountain/beech cliffs trail - nice lake views

one of the funnest things we did was take a ranger walk of the carriage road & bridges. also we took a ferry to the little cranberry islands and walked around. very quaint and quiet.

have fun. it's a beautiful place.
tina

Hi, We hiked the other side of the park last year. They call it the "quiet side," or South West Harbor. One of our hikes went up a small mountain by long lake. We had great views of the ocean and the lakes around there. One interesting thing was that someone made granit steps up along much of one side of that mountain. Now that was a lot of work. This was a pretty short hike but we really enjoyed it, and there were way less people around.

Acadia National Park is one of Maine's jewels. You can drive around the Loop Road--about twenty or so miles and stop at the various overlooks and key areas. Get a map at the Visitor's Center. There is also a vehicle that takes you on a tour of the park. We always drive ourselves, so we can spend as much time as we want at each spot. The quieter side of the Park is Schoodic Point, which is a less-visited gorgeous spot with strong wave action, especially during a storm. The ride down there is also nice with places to stop along the way for ocean vistas. Where Route l divides, stay left and follow that road. The right-hand road takes you into the main entrance to the Park eventually. Bar Harbor is a fun place to poke around for a diversion from Mother Nature with shops and restaurants. It tends to be very crowded, however, especially in season. Southwest Harbor is lovely with a great lighthouse, Bass Harbor Light. Get yourself a good guidebook and a map and explore on your own. Have fun.

We've hiked in Acadia many times, and have many favorites. We always do the ocean trail the first day to spend lots of time along the ocean.

Beech Mountain trail is high on my list because it offer variety in a not-to-long hike. Last year we hiked one of the cadillac trails (south, maybe?), and really enjoyed it a lot. I could go on and on. Do you have a trail book, yet?

~Liz

Probably the first thing you should do is get a good guide book. I have one titled "Acadia Revealed". It is quite valuable in telling me where the best things to see and do are located. And, yes, there is a waterfall in Acadia. I have a photo of myself and my husband taken beside it (we used the timer on the camera to do it). It is on one of the Carriage Roads. Ask for directions at the park office if you don't get a guide book that mentions it. The carriage roads are wonderful to walk on. They are relatively easy --some elevation changes, depending on the road --but each one is unique and has a little surprise feature (like the waterfall). The trail along the Ocean is not to be missed. There are always lots of people there but it is worth sharing with the crowds. I also agree that Schoodic Point is one of the gems of the park. It is a good place to get away from the crowds.There is also a trail called Wonderland and another called the Ship Harbor Nature Trail--they are on the other side of the Island. Make an effort to find to find them --they are very scenic, easy, and fun to hike through. And don't forget to go to Bass Harbor and see the Lighthouse.

If you should get a chance, stop at the Jordan Pond House restuarant for a popover, if nothing else. I still dream about them!
Another great trail is the Indian Point-Blagden Preserve, operated by the Nature Conservancy. It ends at the Ocean, in a very quiet spot. From here, we have seen seals sunning on rocks to the left of the point.
Enjoy! rbs

We also hiked up Bubble Mountain (you can see bubble rock from the road below). You climb up to the summit & then down a little bit on the other side to get close to the boulder. It is pretty easy -- my daughter was 5 when we were there.