The Acadia National Park has many astounding views and fantastic thrills, but which of the park’s frills stand above the rest? This article surveys experience and hundreds of reviews to entice your adventuring spirit.
In aiming for diversity and hike satisfaction, the three best hikes in Acadia National Park are arguably the Ocean Path Trail, Cadillac South Ridge, and the Beehive-Gorham Mountain-And-Ocean Path Loop in increasing difficulty. Foot traffic and route safety major in picking these champion tracks.
Acadia National Park has a near immeasurable assortment of hikes ranging from the ones that let you experience that lofty king-of-the-world sensation to more elusive Zen-cultivating encounters. This vast natural library ensures something for everyone and at every fitness level. We investigated the rich natural library and managed to pick the park’s six best trails.
Levels, How To Split Acadia National Park’s Trails?
Swiping right on any of the voluptuous hikes at the park is an entirely different challenge to having the route match with the basic things that make a hike a memorable trip. It is then well worth considering having a rudimentary pre-flight check to get that dopamine and caloric count to diversify and take off!
For the love of humanity, this article came down to some 7-point universal criteria that usually lead to enjoyable routes and happy glutes.
- Safety and terrain. The safety here has to do with how stable the rocks and debris are along the path since the park has controlled access and plenty of parking.
- Difficulty level. We categorized the hikes into easy, medium, and hard difficulty. Like all good things are.
- Ascent time. A broad range of the expected time to complete the hike.
- Scenery. The consensus is in people want jaw-dropping panoramic views, and nature obliges.
- Hike length and elevation. Something your fitness tracker will tell you better, but here’s a heads-up anyway.
- Foot traffic. Foot traffic, along with safety, is probably the make-it-or-break-it for all hikes. No one enjoys excitedly unplugging from the congestion of urban life only to have themselves met by sprawling lines on a hiking route.
- Pet friendly and amenities. Self-explanatory and maybe a camping spot, café, or owl house. There’s a single restaurant, picnic spots, and lavatories in the park, which means we won’t mention this again.
Cake Hikes Or Hikes For Cake Lovers In Acadia National Park
For most of us who aren’t diced-to-the-gills, these hikes offer a warm watered introduction to what the park has to offer. However, because of how gentle and visually pleasing the paths are, they incur a heavy traffic cost. With rare exceptions.
Ocean Path Trail
This excellent 4.35-mile trail has a lot of blockbuster flat segments that run up a 374-feet slope. You can easily jog or walk your way up in around 2 hours.
This generous path usually supports heavy traffic because of its popular scenic views. The Ocean Path welcomes Furry companions on leashes.
The panorama is botanic and oceanic. There’s copious color from wildflowers and birds.
Jordan Pond West Side Trail
This less popular, out-and-back, 3.11-mile trail rises to over 50 feet. The estimated time of ascent sits well under 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The hike has moderate foot traffic and allows leashed doggies to come along on the adventure. The views provide an unhindered majestic view of the Jordan Pond and have boastful wildflowers. Pro tip: the pond has some beautiful life under the surface.
Acadia National Hikes For The Slightly Fitter Crowd
These moderate-level hikes cordially transition inexperienced hikers to the challenges of their more difficult brethren. Sometimes, there’s a cheeky boulder or two, but the paths are generally giving and clear, which means they are regularly heavily trodden.
Cadillac South Ridge
It is a 6.21-mile track that elevates to a dizzying 1549-feet climb in its own, casual out-and-back way. Budget aside between 2-4 hours to complete this doozy.
This preferred hike has heavy traffic. This path very much welcomes your four-legged companion, but some rugged and steep sections are pretty testing.
This climb is stunning in both snow and regular water flow. An enchanting waterfall gives heart to the endeavor and wide-open outlooks that lift spirits. Cadillac South Ridge has its car route and parking lot at the summit, with a gift shop as the cherry. Well worth the occasional wait.
Great Headed Trail
This route has a complete loop version and a shorter, meeker version. Here we have opted for the full-looped way. This hike spectacle is 1.24 miles and has a meager steepness of 266 feet. A zephyr meets you at the finish line if you manage the liberal 54-minute lap time.
Traffic is indeed heavy, but the atmosphere is light. Dogs can also enjoy this hike on their leash.
There’s grass-stained flora to kiss your livened gaze and if you are part of the blessed, beautiful fauna. There’s also the Sand Beach to water your eyes and freshen your thoughts.
Trial By Fire Hikes In Acadia Park
These are the hikes for the crowd with an unbreakable spirit and, seemingly, an unquenchable masochistic character. These hikes are technical and not for the faint-hearted; they require trained lungs, balanced skill, and a conscious recollection that hiking is at one’s own risk. All 3 of these routes contain ladders and rocks for scaling and scrambling up the side of the beauteous mountain and sections where one might need to suck in that gut.
Beehive, Gorham Mountain, And Ocean Path Loop
This 3.2 mile amalgamate path climbs to an elevation of 785 feet and can take anywhere from 2-3 hours. Experienced hikers usually consider this hike moderate but don’t be fooled by these superhumans; it’s a fun challenge any day.
You can start the hike either of the three walks making up the route, but people generally suggest trekking it in title order: Beehive-Gorham Mountain-Ocean Path. The path has moderate traffic, but it might be a bumper-to-bumper start since the Beehive path is one of the more popular hikes. Dogs aren’t allowed on the Beehive part, so, sadly, no dogs.
The summit boasts stunning coastal and humble lakeside vistas.
Jordan Cliffs Trail-Penobscot Mountain
JC-PM is a looping 2.49-mile path that rises to an imposing 1033 feet height. This challenging hike usually takes extremely experienced hikers 2-3 hours.
The adventuring community widely agrees to ascend the march counterclockwise. Tackling this path with your dog accompanying you is not advised due to the technicality and sometimes dubious approach.
The scenery up to the top is simply breath-stealing. There are tear-jerking, unobstructed 360-degree summit views overlooking the surrounding hills and the stoic Jordan Pond.
Conclusion
Acadia National Park is a trendy hiking destination and often requires a more thorough examination and planning to avoid disappointment in being stuck behind crowds and in staggering into the more difficult paths.
There’s a staggering number of exploration-worthy trails in this notable park that we could not squeeze into this article. Challengers should delve into the other highly rated tracks, even if it means dealing with a bit more inconvenience due to traffic and maybe a few less-than-ideal boulders.
