The 10 Unmissable Hiking Trails In Acadia National Park, Maine

Acadia National Park is one of our favorite places to hike in the US. We know it’s a bold statement considering the company, but the trails here are unique, exciting and almost always lead to stunning viewpoints. What we love most is the small size of the park and the short roundtrip trail distances. They make hiking in Acadia feel achievable, like you really can tick off the top trails in just a few days.

In this guide we show you the 10 hikes you can’t miss when you visit Acadia National Park, based on our experiences.

Our Experience

We spent 3 full days hiking in Acadia when we visited the national park as part of our first New England road trip in fall. It was early October in 2020, not long after covid lockdowns when fewer people were traveling. We stayed in a budget motel in Bar Harbor which worked perfectly for instant access to the park, but most restaurants were at half capacity (or less), so we had a few issues at breakfast and dinner.

Fall foliage colors were still lighting up the park, but we arrived around one week past peak. The weather was fantastic for hiking during the day, but the mornings and evenings were chilly so we had to wear a lot of layers. We hiked all the trails you’ll find in this guide, but our favorites were Beehive Trail, Precipice Trail, The Bubbles, Acadia Mountain and Beech Mountain because they were the most adventurous and scenic. Read more about us.

Okay, let’s get right into the hikes you should prioritize in Acadia National Park. We’re ordering by difficulty from easiest to hardest, so stay tuned until the end for the more exciting trails with ladder climbs.

1. Jordan Pond Trail

• Distance: 3.4 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Easy
• Elevation Gain: 100 ft
• Time: 1-2 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Acadia is overflowing with picture-perfect ponds and lakes but none are as attractive as Jordan Pond, a large body of water with a 3.4-mile trail tightly hugging its shores. For us, Jordan Pond is the best family friendly hike in Acadia because it’s flat, easy and incredibly scenic.

We took a slow and relaxing walk around Jordan Pond during our visit to Acadia in October. It was surrounded by sloping hills covered in trees and it had the most vibrant foliage colors left in the park. This is a hike you can’t miss if you’re traveling with younger kids or if you might struggle with elevation gain.

• Trailhead: Jordan Pond Path

2. Ocean Path Trail

• Distance: 4.5 miles roundtrip
• Type: Out and back
• Difficulty: Easy
• Elevation Gain: 350 ft
• Time: 2-4 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Ocean Path Trail is really easy hike you should do if you want to experience quintessential Acadia National Park scenery. Beginning at Sand Beach, the accessible part of this trail follows the coastline for 1 mile as far as Thunder Hole. From there it’s no longer accessible because it turns into a dirt trail with staircases leading to Otter Cliffs.

We walked the whole thing and we thought it was fantastic. It allowed us to tick off Thunder Hole without having to worry about parking next to the famous attraction, and it provided awesome views into the Gulf of Maine throughout. But the best part is walking along huge boulders next to the trail, that’s the place to grab your classic Acadia photo for the scrapbook.

• Trailhead: Ocean Path

3. Great Head Trail

• Distance: 1.6 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 300 ft
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Great Head Trail is a great hike for escaping the crowds. It starts from the same parking lot as Ocean Path Trail so you can tick two hikes off from the same parking area. Essentially, it tracks through forest following the headland southeast from Sand Beach until eventually revealing a fantastic viewpoint looking back across the beach and Beehive Trail.

We had the trail to ourselves, so we sat at the viewpoint for a good 15 minutes enjoying total solitude. You can either continue the full loop to Great Head for views over Schoodic Point, or turn back the same way for a shorter hike. We’ve rated it as moderate because it has a lot of exposed tree roots and some light scrambling, but it’s easy enough otherwise.

• Trailhead: Sand Beach

4. Beech Mountain Fire Tower Trail

• Distance: 1.2 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 350 ft
• Time: 1-1.5 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Beech Mountain Trail is the only hike in Acadia National Park that leads to a fire lookout tower. It’s also short, quiet and rewards you with sensational summit views, so this is a trail you really shouldn’t miss. In terms of bang for your buck, Beech Mountain is up there with the best. It’s a loop trail and we strongly recommend you hike it clockwise because you’ll get better views over Long Pond on the descent.

We weren’t sure what to expect on this trail because we’d not read much about it, but it turned out to be our favorite hidden gem hike in Acadia. And it wasn’t until the descent (going clockwise) that the views really started to blow us away. So we stopped for a spot of lunch and took a bunch of fun perspective photos. And we didn’t see a single other person.

• Trailhead: Beech Mountain

5. The Bubbles Trail

• Distance: 1.5 miles roundtrip
• Type: Out and back with forks
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 500 ft
• Time: 1-1.5 hours
• Comments: All Trails

The Bubbles is where you’ll see professional photographers and Instagram stars doing photo shoots. It’s a short trail through light forest with lots of steps, which forks in different directions to North Bubble and South Bubble. We highly recommend you do both because the views are outstanding. One major downside is a lack of parking spaces and no nearby alternatives. But once you get parked, you’re in for a treat.

We got the last parking space available and shot up to North Bubble first where we saw a wedding photo shoot taking place. It was super windy and the couple were struggling with hair and clothes but they were good sports about it. We left them to it and went to South Bubble, which we had to ourselves. This was probably our favorite place to take photos in the park, so don’t miss it.

• Trailhead: Bubbles Divide

Photography Tip: Views from The Bubbles face directly south, so if you want to get better photos you should hike very early or much later in the day. We hiked it midday and our photos were horribly blown out by the sun and haze.

6. Gorham Mountain Loop Trail

• Distance: 1.6 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 400 ft
• Time: 2 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Gorham Mountain Trail is a fun but steep hike which leads to awesome summit views. One of our favorite things about hiking in Acadia is that many of the top trails are interconnected, and Gorham Mountain summit can be reached from either Ocean Path or Beehive Trail. You could even hike a fantastic loop with all three in one go.

We actually hiked Beehive to Gorham Mountain to Otter Point Overlook, then took Ocean Path all the way back to Sand Beach and hiked out to Great Head. It was amazing. The Gorham Mountain section was really enjoyable because it’s short but sweet, with steep sections through forest and of course those striking summit views over the Atlantic Ocean.

• Trailhead: Gorham Mountain

7. Acadia Mountain Trail

• Distance: 2.5 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 700 ft
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Acadia Mountain Trail is a short but steep hike leading to some of the best summit views in Acadia. It’s a much quieter hike because like Beech Mountain, it’s out of the way near Southwest Harbor. Hike Acadia Mountain clockwise if you want to ascend the gradual face and descend the steeper face, or hike it counter-clockwise if you want the steeper route up with the more gradual route down.

We hiked it clockwise through forest until breaking clear of the canopy and revealing truly spectacular views. On the way down we stopped at Man O War to see Brook Waterfall but it was completely dry. If you visit in spring or early summer you can see a hidden waterfall here. Parking is on the opposite side of the road and you’ll notice three trails once you get to the information board. Take left for the gradual ascent or straight ahead for the steeper ascent, avoiding the right trail. Acadia Mountain is one of our top recommendations.

• Trailhead: Acadia Mountain

8. Cadillac Mountain North Ridge Trail

• Distance: 4.4 miles roundtrip
• Type: Out and Back
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation Gain: 1,100 ft
• Time: 2-4 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Cadillac Mountain is the highest point in Acadia National Park and the entire eastern seaboard. From the summit, you can be among the first people in America to watch the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean horizon, which is pretty cool right. Now, most visitors will drive up to Cadillac Mountain summit, but that requires a permit and it can’t replace the sense of achievement you get from hiking it instead.

So you can take either the long 8-mile roundtrip South Ridge Trail, the challenging but thrilling 2.6-mile roundtrip climb on Dorr Mountain Trail, or the easier and more popular 4.4-mile roundtrip North Ridge Trail to reach Cadillac Mountain summit. We met a few groups in Bar Harbor who said they hiked North Ridge Trail to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, which sounded incredible so we’ll definitely be doing that next time.

• Trailhead: North Ridge

9. Beehive Loop Trail

• Distance: 1.5 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Hard (climbing)
• Elevation Gain: 500 ft
• Needed: 1-2 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Beehive Trail is the most popular hike in Acadia National Park. It’s essentially a short forest trail leading to a beehive-shaped rock formation which you’ll climb using metal ladders and narrow ledges. There are steep drops throughout the climb, so you shouldn’t hike Beehive Trail if you have a fear of heights. But compared to Precipice Trail (which we cover next), this is a piece of cake. We highly recommend you climb the easier Beehive Trail before climbing the more adventurous Precipice Trail to see if you’re happy with the ladders and drop-offs.

We climbed the Beehive Trail in mid-morning and there was a long line of hikers both ahead and behind us. So we would do it first thing or much later in the day next time. The climb was perfectly fine with one or two heart thumping moments but nothing too severe. Views from the summit were spectacular but instead of dropping into Bowl Trail to complete the loop we continued on to Gorham Mountain. You can hike Bowl Trail clockwise to the summit of Beehive Trail if you want to see the views but you don’t want to climb the ladders.

• Trailhead: Beehive Trail

READ: How to hike Beehive Trail in Acadia

10. Precipice Loop Trail

• Distance: 2.3 miles roundtrip
• Type: Loop
• Difficulty: Hard (climbing)
• Elevation Gain: 1,050 ft
• Needed: 2-3 hours
• Comments: AllTrails

Precipice Trail is the most exhilarating hike in Acadia National Park. This is the one you really can’t miss if you’re seeking adventure or an adrenaline burst. It’s the Angels Landing of Acadia. You’ll scale narrow ledges and climb dozens of iron-rung ladders built into granite rocks with steep drop-offs throughout. It’s not for the feint of heart and it’s certainly not a hike you should do with any semblance of a fear of heights. If Beehive Trail is the appetizer, Precipice Trail is the entree and summit views from Champlain Mountain are the desert. Just remember, Precipice Trail is closed between March and August each year for peregrine falcon nesting season.

We loved climbing Precipice Trail, it was by far our favorite hiking experience in Acadia. So we did it twice, and the second time Mark put an old GoPro on his head to capture the climb (watch it here). But the trail was very busy and we saw at least half a dozen people get spooked. This led to lots of people being stuck high up on narrow ledges waiting to continue. Our advice is to only climb Precipice Trail if you’re sure you’ll be okay with the climbing and drop-offs. After summiting we continued on Champlain North Ridge before looping back on Orange and Black Path.

• Trailhead: Precipice Trail

READ: How to hike Precipice Trail in Acadia

With More Time

Here’s our summary of which hikes we think are worth prioritizing in Acadia:

• Families – Jordan Pond and Ocean Path
• Adventure seekers – Beehive, Precipice and Dorr Mountain
• Escape the crowds – Great Head, Acadia Mountain and Beech Mountain
• Instagram – The Bubbles

However, if you have more time, you’re a return visitor or you prefer to get off the beaten path here’s a few more hikes you can consider (from easy to hard):

• Ship Harbor Trail – 1.5 miles roundtrip, loop, easy, 65 ft elevation gain, 45 minutes.
• Bar Island Trail – 2 miles roundtrip, out and back, easy, 200 ft elevation gain, 1 hour.
• Eagle Lake Carriageway Trail – 6 miles roundtrip, loop, easy, 350 ft elevation gain, 2-3 hours.
• Saint Sauveur Trail – 3.7 miles roundtrip, loop, hard, 1,250 ft elevation gain, 3 hours.
• Dorr Mountain Trail – 3 miles roundtrip, loop, very hard, 1,200 ft elevation gain, 2 hours.

We highly recommend Dorr Mountain Trail if you’re looking for something a bit more challenging. It has 3 ladder climbs and a lot of elevation gain for such a short hike. Take East Face Dorr Trail with the ladders and continue all the way up to Cadillac Mountain summit. But this one is only for experienced hikers who like a challenge and don’t have a fear of heights. We’ll definitely do it next time.

Acadia National Park Hiking Map

Click or touch the map below to activate, zoom in and out, move around Mount Desert Island and familiarize yourself with the locations of the trails we’ve covered in this guide.

Map key:

• Red – Easy trailheads
• Orange – Moderate trailheads
• Blue – Hard trailheads
• Yellow – Summits

Note: You can also open our interactive map here.

Key Things To Know

Okay so you know the hikes you should add to your itinerary, but there are some important things you should know before visiting Acadia:

Peregrine Falcons – Beech Cliffs, Jordan Cliffs, Precipice Wall and Valley Cove Wall close for hiking during nesting season which is usually March-August (check trail conditions for updates).

Fees – You must pay entry fees to hike in Acadia. A 7-day vehicle pass with passengers costs $35. Alternatively you can enter for free if you have an America the Beautiful pass.

Food – There’s not much in the way of food once you enter Acadia so we highly recommend you pack lunches, snacks and plenty of fluids so you don’t have to leave the park in the middle of the day.

Parking – Acadia is a very busy national park and parking can be problematic. We recommend picking a few hikes you’re most interested in and going straight to those trailheads first thing each morning.

Grouping – You can easily group lots of hikes together so you only have to park once, especially on the east side of the park. Combining trails will also allow you to tick more hikes in less time.

Tracking – Acadia’s hikes are short and easy to follow, but we still recommend tracking your progress with one of the top hiking apps. We always use Gaia GPS to plot offline maps and track our hikes.

READ: Our hiking essentials gift guide

Best Time To Hike In Acadia

We visited Acadia in the fall during the second week of October. It was busy, cold at dawn and dusk, and we were a week too late for peak foliage colors. Next time we would use this Maine foliage report to track the colors and go when it predicted peak (likely at the very end of September).

Or if we weren’t going specifically for fall colors, we’d go early in September to avoid the summer rush, benefit from cheaper hotels and better weather, and Precipice Trail would be open. The end of May and all of June would also work but Precipice Trail would be closed and it’s the best hike.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons for hiking in Acadia during spring, summer and fall:

Spring

Pros: No vehicle reservation required for driving up Cadillac Mountain, quiet hiking trails and more affordable hotels in Bar Harbor. May is a great month to benefit from warmer weather before the summer rush begins. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on carriage roads in March is popular.

Cons: Some facilities remain closed until mid-April, trails can be dangerous due to snow and ice, Precipice Trail is closed and early in the spring mornings and evenings can be very cold.

Summer

Pros: Warm weather, long daylight hours, whale spotting tours running, lush green leaves cover the park and more enjoyable to eat out in Bar Harbor at night.

Cons: Very busy, hard to park, Bar Harbor hotel prices are inflated, need to reserve restaurants well in advance, have to reserve Cadillac Mountain drive and Precipice Trail closed until August.

Fall

Pros: Stunning fall foliage colors end of September and beginning of October, perfect hiking conditions during day, Precipice Trail open, Bar Harbor hotels more affordable except during peak fall foliage and restaurants not as busy.

Cons: Busy and expensive for 2 weeks during peak fall foliage, cold mornings and evenings, whale spotting tours finish at the beginning of October and daylight hours diminish.

Acadia Hiking Itinerary

Are you wondering how to piece the trails together to create your itinerary? Well, here’s how we would personally plan out a 2 day hiking itinerary for Acadia National Park:

Day 1

• Park at Sand Beach and start with Beehive Trail at 7:00am.
• Continue to Gorham Mountain.
• Descend via the opposite end of Gorham Mountain onto Ocean Path.
• Follow Ocean Path to Otter Point.
• Return the entire length of Ocean Path to Sand Beach.
• Walk out to Great Head.
• Drive to Bubbles Divide and hope you can get a parking spot.
• Hike North and South Bubbles.
• Descend and walk the Jordan Pond Loop.

Day 2

• Optional: Check sunrise times and night hike North Ridge Trail to watch sunrise at Cadillac Mountain.
• After sunrise, hike back to the car and drive to Precipice Trail.
• Climb Precipice Trail before it gets too busy in the morning.
• Drive over to the western side of Acadia.
• Hike Acadia Mountain and Beech Mountain.

Now, this would be a very action packed 2 days and you’d need to get a lot of luck with parking at trailheads. The night hike is likely not going to appeal but it’s there just in case you’re up for a proper adventure! If you can stretch to 3 days in the park, you should slow down and split the trails more evenly.

What Do Others Think?

We’ve picked the hikes in this guide based on our opinions and preferences, but don’t just take our word for it!

According to AllTrails, here are the 5 best hiking trails in Acadia in order:

1. Beehive Loop Trail
2. Jordan Pond Path
3. Gorham Mountain Loop
4. Ocean Path Trail
5. Cadillac North Ridge Trail

And according to TripAdvisor, here are the top 5 hiking trails in Acadia in order:

1. Beehive Loop Trail
2. Precipice Trail
3. The Bubbles
4. Great Head Trail
5. Gorham Mountain Trail

The Morgan Conclusion

What we like: Unlike most national parks, we love how achievable it is to tick off the top hikes in just 2 or 3 days. Many of the trails are short, steep and lead to magnificent viewpoints, which is right in our wheelhouse.

What we don’t like: Parking at lots of trailheads could be increased to meet demand. The adventure hikes like Beehive and Precipice often get bottlenecked with people who suddenly realize they don’t like heights which is frustrating for everyone else on the climb. We also think facilities inside the park could be better.

Is it worth hiking in Acadia? Yes! Acadia’s hikes are unique, exciting and scenic. It’s a great place for the whole family to enjoy hiking because there’s a wide range of trails available for all abilities. Also, having the high-end town of Bar Harbor on the doorstep makes accessing the trails easy and the overall experience more enjoyable.

More From New England

• Top things to do in Acadia National Park
• How to hike the Beehive Trail in Acadia
• Tips for hiking the Acadia Precipice Trail
• Where to stay when visiting Acadia
• Guide to visiting Acadia in October
• How to hike Artists Bluff Trail in NH
• Most attractive covered bridges in Vermont
• New England fall foliage road trip itinerary
• How to visit Flume Gorge in New Hampshire
• Unmissable Kancamagus Highway stops

Want more Maine content? Head over to our Maine Travel Guides to explore Acadia National Park and beyond.

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We hope this guide to the best hikes in Acadia National Park helps with planning your visit to Maine!

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Happy Hiking,

Mark and Kristen

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