D
dvbl
Guest
Going to Acadia sometime in Sept. What trails/peaks have the best overall views, best sunrise, best sunset, etc? Thanks.
Help Support vftt.org:
king tut
New member
You can't go wrong with any hikes on the island really. My two favorite hikes are The Precipice trail and The West Face trail up Cadillac Mt. Cadillac Mt is the best place to watch the sunset, the only negative is that you will be joined by several hundred other people that take their cars to the top to watch the sunset as well. For sunrise, head to the east part of the island(sun rises in the east obviously). The Precipice trail rises 1,000 feet up the cliffs of Champlain Mt. Fantastic views of the Atlantic from here, probably the best on the island. It's a great walk if you follow the ridge all the way to the southern part of the island, where Otter Cliffs is. Another really nice hike is Dorr Mt. It is located at the Sieur De Mont Springs parking area. That is a lovely area full of wild flowers, trees, moss, etc. There are tons of different species that are all labeled, a botanist's dream.
prino
New member
Roxi
Active member
dvbl said:
The South Ridge Trail up Cadillac Mtn offers ocean views on three sides. 7 miles round trip. Very nice!
Danielle
New member
Acadia
Ryan and I both say you can't go wrong with any of the trails in Acadia. It is a beautiful spot. We love it, and try to find time to go up to the park at least once a year to enjoy it. It's a wonderful mix of ocean, rocky shoreline, pine trees and nice hiking Other than what has been suggested above, we would suggest Sargent, Penobscot and Pemetic. You can make a loop that includes Sargent and Penobscot that offers lots of ridge walking and beautiful views. Dorr is nice too, with less people than Cadillac. For short wanderings, Flying Mountain is nice as is the walk out to Great Head.
And if you're planning to eat in Bar Harbor we highly recommend Cafe This Way for a nice, fancy but casual meal! Yum!
Have fun!
-Sparkplug
Ryan and I both say you can't go wrong with any of the trails in Acadia. It is a beautiful spot. We love it, and try to find time to go up to the park at least once a year to enjoy it. It's a wonderful mix of ocean, rocky shoreline, pine trees and nice hiking
Other than what has been suggested above, we would suggest Sargent, Penobscot and Pemetic. You can make a loop that includes Sargent and Penobscot that offers lots of ridge walking and beautiful views. Dorr is nice too, with less people than Cadillac. For short wanderings, Flying Mountain is nice as is the walk out to Great Head. And if you're planning to eat in Bar Harbor we highly recommend Cafe This Way for a nice, fancy but casual meal! Yum!
Have fun!
-Sparkplug
Raymond
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2003
- Messages
- 1,536
- Reaction score
- 59
In addition to those already mentioned, one loop I particularly like is to climb North Bubble, descend to the north and climb Connor's Nubble, return to the carriage path and follow it around to Deer Brook Trail, which leads down to Jordan Pond, then follow the Shore Trail to South Bubble Trail which will take you up and over that mountain. Be sure to stop by Bubble Rock.
Six mountains reachable in a half-day loop: Bald Peak, Parkman, Gilmore, Sargent, Penobscot, and Cedar Swamp.
Mansell Mountain, on the west side, has something like 500 stone steps climbing it. No view from the summit, however.
The gorge between Dorr and Cadillac has scenic areas, but can be slow going.
Six mountains reachable in a half-day loop: Bald Peak, Parkman, Gilmore, Sargent, Penobscot, and Cedar Swamp.
Mansell Mountain, on the west side, has something like 500 stone steps climbing it. No view from the summit, however.
The gorge between Dorr and Cadillac has scenic areas, but can be slow going.
audrey
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2003
- Messages
- 1,933
- Reaction score
- 168
I'll add my vote for the South Ridge Trail up Cadillac, then over to Dorr for some quiet time, up Cadillac again, then down the West Face Trail (not if icy, a bit scary if wet). Then you can return on the carriage road or add a couple more peaks to the trip. Returning to Cadillac, we bushwhacked around to the South Ridge trail so as to avoid any roadwalking (I think we lost the trail on the initial ascent).
DougPaul
Well-known member
Acadia Mtn, St Sauveur, and particularly Flying Mtn give nice views for a very modest effort. All are along the western shore of Somes Sound.
The island is loaded with lots of peaks, most with nice views from the tops. It is hard to go wrong...
Doug
The island is loaded with lots of peaks, most with nice views from the tops. It is hard to go wrong...
Doug
a couple of other suggestions
You almost can't pick a wrong trail, but here's some of my favorites:
West Ledge Trail up to Bernard. Lots of open ledges and a great place to view sunsets.
Some other variations on Dorr. 1) do a traverse of the North and South Ridges and come back through the gorge between Cadillac and Dorr (A. Murray Young and Gorge Trail). 2) try the recently reopened Homan's path; it has some interesting trailwork.
For a big loop, start at Thuja Gardens and take the Asticou Ridge Trail over Eliot down to the Harbor Brook Trail. Follow Harbor Brook Trail to Asticou Trail. Take the “new” Penobscot Trail directly off Asticou. (The new Penobscot Trail is a restored trail that follows the main ridge up from the carriage road.) Hike over Penobscot and to Sargent Pond. From there you can go visit Sargent Mt (or not). Then continue on the Sargent South Ridge Trail over Cedar Swamp Mt. back down to the Asticou Trail. Then take the Asticou Trail to Asticou Ridge Trail back over Elliot Mt. back to Thuya.
You almost can't pick a wrong trail, but here's some of my favorites:
West Ledge Trail up to Bernard. Lots of open ledges and a great place to view sunsets.
Some other variations on Dorr. 1) do a traverse of the North and South Ridges and come back through the gorge between Cadillac and Dorr (A. Murray Young and Gorge Trail). 2) try the recently reopened Homan's path; it has some interesting trailwork.
For a big loop, start at Thuja Gardens and take the Asticou Ridge Trail over Eliot down to the Harbor Brook Trail. Follow Harbor Brook Trail to Asticou Trail. Take the “new” Penobscot Trail directly off Asticou. (The new Penobscot Trail is a restored trail that follows the main ridge up from the carriage road.) Hike over Penobscot and to Sargent Pond. From there you can go visit Sargent Mt (or not). Then continue on the Sargent South Ridge Trail over Cedar Swamp Mt. back down to the Asticou Trail. Then take the Asticou Trail to Asticou Ridge Trail back over Elliot Mt. back to Thuya.
tonycc
New member
I have yet to find a bad trail in Acadia.
My one suggestion would be the North Ridge Trail up to Cadillac Mt as a sunrise hike. Virtually the entire trail is open with continual views of Bar Harbour and Frenchman's Bay. When I did this I left the Loop Road at the trail head, just as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. I was able to turn off my headlamp very early in the hike. The lights of Bar Harbour and the reddening eastern sky reflecting off the bay, with the shadows of the many islands is a scene that constantly changed and is something I will never forget. After getting to the summit, I watched sunrise from the true summit (by the antenna's behind the visitor center) in complete solitude, except for the tourists I could see 1/4 mile away on the tourist summit.
Shortly after sunrise, most of the people left and I wandered around the tourist summit enjoying and photographing the way the low angle light played among the rocks and wildflowers. I then headed over to Dorr Mountain. which offered more splendid views.
I returned to the park road via the trail which heads north along the stream between Dorr Mountain and Cadillac, the Gorge Trail. This trail was very confined with steep side walls and an ecosystem totally different than that of the open summits and forests of the rest of the island.
Once I hit the loop road I walked back to my car. The unbelievable part of the hike, is that except for the brief time on the summit of Cadillac, I never saw another person. I could occasionally hear the cars going up the road to Cadillac while on the north ridge, but that was OK, the vistas in the east were enough to keep my mind off minor distractions such as that.
Tony
My one suggestion would be the North Ridge Trail up to Cadillac Mt as a sunrise hike. Virtually the entire trail is open with continual views of Bar Harbour and Frenchman's Bay. When I did this I left the Loop Road at the trail head, just as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. I was able to turn off my headlamp very early in the hike. The lights of Bar Harbour and the reddening eastern sky reflecting off the bay, with the shadows of the many islands is a scene that constantly changed and is something I will never forget. After getting to the summit, I watched sunrise from the true summit (by the antenna's behind the visitor center) in complete solitude, except for the tourists I could see 1/4 mile away on the tourist summit.
Shortly after sunrise, most of the people left and I wandered around the tourist summit enjoying and photographing the way the low angle light played among the rocks and wildflowers. I then headed over to Dorr Mountain. which offered more splendid views.
I returned to the park road via the trail which heads north along the stream between Dorr Mountain and Cadillac, the Gorge Trail. This trail was very confined with steep side walls and an ecosystem totally different than that of the open summits and forests of the rest of the island.
Once I hit the loop road I walked back to my car. The unbelievable part of the hike, is that except for the brief time on the summit of Cadillac, I never saw another person. I could occasionally hear the cars going up the road to Cadillac while on the north ridge, but that was OK, the vistas in the east were enough to keep my mind off minor distractions such as that.
Tony
As mentioned, you can't go wrong with hiking in Acadia...
One hike that hasn't been mentioned yet (which is a blast) is "The Beehive" off of Sand Beach. It only has 500' of elevation gain, but if it wasn't for all of the ladders and iron rungs, it would be a class 5 climb. It's a fun one with fantastic views...
One hike that hasn't been mentioned yet (which is a blast) is "The Beehive" off of Sand Beach. It only has 500' of elevation gain, but if it wasn't for all of the ladders and iron rungs, it would be a class 5 climb. It's a fun one with fantastic views...
DougPaul
Well-known member
Makes a nice loop with the Precipice Tr on Champlain Mt. Iron rungs up and iron rungs down. (You might prefer to go up Champlain and down Behive.)Frodo said:
Precipice Tr can be closed in Perigrine nesting season.
Doug
