For my 40th birthday my husband surprised me with a weekend getaway to hike in Acadia National Park in Maine. With the highest summit in Acadia at just over 1500 feet, it wouldn't seem that the hiking is exceptionally difficult, but there is plenty of variety and terrain for all hiking abilities and styles within the park. We were blessed with beautiful weather, no insects and very few other visitors except at the most popular and easily accessible spots: Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, Cadillac Mt., etc.
We stayed at the Somes Sound View Campground right on Somes Sound, across from the main section of the park. My husband got the Sunrise site which that had a tent platform right at the edge of the water. If you're up early enough, you can watch the sunrise over the ridge on the other side of the sound, which is exactly what we did the first morning.
Campsite:
After watching the sunrise, we got geared up and headed out to Acadia National Park for our first day of hiking. The first stop was supposed to be the Beehive, but we missed the parking lot for it. After consulting the map, we decided to hike Gorham Mt., and then over to the Beehive. Gorham was a neat little mountain, and was our first view of both the ocean and other peaks in the park.
First views of the ocean, and my husband on the ledges near the summit of Gorham:
We headed over to the Beehive and then up, up, up the Beehive. Even thought it is only 520ft, the ascent is pretty steep. The Beehive is either fun or terrifying due to the iron steps and handrails and exposure. I found it to be fun.
Me, heading up the Beehive:
After getting to the summit, my husband consulted the map and we decided make this a loop hike rather than an out and back, which was a great idea. We descended the Beehive into the Bowl, picked up the Ocean Path, and headed back to the car. Along the way, we were able to stop and check out the rocks, cliffs and ocean.
One view from just off of the Ocean Path:
Once back at the car, we headed further around the Park to Jordan Pond, with the intent to hike Penobscot and Sargent Mts. Once on the summit of Pensobscot, we decided to shorten the hike a bit and leaving Sargent for another trip, and finishing the hike by hiking down to and around Jordan Pond back to the car.
On our second and last day of the trip, we decided to hike up Cadillac Mt via the North Ridge Trail, over to Dorr and then back to the car. The trail up to Cadillac was nice with views out to Bar Harbor and nearby islands once up on the ledges. Because there also is an auto road to Cadillac, there were plenty of people in the summit area, and had the feeling of a miniature Mt. Washington. We went over to the actual summit, where we saw only four people and then headed off to Dorr Mt. The descent off of Cadillac is short, but steep and the ascent up Dorr is equally as short and steep. After a break for lunch, a quick descent and road walk brought us back to the car.
My husband on Dorr, with Cadillac in the background:
Last, but not least, one of the best views of the second day:
We had a great trip and intend to return in the future to explore more of the park. Full report and a lot more pictures can be found on our blog, here.
We stayed at the Somes Sound View Campground right on Somes Sound, across from the main section of the park. My husband got the Sunrise site which that had a tent platform right at the edge of the water. If you're up early enough, you can watch the sunrise over the ridge on the other side of the sound, which is exactly what we did the first morning.
Campsite:
After watching the sunrise, we got geared up and headed out to Acadia National Park for our first day of hiking. The first stop was supposed to be the Beehive, but we missed the parking lot for it. After consulting the map, we decided to hike Gorham Mt., and then over to the Beehive. Gorham was a neat little mountain, and was our first view of both the ocean and other peaks in the park.
First views of the ocean, and my husband on the ledges near the summit of Gorham:
We headed over to the Beehive and then up, up, up the Beehive. Even thought it is only 520ft, the ascent is pretty steep. The Beehive is either fun or terrifying due to the iron steps and handrails and exposure. I found it to be fun.
Me, heading up the Beehive:
After getting to the summit, my husband consulted the map and we decided make this a loop hike rather than an out and back, which was a great idea. We descended the Beehive into the Bowl, picked up the Ocean Path, and headed back to the car. Along the way, we were able to stop and check out the rocks, cliffs and ocean.
One view from just off of the Ocean Path:
Once back at the car, we headed further around the Park to Jordan Pond, with the intent to hike Penobscot and Sargent Mts. Once on the summit of Pensobscot, we decided to shorten the hike a bit and leaving Sargent for another trip, and finishing the hike by hiking down to and around Jordan Pond back to the car.
On our second and last day of the trip, we decided to hike up Cadillac Mt via the North Ridge Trail, over to Dorr and then back to the car. The trail up to Cadillac was nice with views out to Bar Harbor and nearby islands once up on the ledges. Because there also is an auto road to Cadillac, there were plenty of people in the summit area, and had the feeling of a miniature Mt. Washington. We went over to the actual summit, where we saw only four people and then headed off to Dorr Mt. The descent off of Cadillac is short, but steep and the ascent up Dorr is equally as short and steep. After a break for lunch, a quick descent and road walk brought us back to the car.
My husband on Dorr, with Cadillac in the background:
Last, but not least, one of the best views of the second day:
We had a great trip and intend to return in the future to explore more of the park. Full report and a lot more pictures can be found on our blog, here.
