Acadia Mountain Maine Hike Guide
Acadia Mountain is popular loop hike located on the south west side of Acadia National Park. Unlike the east side of the park, this hike is much more secluded and still offers great views of the Atlantic Ocean and the rest of Acadia National Park. The trail conditions on this hike range from packed dirt to high class 2 rock scrambling.
Acadia Mountain Quick Facts
Acadia Mountain Rating: ★★★ (3.5/5 Stars)
Distance: 2.8 Miles RT
Elevation Start: 45 ft
Highest Point: 700 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 800 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 Hours RT
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate What does this mean?
Class: High Class 2 – What does this mean?
Season: Year Round (expect snow December – March)
Directions to Acadia Mountain
Trailhead: Acadia Mountain
Getting Here: There are a number of different ways to get to Acadia National Park since it has multiple entrances. Once you are in the park, you want to navigate towards the left half of the island and follow Rt 102 towards Southwest Harbor. Continue on Southwest Harbor until you reach Echo Lake on your left. As you drive by the lake, there will be a signed parking area on the right side of the road.
You can enter in Acadia Mountain Trailhead into your favorite navigational device.
Fees: $30 per car to get into Acadia National Park
Parking: The Acadia Mountain trailhead has a small parking lot that can fit about 30 cars. The parking area does have a non plumbing bathroom and in general, parking is fairly easy to find.
Summary
Camping: You can’t camp along this trail but Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor have several campgrounds to choose from. For official information about Acadia National Park campgrounds, visit this page.
Dogs: Dogs are allowed on the hike to Acadia Mountain, but I would recommend this trail for dogs who have experience on rock scrambles. Dog must be kept on a leash during the hike.
Make it a Loop: You can easily make this hike into a loop. View a complete map of the area here. Acadia Mountain is commonly paired with St Sauveur Mountain, but we only had time to hike one of them. They are commonly hiked via the Valley Cove trail.
Trail X Factors: Route You Take
Acadia Mountain has two trails to choose from to ascend to the top. The combination of trails you choose will have a large effect on your experience of the mountain. You could take the west Acadia Mountain trail up and down the mountain, making for a shorter and less technical hike. However, if you attempt the full loop of this mountain, the west and south portions of the mountain have more rock scrambling and a slightly longer approach via the Man o War Trail.
Hike Tip(s): Although ultimately it does not matter, I would recommend ascending via the Man O’War Brook trail and descending via the Acadia Mountain trail. In my opinion, the Class 2 rock is much easier to ascend than to descend. Either way has the exact same terrain, it’s just a matter of your preference on whether you want to scramble up or down the tougher sections. Personally, I like scrambling up rocks more than I like descending them.
Best Views: The best views on this hike come from the summit of the mountain itself. If you look southeast, you can see the harbor below. West offers views of more mountains in the park, while northeast showcases the west side of neighboring Cadillac Mountain.
Acadia Mountain Hike Route
Gear Needed
- Mickey’s Mountain Kit
- Shoes/boots with good grip
- Bug spray
- Optional: Camera
Our Trip to Acadia Mountain: June 2018
After a long day of riding shuttles around Acadia National Park and dealing with crowds, Jackie and I were ready for a real hike. I had been to Acadia a few times before and knew that once you leave the right side of the park (east side), crowds disperse and there is still so much to see. I found a short hike, Acadia Mountain, that fit the bill for the time we had and weather that was in the area. We arrived to the trailhead around 3PM in the afternoon with a few other cars sharing the lot. When you hike Acadia Mountain, there are a few different trails to choose from in order to gain the summit. We decided to head up to the Acadia Mountain trail first and then either head over to St Sauveur mountain or descent via the Man O’War Brook trail depending on time and weather.
We hit the trail with overcast skies, cool temperatures and rain in the area. It felt like Maine. The first portion of the trail started in a thick forest, leaving the busy road behind and entering a silent space beneath the mountain. Shortly after, we began to ascend Acadia Mountain via a series of rock steps that were built in the hill. We continued up the rock stair and granite slabs, reaching the top of Acadia Mountain after only .8 miles total. The views were similar to what we had seen on the Beehive Trail on the other side of the park, but still beautiful.
As we soaked in the views and took some pictures, it started to rain so we thought it was best to get a move on. Since the weather wasn’t holding, we trashed our plans to hike St Sauveur mountain and decided to just go straight down.
The hike down the south side of Acadia Mountain was much more rocky and had several Class 2 sections of trail. If the rock was dry, it would have been a fun little scramble, but since it was all wet, we had to be careful with each foothold as we descended. Rock in New England often grows lichen and other moss/fungi so when it gets wet, the rock slabs turn very slippery. After a number of rocky sections, we eventually reached a scenic view which just took us down to the ocean. Although it was cool, it was still raining, so we didn’t stay long. Shortly after regaining the trail, we hit the junction with the Man O’War Brook trail. The terrain leveled off and the rain slowed which was nice but the skies still looked pretty angry. We had originally wanted to head to Baxter State Park to camp for the night and hike there the next day, but decided that it just wasn’t worth it. Instead, we found a highly rated lobster shack and for the remainder of the hike of Acadia Mountain, our mouths watered thinking about our next meal.
Overall, I really enjoyed our hike of Acadia Mountain. Unlike the eastern side of Acadia National Park, it was much more quiet and offered a longer trail with good views. Although the most direct way up Acadia Mountain is via the east side of the Acadia Mountain trail, I would recommend ascending via Man O’War Brook trail. I feel as though the Class 2 scrambling would be much easier going up vs going down, especially if the weather turns. I would recommend Acadia Mountain for those visiting the park, I think it was a nice longer hike with far less crowds.
