Category Archives: Hiking Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park visitors face roadblocks to buying pass

Visitors to Acadia National Park this spring and summer are finding it can be hard to get there from here. Two major places for buying a park pass are currently closed, with the Hulls Cove Visitor Center not reopening until the end of June as a $1.2 million renovation is taking longer than planned, and the Cadillac Mountain Gift Shop still getting cleaned up from winter damage. Heading into the park, visitors will face a long detour during Route 3 construction and a new paid parking system in Bar Harbor. Here’s a survival guide for where to buy a park pass, how to navigate the construction and parking and otherwise successfully get there from here.

Top 6 Acadia carriage road loop hikes for end of mud season

What better way to celebrate the end of mud season, than to hike the Acadia carriage roads, which recently opened to pedestrians, but not yet to bicyclists or horses? This special guide to the top 6 Acadia carriage road loop hikes of between 3 to 6 miles features interactive maps, elevation profiles and photos of some of the carriage road bridges and other sights to see. Thanks to reader Caroline, who posed this question as part of our “Ask Acadia on My Mind!” series.

Hike Acadia’s 26 peaks, earn gold medal, aid charity

Have you ever hiked the 26 peaks of Acadia? Or maybe you’ve been thinking about it? Now there’s a way to earn a gold medal for bagging the peaks, or even for virtually “climbing” them, by signing up for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race, which runs through Dec. 8, 2018. The virtual race helps raise funds for Acadia and Katahdin-area charities. We’re proud to co-sponsor the race with Mount Desert Island Marathon & Half and Millinocket Marathon & Half as the virtual edition of the Sea to Summit Series. Between now and Dec. 8, racers are virtually heading over the 26 peaks of Acadia, along the real-life MDI and Millinocket Marathon & Half routes, passing by the offices of the 3 charities benefiting from this virtual race, skirting by at least 6 sites associated with Stephen King, and finishing on Katahdin. Everyone’s a winner whether they complete the race route by Dec. 8 or not, because every participant gets a medal, helps charity and enters a giveaway of Acadia, Millinocket and Stephen King-themed gifts. You can log your hiking, running or walking miles anywhere in the world.

Valley Cove tops backlog of work on Acadia trails

Planning on hitting Acadia’s hiking trails this summer? Then you’ll want to find out which trails are being affected by the park’s more than $9 million in deferred trail maintenance. One trail has been closed for two years, and others are in line for gravel resurfacing or log bridge replacements.The needed work is part of Acadia’s nearly $60 million in overall deferred maintenance, and the national park system’s nearly $12 billion backlog, affecting everything from facilities to infrastructure.

“Hiking Acadia National Park” wins gold medal in international book awards

“Hiking Acadia National Park” received top honors in the Independent Publisher Book Awards travel guide category, joining winners from 43 US states, 6 Canadian provinces and 11 overseas nations, in the 22nd year of the “IPPY Awards.”

Acadia’s Ship Harbor ideal for hiking Maine coast in all four seasons

Whether in winter, spring, summer or fall, Ship Harbor Trail in Acadia National Park offers easy access to great views. Plus there’s the mystery of the shipwreck, the unusual tree stump, the tide pools that can be explored and plentiful birdlife, to keep you coming back. You can also follow in the footsteps of President Obama by hiking this trail.

Acadia in winter like a picture-perfect postcard

With a recent foot of snow, and possibly more on the way, Acadia National Park should be ideal for snowshoeing, hiking and cross-country skiing this weekend. Recent rains also mean there is likely plenty of thick ice under the fresh snow to possibly make winter hiking risky in spots, even with MICROspikes(R) or snowshoes. It […]

Favorite Acadia winter hiking trails, from easy to more challenging

acadia in winter

A reader wants to know about Acadia winter hiking in December. Is it possible to climb Beehive? How about other favorite trails, from easy to more challenging? Ask Acadia on My Mind! Learn about Acadia winter access and activities.

Grand loop up Sargent Mountain tops hikes in Acadia National Park

A terrific aspect of hikes in Acadia National Park is that people can almost always get back to the start without retracing steps. Acadia’s tight, carefully designed network of 150 miles of trails allow hikers to create a  nearly countless number of loop trips. There are many circular hikes in Acadia National Park, but perhaps […]

Cadillac to Katahdin virtual race with medals connects long-lost friends

As Gregory Emerson of Topsham strolled through a local ArtWalk this summer, logging miles for a virtual race to benefit Acadia and Katahdin area charities, he struck up a conversation with an artisan whose wood carvings of freshwater fish he particularly admired. “I quickly realized it was a college buddy, Ray Chase, from Rumford, Maine,” […]