View from the top of Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

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NOTE: The following trail review discusses the slope of the trail, which is called a grade. This is not the angle of the slope, but the calculation of rise (climb in elevation) divided by run (length of horizontal progress) expressed as a percentage ((rise/run) x 100). For example, using feet as the unit of measurement, a 10% grade means that a trail climbs 10 feet for every 100 feet in length. Positive grades are inclines and negative grades are declines; National Park Planner uses positive numbers in all cases, but gives a written indication of whether a slope is uphill or downhill. The grade given for an entire trail is an average, so mountainous trails may have sections with extremely steep grades as well as level areas. For reference:

• A wheelchair accessible trail has a grade of no more than +/-5%
• Most recreational trails are designed to be no more than +/-10%, with a steeper segment every now and then
• Most people agree that a +/-15% grade is where things begin to get really steep
• Stairs in a typical house and the steepest ski slopes have a grade of 60%
• A 45º angle is equal to a grade of 100%
• A stepladder has a grade of 260%
• A wall perpendicular to the ground (straight up) has a grade of infinity

To put Acadia National Park mountain trails into perspective, the average grade from the first Nepal base camp to the summit of Mount Everest is 17%, while the average grade from South Col (final camp) to the summit is 60%. Average grades of many trails in Acadia exceed Everest’s 17%, and short stretches go way beyond 60%. The difference, aside from ice and snow, is that the 60% grade of the South Col to Everest summit hike covers 3,100 vertical feet and lasts for a mile, whereas a 60% grade at Acadia may last a few hundred feet. The tallest mountain in Acadia is only 1,530 feet, so even if the grade was 60% from bottom to top, the hike would still only be half as long as the Everest summit hike.

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ACADIA MOUNTAIN TRAIL LOOP HIKE

Length: 3-mile loop from the parking area
Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Extremely difficult

Acadia Mountain is located just east of Echo Lake on the west side of Acadia National Park’s Mount Desert Island. A 3-mile loop hike to the summit can be formed by combining the Acadia Mountain Trail and the Man O’ War Brook Fire Road. Other than the obvious exercise, the main purpose of the hike is to see the wonderful views at the top. Therefore, if you have a choice—tourists often don’t—do not attempt this hike unless there is a blue sky. If you get to the top and see nothing but fog, a common form of weather along the coast of Maine, you are just wasting your time.

It is much safer to climb up a mountain on its steepest side than to go down that way—just imagine tripping while walking up a staircase versus walking down one. A hike up the west side of Acadia Mountain begins at an elevation of 205 feet and climbs to the summit at 681 feet in .7 mile, which equates to an average grade of 13%, with some short sections having grades of up to 40%. The hike up the east side, on the other hand, averages a grade of 18% to the summit and has sections with grades as steep as 90%. Therefore, if you have a choice, the best way to tackle this hike is to start on the Man O’ War Brook Fire Road and hike back on the Acadia Mountain Trail. I did not know this at the time, and thus suffered a grueling descent down the east side. I will describe the hike in this direction since that’s the way I went—just don’t go this way.

Acadia Mountain Trail Loop Hike map (click to enlarge)

There is a small roadside parking lot a tenth of a mile south of the trailhead on the southbound side of Route 102. From there you can walk back up the street and start the hike on the Man O’ War Brook Fire Road. The trailhead is located on the opposite side of the road and is marked by a bus stop for the free Island Explorer Shuttle Bus; the Acadia Mountain Trail intersection is .2 mile ahead. Another option is to walk directly across the street from the parking lot and take the .1-mile connector to the Saint Sauveur Trail, then turn left and walk .2 mile to the intersection with the Acadia Mountain Trail. It’s about the same distance either way. I walked up the street to the bus stop.

Access the Man ‘O War Brook Fire Road from the Acadia Mountain bus stop on Route 102, Acadia National Park

If the parking lot is full, which is likely even if you arrive by 9 AM, park along the street. Later in the day cars will line both sides of the road for quite a ways. There is also an official parking lot .3 mile to the north on the southbound side of the highway.

Cars parked along Route 102 near the Acadia Mountain Trail, Acadia National Park

From the intersection with the Acadia Mountain Trail you can see a massive boulder, an ominous beginning to the hike. The simple thing to do would be to walk around the boulder, but the surrounding area is off limits due to it being under restoration, so you must hike up the crevice that runs through the center. I had to put away my hiking poles, as this requires what is known as scrambling up the rock using both hands and feet. I love this sort of stuff—hiking is much more interesting when there are obstacles in the way.

Start of the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

There are many times when the Acadia Mountain Trail—a mixture of rockslide rubble and tree roots—becomes hard to follow. To help matters, blue blazes are either painted on the rocks or on the trees. These function as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs, so when in doubt as to which way to go, look for these blazes. In areas where there are no trees at all, cairns are used to mark the trail. These are distinct piles of rocks placed on barren surfaces. You typically can see from one marker to the next, and if not, you should see one within a few minutes of hiking if you are going in the right direction.

Blue blaze painted on a rock along the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

Cairns along the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

Around .4 mile into the hike is a wall of boulders. This is where the above mentioned 40% grades on the east side of the mountain come into play. Steps have been made from the rocks, but some of them are taller than I could reasonably step up onto, so it was back to scrambling. Take solace in the fact that this is the toughest part of the climb to the summit.

Beginning of the steepest part of the hike up the west face of Acadia Mountain on the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

Once over the rocks, the trail resorts to climbing the steeper areas via switchbacks. I saw no blazes and only knew which way to go because many people were coming down, two of whom slipped on loose dirt and nearly fell. You’ll find no solitude on this hike, for it is one of the most popular at Acadia National Park. After all, it is Acadia Mountain. I hiked many popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and never saw this many people.

Once the switchbacks end, the ascent becomes much easier, though that’s in comparison to the previous section. There are far less boulders and roots to deal with, but you still must watch your every step to make sure you don’t step wrong and twist an ankle.

Typical terrain towards the top of Acadia Mountain on the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

The summit is .7 mile from the start of the Acadia Mountain Trail—.9 mile if you include the walk from the parking lot—and it took me 50 minutes. There are a few spots that you may mistake for the summit, but the official summit is marked with a sign that states the elevation, 681 feet in this case.

Summit of Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

Of course there are excellent views, and I was lucky enough to have a clear day. The large body of water to the east is Somes Sound. The small mountain that juts out into the water is Flying Mountain, which can be summited via the Flying Mountain Trail.

View from the top of Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

Panoramic view from the top of Acadia Mountain (click to enlarge), Acadia National Park

If you just came for the view, the smartest decision you will make is to turn around and head back the way you came. If you are hiking the loop, continue east across the top of the mountain. The trail makes a quick and steep drop just past the summit—I tossed my hiking poles to the bottom and slid down—but after that you have a fairly level half-mile hike to the east side.

Steep drop on the Acadia Mountain Trail just past the summit of Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

Just before beginning the descent is a mini-summit with more excellent views. This time you are looking south, straight down Somes Sound towards the Atlantic Ocean. The thing to realize is that you will be heading towards the water, and it doesn’t look too far away. This means you have a very short distance to drop nearly 600 feet (the elevation on the east side is much lower than the west side parking lot).

View from the second peak on Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

While at the summit I met a local couple who told me that the secret was to climb up the east side, not down it. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” the man said of the east-side descent. However, for the first .3 mile the hike wasn’t that bad. Perhaps the couple hadn’t climbed many mountains. But then came those 90% grades that I mentioned earlier, and for the rest of the way down the grade rarely fell below -20%.

The last third of a mile was extremely strenuous, not to mention treacherous. There are three drops that I had to slide down, and the rest of the hike consisted of stepping—and jumping—down from boulders and large rocks. Two foot drop, two foot drop, one foot drop, two foot drop, ad infinitum. If you have bad knees as I do, they are going to take a pounding. Even with hiking poles alleviating much of the impact, I was still starting to get worn out. This is why hiking uphill may be tougher cardiovascular-wise, but it’s much easier in regards to stress on legs and knees. There is no need to bore anyone with details, for the following photos help illustrate the point. Many of these are looking back up from where I came because it was too dangerous to take photos on the way down.

Boulder field on the east side of Acadia Mountain, Acadia National Park

Climbing down the east side of Acadia Mountain on the Acadia Mountain Trail, Acadia National Park

Steep terrain on the east side of the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

More boulders to climb on the Acadia Mountain Trail at Acadia National Park

At the bottom is a sign pointing to an overlook. This is a short but still quite steep walk to a ledge about sixty feet above Somes Sound. I took the detour and actually made my way down to the water’s edge from the overlook.

Somes Sound at Acadia National Park

Man O’ War Brook Fire Road is less than 100 yards away from the overlook turnoff. At this point you will have hiked 1.8 miles, including the walk from the parking lot. A directional sign marks the intersection.

Directional sign at the intersection of the Acadia Mountain Trail and Man O’ War Brook Fire Road, Acadia National Park

The Fire Road starts off just like an ordinary hiking trail with rocks and roots, but within a minute it becomes a gravel road. It’s not exactly level, but who’s complaining at this point? It’s an easy hike back to the parking lot, a 1.1 mile walk (.9 on the actual fire road).

Terrain at the start of the eastern end of the Man O’ War Brook Fire Road at Acadia National Park

Typical terrain on the Man O’ War Brook Fire Road at Acadia National Park

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