My Favorite 3 Hiking Trails in Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park is a natural wonderland. A jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, adrenaline-pumping, soul-feeding wonderland.

It’s one thing to visit the park and stay at a hotel nearby and drive through the park for some gorgeous views and Instagram-worthy pics. That works for some folks.

That doesn’t work for me. With our RV lifestyle, we are more “in tune” with, and in touch with, our natural surroundings. Outdoor living is an important part of our adventurous existence.

But it’s about more than sitting around a fire and cooking s’mores in the evenings. We love to get out there and trudge through our environment, get muddy and sweaty and nasty and leave a part of ourselves out there among the trees and the moss.

When we visited this incredible park and Bar Harbor, Maine in July, we knew we had to find some solid trails to explore while visiting the park. And boy did we!

As with most national parks in the United States, there are a few key things you should know before departing for your trip. The right preparation can help ensure your outdoor adventures fulfill your bucket list dreams.

Here’s the deal: If you are really into national parks and great hikes, Acadia deserves a spot at or near the top of your list. No doubt about it.

But believe it or not, there are at least 145 trails that you could explore in that national park alone. 145 trails! The number of natural wonders we have at our fingertips in this country is incredible.

AllTrails has been a go-to online stop for us as we have researched different trail options around the continent over the course of more than a year of travel. My three favorite hikes in Acadia are ranked in AllTrail’s list of top 10 best hikes in the park. Yeah, that’ll do.

Watch our short video that covers all three of these Acadia National Park hiking trails:

Acadia Hike #1: Great Head Trail Loop

Our first day in the park, we headed straight to Sand Beach and enjoyed a little dinner snack on the sand while enjoying a stellar sunset. A great start.

But the next day, we were ready to dig in and get a bit dirty and really see what this park had to offer. So we set out for our first trail: Great Head Trail Loop

Jumping off from Sand Beach, a very popular spot for park lovers, the Great Head Trail Loop is a moderate excursion that totals 1.6 miles if you complete the entire thing. Great vantage points of the cliffs and ocean and plenty of opportunities to scamper around on the coastal rocks and get great photos of tide pools, crashing waves, and even sea life.

This trail is ranked #8 out of 145 trails in Acadia National Park by AllTrails. Since we didn’t do all 145 trails in the park, we are just going to defer to their judgment on this one.

All we know is that it was a beautiful experience and we highly recommend it!

Acadia Hike #2: Precipice Trail

Great Head Trail was absolutely a great hike. But if you want some heart-pounding thrills as you scale the side of a mountain and hold on for dear life, Precipice Trail may be one of the best places for you.

After a few days exploring other areas of Acadia, my two boys and I decided to tackle Precipice. We set out nice and early in the morning and hit the trail around 8:00 am. (Our RV park was about an hour from the trailhead.)

This is one of the more challenging hikes in the park. Don’t let the short 1.4-mile roundtrip distance fool you. It is not for the faint of heart and it is not recommended for children. Posted signs warn anyone who passes risk serious injury and death.

Precipice is a steep climb with an elevation gain of 1,000 feet in less than a mile. You must be prepared to go all in on this one. There are sections of the hike where you have to climb over giant boulders and carefully navigate your way through narrow passages between and under these boulders.

And be prepared for other steep sections where you must grip the iron rungs to climb up the side of a cliff. You will be tiptoeing along narrow ledges at the cliff edge. Hold on tight to the metal handles in the rock to avoid tumbling down the mountain.

It. Is. Epic.

Short Distance, Strenuous Activity

It took us about three hours to complete this hike, including time at the top when we stopped to soak in the beautiful panoramic views. Despite the shorter distance, we felt more exhausted on this trail than we have on previous 8-10 mile hikes!

Yeah, it’s that intense. It is fantastic, but you have to know what you need to prepare yourself for before hitting the trail. And make sure you bring plenty of water!

Peregrine Falcon Nesting Season

We lucked out when we hiked Precipice because the trail is generally closed from March through August for falcon nesting season. When we were in Acadia in late July, they had just opened the trail for the summer season. Be sure and check the trail status before you head out.

Top Ranked Trail

AllTrails ranks this trail as #3 out of 145 trails in Acadia. That’s the highest ranking for any of our top three favorite trails. I’m not exactly sure how it could get much better than this hike, but at #3, this one is not to be missed, folks!

Consider Beehive Trail as an Alternative to Precipice

As a reminder, Precipice is not an easy trail. If you would like a similar challenge with the same great views but a bit less risk and danger, check out Beehive Trail.

It’s known as being an easier version of the Precipice Trail. At the top, you will enjoy spectacular ocean views.

Here is a quick summary of Beehive Trail.

Acadia Hike #3: Ocean Path Trail

After the thrill and exhaustion of Precipice Trail, we decided to spend our last evening in the area with a much tamer trail suitable for the whole family.

Ocean Path Trail turned out to be exactly what we needed. When we arrived on a very foggy evening, we were mesmerized by the mystique that the fog cast over the landscape.

In all honesty, we just hiked a small portion of this trail, from Thunder Hole to Monument Cove. The entire trail is a total of 3.9 miles out and back, but you can do any size section of it that suits you and I guarantee you will get everything you bargained for and more.

There was just so much to take in and enjoy along the coastline on that foggy evening that our two hours went far too fast and the light started fading. But what we did see was truly magical, as you can pick up from the video (which still doesn’t do it justice).

AllTrails ranks Ocean Path Trail as #7 out of 145 trails in Acadia National Park, so you know it’s not too shabby. 🙂

So yes, these are our top three picks for hikes in Acadia. But this is based on our personal experience only. Well that, and the top 10 rankings from AllTrails.

If we had hiked more, you can bet we would be recommending more hikes. And some might have even rivaled these hikes.

The bottom line is you must get out there and soak up some Acadia. The video and the pictures give you a taste of the experience, but being there is truly surreal, and any hike would make that just as true.

Get out there, get dirty, get your hike on, and keep on TREKKN!

Todd Bonner

Todd loves a competitive game of table tennis, a breathtaking hike, and exploring new places. He lived and traveled in an RV with his family as they traveled throughout much of the US and parts of Canada. Todd has extensive knowledge about RV travel, safety, and accessories and has shared many of his stories here on TREKKN. When he’s not busy launching and building small businesses, you may find him staring at pictures of Glacier National Park (probably his favorite spot on earth).