May 26, 2026.
8.6 mi. | 1570′ ele. gain (2960′ loss) | 6 hr. | Cadillac Mt > Dorr Mt > The Tarn > Champlain Mt > Gorham Mt > Otter Cliff
If you search for hiking recommendations at Acadia National Park, you’ll find countless hiking websites, personal blogs, outfitter guides and the official NPS websites recommending the same handful of hikes. This is fine if you’ve never been hiking before or if you want to do the same thing that’s been time-tested by millions of visiting hikers. But that’s not the experience I was looking for. My goal was to try and link up the remaining highpoints in the park that I had on my list, and I could do it with the help of the park map and the free shuttle system!
The first thing I did was book a parking reservation for the Cadillac Mountain Summit Drive. This was not cheating; I’d already hiked to the summit of Cadillac! But, since this hike has been written about ad nauseum, I decided to skip it and tell this story instead. Here’s what you need to know: you MUST have a reservation to drive to the summit between late May and late October. As of this writing, permits cost %6 and are only available online (this is in addition to your parks entrance fee). For more particulars, check out the park’s website on this topic. Though I’m generally permit-averse, I found these easy to acquire last-minute, affordable and useful for managing traffic flow. Once you drive up, you can stay as long as you’d like, so this is where I left Aaron for the day.
I hopped out of the van on a stunningly beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were singing and I could see for miles and miles. Since my route was going to be almost all downhill, I didn’t bother taking my poles (foreshadowing). I took a trail that dropped straight down the northeast side of the mountain, carrying me towards a notch between Cadillac Mountain and my first stop: Dorr Mountain. I lost 500 feet of elevation in just 0.4 miles, which is even steep for New England standards. The trail flattened only briefly as it reached one open rock ledge after another. Wow! I thought, as I got view after view after view on this incredible route. From the bottom of the notch, I climbed right back up to the summit of Dorr.
There, I found a large rock cairn and plenty of open space where I could paise and take in the scenery all around. It was hard to believe I was just getting started.
Next, I took the Schiff Path down to the Ladder Trail. I had read a little bit about this route online; it looked like fun. For most of the descent (and to my dismay), there were no ladders. However, the route got really steep. Where were my poles, I lamented. There were lots of scrambly bits and big steps to negotiate. Then, there was the water. Though it was a blue sky day, it had recently rained and the earth was oozing water everywhere. Descending steep, wet rock covered in slippery lichen was quite treacherous at points. I moved gingerly and with patience.
At last, I noticed the first ladder. The hardest part was actually figuring out how to get on it, since it was on the other end of a sloped, wet slab of rock. Once I reached it, I felt much more secure. At the bottom, I wondered if that would be the only one. Soon, I’d learn there were several more.
The last one was actually the scariest of all. Since most people probably hike this trail from the bottom up, this made a lot of sense; put the worst one first so people won’t continue if that makes them scared. But I was committed, so I had to figure it out.
Getting to the top of the ladder was hard enough, but when I reached the bottom, I wondered how exactly to get off of it. I realized I’d crush my fingers if I grabbed the ladder normally, since the metal was bending towards the rock when I weighted the steps. I readjusted my hands and then stepped down towards the next rung. But there wasn’t one. I looked down and saw the last rung was three feet off the ground, which meant I needed to step all the way down with only a loose grip on the side of the ladder. What the hell? Thank goodness for a good single leg squat and a clear landing zone.
Dropping to the ground, I quickly ducked under a metal bar and wondered what THAT was for. Am I in an escape room?
Looking ahead, I could see no sign of a trail. Surely, people had to approach this ladder from somewhere. How could I lose the trail in such an obvious location? I scratched my head. To my right, I saw big boulders, in front of me and to the left were untrampled woods. Behind me, of course, was the ladder. It took a few minutes to realize the trail goes into the rocks via a body-squeeze size crack. As in, a large person might not actually fit through. I was floored. I continued into the labyrinthine passage and carried on. Many more steep sections and stone steps took me to the bottom of the trail.
Here, I turned north on the Kane Path and walked along The Tarn. This huge lake filled with sparkling blue water drew my attention away from the equally blue sky. As I boulder hopped along the flooded trail, I watched a muskrat swim by. Birds and butterflies zoomed past. It was an idyllic scene.
At the foot of the lake, I saw two young women crouched by the reeds. “Do you see something cool?” I asked. They mentioned the dragonflies were emerging and proceeded to teach me about the dragonfly lifecycle. They showed me the casting of a dragonfly nymph, which looked nothing like a dragonfly to me. I made a note to look up some more information later. (If you’re interested, it’s fascinating).
After a brief bit of flat trail, I began climbing once again. I took the Beachfront Path up to Champlain Mountain for my second summit of the day. Parts of the trail were constructed of large granite stones. I imagined the amount of effort put in to building and maintaining these trails. It was a reminder to look up ways to get on another trail crew this summer.
After a brief rest, I turned down the Champlain South Ridge trail. This route follows the ridge over a series of mostly open little bumps and saddles. I enjoyed views of the ocean along this long, beautiful trail.
Once I got down to the Bowl, the entire feeling of the hike shifted. Though I’d seen several hikers today, they were pretty cheerful and spaced out. Now it felt like I descended into a mob. People with their off leash dogs, walking with no awareness of their surroundings, blasting music, etc. I ran into every stereotype of an obnoxious tourist on this stretch of the route. I put my head down and determined to make it out as quickly as possible at this point, My lovely day was over.
I tagged Gorham Mountain with zero fanfare and started jogging down the trail. I didn’t stop until I hit the parking lot.
At the ocean’s edge, I scanned the rocks from left to right. As soon as I spied a miraculously empty spot, I made a beeline for it. There, I pulled off my shoes, got out my painting supplies and set to capturing this incredible scene. Nearby, gulls landed in hopes of a handout, but I kept my eyes on the pink granite and blue ocean.
But, my adventure was not over yet. I walked about a half mile up the road to a bus stop and waited for the shuttle. Shuttle service in Acadia is free and runs all summer long, with reduced service through the shoulder season. With a little extra time in the day, I decided to hop off the bus at Jordan Pond House and brave the crowds for a lemonade and a popover, Despite the chaotic environment, this treat really hit the spot and the popover was far superior to the one we got in town the day before.
With a full belly, I hopped back on the shuttle and took it to the Visitor Center. This is where I’d asked Aaron to pick me up on the way out of the park. It was a great way to avoid having to drive through the park, which was wall-to-wall people and vehicles. Acadia sure is beautiful but it’s also far too busy for me. I was glad to check it off the list.
And, with that hike, I completed the Acadia 5-peak challenge. It was time to go somewhere a little more quiet.
