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| View from Great Head |
We found the short loop trail over the rock outcropping known as Great Head to be one of the neatest little hikes at Acadia. With its rocky coastline, windswept foliage, and magnificent vistas out to sea, Great Head is quintessential Maine. But with that natural beauty comes a price... the crowds.
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| Break time on Great Head loop trail |
Since it was our last day on the island, we opted for a later start time around mid-morning and therefore had to wait through a small traffic jam up at one of park gates. Once through, we passed an overflowing parking lot at the Precipice trail up to Champlain Mountain and then got the very last available spot at the Sand Beach parking area. Once traversing the beach, we climbed up a short but steep escarpment to start the loop of Great Head, which we decided to do in a counter clockwise direction. From the top, one has a nice view of the Beehive. We had our binoculars and used them to follow a number of obviously-scared-out-of-their-wits people slowly making their way up the open ledges of this famous Acadia "ladder" trail.
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| The Beehive |
Despite some slow moving groups and at least one crazed kid who liked to race ahead of his family and check out what we were doing, we soon left the crowds behind and enjoyed a hike of numerous ocean vistas and plenty of open rocks for long, leisurely breaks. We even caught the sporadic boom of the Thunder Hole further down the coast - a place where the surf enters a cleft in the granite cliffs and produces a thunderous cannon-like roar. Continuing our loop after a long lunch break, we connected with the Saterlee Trail and followed it back to Sand Beach, completing the short 2 mile loop.
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| "Ooooh, what's this?" |
We passed the bustling parking area for the Beehive en route and thought about tacking it on to the day.
Nah. Maybe next time.
Hike: Great Head Loop
Elevation: 139 feet
Distance: 2 miles round trip
Route: Loop; Great Head Loop Trail to Saterlee Trail
Conditions: Party sunny, 60 degrees F
