Hiking_Acadia_final-11

Distance: 0.8 mile out and back

Hiking time: About 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Trail surface: Gravel road, forest floor, sandy trail at end

Best season: Spring through fall

Other trail users: Dog walkers, joggers, area residents

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Map: USGS Acadia National Park and Vicinity

Special considerations: No facilities

Finding the trailhead: From downtown Bar Harbor head south on ME 3 for 1 mile. A parking lot is located on the left (east) just after Nannau Wood, a private road, and just before Old Farm Road, also private. The trail begins off the parking lot. If the parking lot is full, you can park at the town ball fields and walk south just over 0.5 mile along ME 3 to the trailhead. The Island Explorer bus does not have a stop here, although the Sand Beach line goes by; ask the bus driver to let you off if it is safe to do so. GPS: N44 37.38' / W68 19.76'

The Hike

Standing out over Compass Harbor, you can imagine park trailblazer George B. Dorr taking his daily swim in the cold waters of Frenchman Bay or tending to the gardens that once surrounded his home here.

The trail begins as a wide gravel road off the parking lot and soon comes to a sign pointing to Compass Harbor. The trail goes left and narrows as it approaches the harbor and the crashing surf in the distance.

Head out on a sandy trail on a peninsula toward Dorr Point, but stop before the erosion. Compass Harbor and Ogden Point are located to the left (north and northwest), and Sols Cliff is to the right (southeast). Frenchman Bay is straight ahead. In summer or fall you may see a cruise ship heading to or from Bar Harbor. In spring you can find wild lupine and flowering trees near the shore.

Just before reaching the point, an unofficial trail leads to the ruins of the Dorr estate, Old Farm, which was built on land purchased by Dorr’s father in 1868 and accepted by the US government as part of the park in 1942.

We counted forty-three granite steps and came upon an aged brick foundation. The park service does not maintain the old homesite, and there were no historical markers at the time of our visit.

None of Dorr’s formal gardens remain, either, but there are many nonnative plants that can still be found at the homesite and in the surrounding forest. Some may have been among those originally transplanted from the family’s Massachusetts estate.

In 2010 park volunteer Jim Allen researched and developed a tour of the remains of Old Farm and called it “The Missing Mansion.” As he led a group to the site on a sunny September morning, Allen stood where the library used to be and handed out historic photos of some of the mansion’s rooms.

During his talk, Allen conjured up a vision not only of the once-grand estate but also of Dorr. In describing how Dorr seemingly changed from bashful to bold as he found his calling—preserving the park—Allen said, “I have no proof of this, but I think the passion transformed the man.”

And Dorr was passionate about his cherished Old Farm becoming part of the park. He even offered the property as a summer White House to both Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to garner support. But they never came.

The property finally became part of the park two years before Dorr died. But after the end of World War II, the federal government found it too expensive to preserve and maintain Old Farm and razed the estate. Today the National Park Service calls Dorr the father of the park and credits him for his indefatigable work in leading the effort to create Acadia.

There’s no better spot to ponder that than Compass HarboReturn the way you came.

Miles and Directions

0.0Start at the Compass Harbor trailhead, which leaves from the parking lot on the left (east) side of ME 3, just south of Nannau Wood, a private road.

0.1Turn left at the junction toward Compass Harbor.

0.4Approach Dorr Point and the remains of George B. Dorr’s Old Farm estate. Retrace your steps.

0.8Arrive back at the trailhead.