Hiking_Acadia_final-18

Distance: 4.0 miles out and back

Hiking time: About 2 to 2.5 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Trail surface: Graded gravel path, forest floor

Best season: Spring through fall, particularly early morning or late afternoon in summer to avoid the crowds

Other trail users: Motorists who stop along the Park Loop Road to view Thunder Hole or Otter Point, rock climbers accessing Otter Cliff

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Map: USGS Acadia National Park and Vicinity

Special considerations: Seasonal restrooms and a pay phone available at Sand Beach parking lot; restrooms at Thunder Hole (sea

sonal) and Fabbri (year-round) parking areas

Finding the trailhead: From the park’s visitor center, drive south on the Park Loop Road for about 3 miles, and turn left (east) at the sign for Sand Beach. Follow the one-way Park Loop Road for about 5.5 miles, past the Park Loop Road Entrance Station, to the beach parking lot on the left (east) side of the road. The trailhead is on the right (east), just before the stairs to the beach. The Island Explorer’s Loop Road and Sand Beach lines stop at the beach parking lot. GPS: N44 32.94' / W68 18.38'

The Hike

The sounds of the ocean and the views of rocky cliffs and pink granite shoreline are never far from Ocean Path. When the conditions are just right at Thunder Hole, halfway along the path, the surf crashes through rocky chasms with a thunderous roar. At Otter Point, at trail’s end, the sound of a buoy ringing fills the air. Rock climbers can be seen scaling Otter Cliff, one of the premier rock climbing areas in the eastern United States, while picnickers, birders, and sun worshippers can be found enjoying themselves on the flat pink granite slabs that dot the shore here.

First used as a buckboard road in the 1870s, Ocean Path and Ocean Drive were incorporated into John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s vision of scenic roads, bringing visitors to many of Mount Desert Island’s unique features. He began motor road construction in the park in 1927 and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to lay out many of the routes, including the Otter Cliff section of Ocean Drive. The Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt Ocean Path during the Great Depression of the 1930s with funding assistance from Rockefeller.

Because of its ease and accessibility, Ocean Path can be crowded during the height of the tourist season. The best time to walk it is either very early or very late on a summer’s day or, as we have, in spring or fall. If you explore the shore along Ocean Path, park officials ask that you please stay on designated routes to and from the path.

The Ocean Path trailhead is on the right just before the stairs to Sand Beach. Follow the gravel path past the changing rooms and restrooms, up a series of stairs, and then left (south), away from a secondary parking area. The easy trail takes you southwest along the shore, paralleling the Ocean Drive section of the Park Loop Road.

Thunder Hole, a popular destination, is at 1.0 mile. Many visitors driving through the park on calm summer days stop here and cause a traffic jam but go away disappointed because their timing was off. The best times to experience the power of Thunder Hole are after a storm and as high tide approaches, when the surf crashes violently through the chasms, pushing trapped air against the rock and creating a sound like the clap of thunder.

Even when you know the best time to visit Thunder Hole, it can still take a number of times before you hit it right. On one trip to Acadia, we went with our nieces Sharon and Michelle to this spot three times, once late at night with stormy seas, but didn’t hear the thundering boom we expected.

If you visit Thunder Hole during stormy conditions, be careful. Visitors have been swept out to sea here and at Schoodic Peninsula, a reminder of how powerful nature can be along Acadia’s coast. Watch out for large waves, stay a safe distance away, and don’t turn your back on the ocean.

At 1.3 miles on Ocean Path, you will pass a short series of stairs on the right (west), which lead across the Park Loop Road to the Gorham Mountain trailhead.

The path’s only noticeable elevation gain comes as it rises through the woods toward Otter Cliff, reached at 1.8 miles. On the approach, rock climbers can be seen scaling the rock face or waiting at the top of the cliff for their turn to rappel down. A staircase leads down on the left (east) to the rock climbers’ registration board.

Ocean Path ends at 2.0 miles at Otter Point, where you can watch the sun set over Acadia and find a nearby commemorative plaque dedicated to Rockefeller.

Return the way you came.

Miles and Directions

0.0Start at the Ocean Path trailhead, on the right just before the stairs to Sand Beach. Follow the gravel path up a series of stairs and then left (south), away from a secondary parking area.

1.0Reach Thunder Hole, where a viewing platform may be closed during stormy seas.

1.3Pass the Gorham Mountain trailhead, which is across the Park Loop Road.

1.8Reach Otter Cliff, where you can see rock climbers scaling the precipice.

2.0Arrive at Otter Point, where you can watch the sun set if you time it right, before retracing your steps.

4.0Arrive back at the trailhead.