maine! cadillac mountain north trail and the gorge path.

January 11, 2020

maine! cadillac mountain north trail and the gorge path.

Although this wasn't a hiking vacation (defined as hiking daily), we knew we wanted to spend an entire day hiking at one location.

There are MANY options for hiking in Acadia National Park, many mountain trails, many coastal trails. We had a difficult time deciding!

We chose the iconic Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the East Coast at 1,530 feet high. Ironically, there is a road you can drive to the top, which we did the next day, but I'm glad we did this trail because it is quintessential Acadia and it was quite a beautiful hike to the top and almost more beautiful on the descent on a different trail. It was a foggy morning, so our view of the coast, islands and ocean was shrouded, so our time at the summit the next day gave us grand views. The overcast weather on the day of hiking also provided a not-too-hot summer hike, which was enjoyable since we don't hike in Summer at home due to the heat.

There are many trails up Cadillac Mountain, and after researching we chose the North Trail and were even able to find one of the last available parking spots at the busy trail head. The North Trail was a couple of miles in length, climbing about 1,000 feet in elevation - absolutely doable. We wanted to hike a different trail down the mountain so that we could have a different experience and view, but the trick was to find a trail that led back to our parked car and the Gorge Path fit that bill. The North Trail up was more open and the Gorge Path, as its name implies, was along a creek, enclosed in rock, complete with waterfalls.