Acadia National Park in mid-coast Maine features over 150 miles of hiking trails. From forests, lakes, and mountain tops to coastline treks the hiking is excellent at Acadia.
A beautiful family friendly hike is Gorham Mountain Trail. It’s close to the coast, so you get wonderful ocean views from the summit and along portions of the trail.
Gorham Mountain hiking trail features beautiful rock formations of pink granite, wild blueberry bushes, and wonderful coastal views.
Even though it’s not the tallest mountain in Acadia, Gorham offers excellent views from the summit. It’s a great family friendly hike or do it as a solo hike like I did.
Gorham Mountain Hike Details
Distance: 2 miles (2.6 km) round trip
Elevation gain: 500 ft (160 m)
Type of hike: Out and back
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: Allow 1 – 2 hours
Dogs allowed: Yes, always keep dogs on leash
Cadillac Cliffs trail intersects with Gorham trail, watch for the wooden signs on the trail. I do recommend hiking the Cadillac Cliffs for some cool rock formations. Parts of the Cadillac Cliffs trail offer some shade.
Gorham Mountain Loop trail is a longer but still a moderate hike. You’ll take Gorham Mountain trail and continue north to the Bee Hive and return via the Ocean Path trail with beautiful coastal views. Gorham loop is about 5 miles round trip.
Gorham Mountain Hike Description
Starting out the hiking trail is through the forest with a gentle uphill slope. Soon you’ll notice the cairns set along the trail.
These are known as Bates Cairns, named after Waldron Bates, who created the cairn system and helped establish several trails in Acadia.
Near the beginning of the trail there is a sign with info about the Bates Cairns. And there is a memorial plaque for Waldron Bates on the Gorham trail where it intersects with Cadillac Cliffs trail.
Bates Cairns are set up to point the direction of the trail with the pointer rock on top of the cairn. The space between the base rocks also indicates the direction of the trail.
It’s important that you don’t add or remove any of the rocks on the cairns.
Another thing you will notice are wild blueberry bushes which offer a delightful snack when the berries are in season. In fall the bushes turn brilliant shades of red and orange.
Fall is the perfect time to visit Maine for the gorgeous foliage. In fact Acadia National Park is on our list of best national parks for fall colors.
Continuing on the trail the cairns guide you up the mountain, with rock surfaces for much of the way, and some stone stairs.
At the trail peak there is a wooden summit marker and the elevation of 525 feet offers marvelous views of Sandy Beach and Great Head to the east.
Looking south you’ll see Otter Point, a great spot for watching the waves.
If you take Cadillac Cliffs route, you’ll hike along the cliffs and sometimes though crawl spaces in the rock formations.
It’s a bit more rugged than the Gorham Mountain hike.
Acadia National Park Fees
The entry fee covers you for a full 7 consecutive days visiting Acadia park.
Personal vehicle: $30
Motorcycle: $25
Cyclist/Pedestrian: $15
There is also an annual pass for Acadia National Park that costs $55. If you live nearby but don’t travel to other national parks this is a great option.
Otherwise, consider buying the America the Beautiful annual park pass if you plan to visit more national parks. It costs $80 and covers your entry fees to ALL the US national parks and monuments for a full 12 months from purchase date.
Over age 62? It only costs $20 for an annual pass or $80 for a LIFETIME pass.
Additionally, there are free passes for military, U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent disabilities, volunteers, and 4th graders.
Visit the National Park website for more info on park passes and buy your pass online.
Acadia National Park Seasonal Closures
Although the park is open year round there is limited access to vehicles during winter months.
Park Loop Road opens to motor vehicle traffic on April 15, weather permitting, and remains open until December 1, unless snowfall causes early closure.
Some areas of the park are open to vehicle traffic year round, such as Jordan Pond Road and Sand Beach entrance station to Otter Cliff Road.
When the Park Loop Road is closed to vehicles you can still use the road for walking, cycling, skiing, roller skating, and skateboarding.
Parking at Acadia National Park
Parking is often difficult to find in Acadia. The earlier in the day you get to the park the better your chances of finding parking at your desired location.
There is a small parking lot at Gorham Mountain Trailhead, take the Park Loop Road and drive past Sand Beach and Thunder Hole.
Watch for the sign on the right for Gorham Mountain Trail shortly after Thunder Hole.
I lucked out on a busy Saturday in the fall and got a spot at the trailhead.
If you can’t get parking at the trailhead you can try Otter Point parking lot and enjoy the coastal walk to Gorham mountain trailhead.
When it’s super busy start looking for parking earlier on, like at the Sand Beach parking area.
Since the Park Loop Road is one-way traffic on this side of the park you can’t turn around to backtrack looking for parking.
Another option for getting around the park is the Island Explorer Bus which normally operates from late June through mid-October. Check their website for service info and updates.
The Island Explorer Bus is free to ride all 10 routes, with stops at campgrounds, hotels, beaches, hiking trails, as well as shops and restaurants in Bar Harbor.
More Ideas for a Maine Vacation
7 Coastal Towns in Maine You will LOVE so much you won’t want to leave :)
Camden State Park is a beautiful place for hiking and camping.
Belfast Maine is an excellent base for exploring coastal Maine.
Rockland Breakwater is a unique walk out to the lighthouse along the huge rocks forming the breakwater.
If you have any questions or suggestions please leave them in the comments section below. Enjoy traveling around Maine!
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