Acadia National Park is an East Coast gem for nature. Visiting over the course of a weekend trip unfortunately only gave me the opportunity for one full day of hiking. Knowing I needed to make the most of it, I found the Bernard Mountain trail to be the best blend of what I wanted to see.
The trailhead is pretty straightforward to get to and has a parking lot in addition to overflow parking along the road. I hiked this in mid-October on a weekend, and there was still a decent amount of space.
Follow the path along the lake to get to the trailhead. I HIGHLY recommend doing this trail clockwise for a more gradual ascent. The trail stays calm for about the first third of the experience. Be sure to pay close attention to signs as you will need to cross between multiple trails.
The trail pitch picks up pretty dramatically, but there isn’t much scrambling required, and the climb only goes for about a mile. Unfortunately, there isn’t much scenery until you get to the top. Most of the ridgeline is covered in trees, but the first overlook past Knight Nubble is awesome.
Be very careful in the next section as the rocks going down are very steep and slippery. This technical section goes for about a quarter of a mile until you get to the top of Mansell Mountain. Past the peak on the way to the descent has the best views in the whole hike. You get more opportunities for ocean views and can see the surrounding mountains behind you.
The way down consists entirely of sections of steep staircases. This makes it easy to get down quickly, but also a good reason to not do this section first. If short on time, I could see doing an out-and-back going up this way as a quicker route to views, but keep in mind that this is pretty tiring.
Once you make it down, you will find yourself back at the lake where you started. I found the total distance and elevation to be a bit more than listed on AllTrails, as you can see from my stats. Overall, I really enjoyed doing this hike and would recommend it, but be sure to give yourself more time than you think you need and be prepared for the up and down sections.
Who I'd Recommend This Hike To
- Those looking for an Acadia hike with elevation
- Those looking for a range of scenery
- Those looking for a less busy trail option
My Stats
