Trail name(s)
Hunters Beach Trail, Hunters Cliffs Trail, Ledges Loop Trail
Location
Acadia National Park, Hunters Cliffs Natural Lands, Mount Desert Isle, Maine
Permitted uses
Hiking, bird watching, nature study
Prohibited uses
No biking, No motorcycles, No trapping, No camping, No overnight parking, No fires, No horses, No collecting of plants, rocks or animals. No feeding of wildlife. Do not build or add to any cairns along the trail. No use of drones.
Hours
Parts of Acadia National Park are open year round and are open 24 hours a day. However, not all areas are accessible or staffed year round. It's best to check the park’s website and plan ahead for your visit. Follow the link below to find out if the area you want to visit is open during the time you want to visit.
https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/hours.htm
These trails are part of the Hunters Cliffs Natural Lands, a Land and Garden Preserve found within Acadia National Park. The trails are available to hikers year round during daylight hours.
Fees and Parking
There is a fee to enter Acadia National Park. The fee schedule can be found at the park’s website or by following this link:
https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/fees.htm
There is not an additional fee to use the trails at the Hunters Cliffs Natural Lands, but tax deductible donations are gratefully accepted at a donation box that was supposed to be next to the kiosk (we could not find it), or can be made by using the posted QR code or by visiting the website at the link below:
https://www.gardenpreserve.org/donate
This is a new parking area. The parking area nearer to the Champlain Monument has been closed. There is a great deal of parking spaces at this trailhead parking area.
Pets
Dogs are allowed on the trails and must be kept on a leash that is not longer than 6 feet. Pets waste must be properly disposed of by the owner.
Accessibility
This hike is not wheelchair accessible.
Hiker amenities
There is an information kiosk at the trailhead with a posted map of the trails. There are no restrooms or trash bins. Please carry out all waste you create or find.
Length and Trail information
This hike was done as a Loop Hike and was approximately 1.6 miles in length. The Hunters Beach Trail is easy and the Hunters Cliffs trail is moderate with some rock scrambles to navigate to see the nicest views. We believe that the trails are supposed to be marked by green trail blazes, but we were only able to see remnants of two very old wooden markers during our hike, and only one had visible green on it. However, the trails are very well traveled and are quite easy to follow. There are engraved wooden signs at several junctions that will assist hikers to stay on the trail. There appears to be a lot of ongoing improvement activity on the Hunters Beach trail, so perhaps in the future there will be more noticeable trail blazes installed.
Our goal for this hike was to enjoy some time at Hunters Beach and then find a nice spot along Hunters Cliffs Trail to enjoy a picnic with views of the ocean. We started our hike on the Hunters Beach Trail by using the entrance right behind the kiosk between two large stones. The path here is fairly wide and flat and brings hikers through a dense mixed forest. The trail eventually bumps into Cooksey Drive. There is additional but limited parking for access to the trail on Cooksey Drive.
At Cooksey Drive, we headed to the left and down the road less than an eighth of a mile where we saw another small parking area as well as a wooden engraved sign marking the reentrance to the trail. Here the trail is wide and has a packed gravel substrate. On either side of the trail we saw equipment that is being used to continue improving the substrate.
The trail descended through the forest and beside Hunters Brook. The change in elevation is not very steep, but steps made from wood logs and compacted earth have been installed here to assist hikers to safely descend. This seems to be one of the many improvements in progress that we noticed during the hike on Hunters Beach Trail. Further down we found a sturdy beautifully made wooden bridge over Hunters Brook that led to a gorgeous boardwalk that seemed to go on and on. All of these improvements to the trail are impressive, but we were really impressed when we came to the newly built and installed viewing platform. This platform allows hikers to sit and contemplate while enjoying a close up view of Hunters Brook and Hunters Beach. Exiting the viewing platform we were delighted to see another boardwalk, this one with a handrail leading to more wooden and earth steps that will assist hikers to ascend safely up a small incline.
Be on the lookout for fairy houses that can be found here on the side of the trail. At the end of the wooden/earth steps we were back on a narrow forest path that led us directly to Hunters Beach.
Hunters Beach is a gorgeous spot. The beach is small and covered by tons and tons of ocean smoothed stones, all in different sizes and colors. It’s a magical setting to be in this small cove with the cliffs on the sides and the forest behind you. We lingered at the beach for a while enjoying the sound of the waves before heading onto Hunters Cliffs Trail that heads slowly up the side of the Cliff.
The Hunters Cliffs Trail does not have any signage to mark it, but it can be easily found by heading west from the beach. The trail improvements found on Hunters Beach Trail have not yet reached the Hunters Cliffs Trail, and so the substrate is more natural.The views from the trail are mesmerizing, and it will be difficult not to keep stopping to gaze at the ocean below. Every step was a new photo opportunity.
We continued our hike until we came upon an engraved wooden sign marking the start of the Ledges Loop Trail. This trail is just a short hike off of Hunters Cliffs Trail that loops around the ledge and rejoins the Hunters Cliffs trail. The trail is marked sporadically by cairns, but it’s pretty much a large open area of ledge offering unobstructed views of the ocean. There is a section of the trail that presumably used to go directly along the cliff face, but that part of the trail has been closed to hikers. From the closure sign, we could see remnants of the once used trail and metal handrail. We explored the surrounding area and eventually found a good spot for our picnic. As we ate our lunch we noticed a lobster boat enter the cove to haul up its traps. It felt like we were watching quintessential Maine unfold right in front of us. We finished up our lunch and headed back onto the trail.
As you hike away from the ocean the trail gets more wooded. The ledge remains as a substrate but the trail becomes more narrow. We hiked until we found a stone bench that had been installed along the trail and paused to enjoy one last look at the ocean before heading back into the woods and on to the parking area.
This hike was wonderful, one of the nicest hikes we have been able to enjoy along the coast of Maine. We really appreciate the time, effort and thought that has gone into the improvements that are in progress and hope to visit again when we come back to Acadia because one visit is not nearly enough.
