Hiking ME

Directions

For directions to the park go to the Acadia National Park page. Please consider using the free bus system in the park to assure you aren't driving around in circles trying to find a place to park. If you do use the buses make sure you plan your hikes so you don't miss the last bus of the day.

When in the park you will need to display a park pass. The best way to get a park pass is at the Sand Beach Entrance Station on the Park Loop Road. From Bar Harbor travel south on Route 3 (Main Street) for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) and then turn right into the park entrance. This short access road will take you to the Park Loop Road. Turn right onto this one-way road. Drive for 2.6 miles (4.2 km) and you will come to the Entrance Station. Buy a pass and continue to drive on the loop road. For more details on park fees go here. Make sure you enjoy all the spectacular views along the way.

Drive for 9.2 miles (14.8 km) on the Park Loop Road and then turn left into the Jordan Pond Parking lot. Note that this is one of the busiest places in the park and may be difficult to find a parking space at prime times.

Once you find a parking space make your way down to Jordan Pond in front of the Jordan Pond House restaurant. At the ponds edge you will find one of the most iconic views in the park of the Bubbles rising over Jordan Pond. From here follow the Jordan Stream Carriage Road back towards the restaurant and then turn right onto the Spring Trail. The Spring Trail is a short climb (480 yards) on rock steps up to the beginning of the Jordan Cliffs Trail on the right and the Penobscot Mountain Trail straight ahead.

It is also possible to access the other end of this trail from the Deer Brook Trail and the Penobscot Mountain Trail.

Description

The Jordan Cliffs Trail is an amazing trail with spectacular views but it is not for the faint of heart. From the Spring Trail the trail climbs up over the the Amphitheatre Carriage Road and then climbs rounded granite faces to gain elevation. You will soon come to beautiful views of the Bubbles over Jordan Pond.

The trail climbs rock stairs up along boulders and small cliffs. The cliffs get progressively higher and the trail gets progressively more difficult. In a few places there are iron rungs to help climb small ledges. There is also a unique set of stairs made from three logs that help you get down back down to the trail from a ledge.

There is a bit of boulder scrambling in one section. Just following this the trail passes by some really narrow ledges on the cliff face. In one place there is a log bolted into the rock to keep your feet from slipping off. Following this there is a place where you climb a full set of irong rungs up a ledge along the cliff face. Just after this climb you will come to a trail junction. Turning right will take you down to the Deer Brook Trail. Turn left and you will continue to climb up towards Penobscot Peak.

After a short scramble towards Penobscot Peak you will come to the large, wide flat granite top of the mountain. This part of the trail goes along the tops of the cliffs and offers unfettered views of Jordan Pond and the Bubbles. You should also be able to see all the way to the ocean to the south, and to Eagle Lake and Frenchman Bay to the north. This section of trail ends at Penobscot Peak.

The Jordan Cliffs Trail can be easily made into a loop by returning on the Penobscot Mountain Trail or the Jordan Pond Path. I would suggest starting this trail from the Jordan Pond restaurant end of the trail as there are a few climbs that would be more difficult going down. If you are taking the bus you could also continue to the Deer Brook Trail and go explore the Bubbles. You could then catch the bus at the Bubbles parking lot.

• Trail Last Hiked: October 7, 2016
• Page last updated: April 10, 2020