Warmer temperatures are finally coming to New York City which means it will soon be time to start planning weekend getaways. One of my favorite ways to ring in spring time is with hiking!
One of the best hikes I’ve ever done is the Beehive Trail in Maine’s Acadia National Park and it’s right here in my home of the northeast. Located in Bar Harbor, the Beehive Trail is an exhilarating hike with jaw dropping views at every turn. Plus any hike that can be followed with a fresh lobster roll is an A+ in my book!
The Beehive Trail is only 2 miles roundtrip so it’s a pretty fast hike despite its difficulty. The trail is easy to find and starts across from the Sand Beach parking lot. We parked on the road though I’m not sure if that’s where you’re actually supposed to park. We were one of MANY cars that were overflowing from the beach parking lot and we didn’t get a ticket so who knows if it’s actually allowed!
The Beehive Trail is difficult almost immediately. After a short walk through the woods, you come to an iron rung ladder. The rest of the hike is done on the face of the exposed cliff. It is definitely not a good idea to do this hike in the rain or with young children.
Because you’re climbing vertically so quickly, you have beautiful views of the beach below throughout the entire hike. But most of the climb is on ladders or really sketchy looking iron bridges so it’s hard to take on the view while you’re trying not to die!
Halfway through this hike my boyfriend froze and said, “Do we have to climb back down these ladders!?”
No fear. You do not have to climb down the iron rungs and you actually can’t! There are signs on the trail telling you to only go up, not to turn back. And fortunately the way down is incredibly easy. It’s a much calmer, quick walk through the woods. Clouds were starting to come in when we reached the top of the Beehive Trail and we were able to get back down to the car in about 15 minutes. So enjoy the view from the top of the Beehive Trail knowing you have a leisurely walk back to your car to look forward to!
After hiking the Beehive Trail you will have earned yourself a lobster roll. My favorite roll in town was at the West Street Cafe. But make sure you save room for a giant, homemade ice cream cone from Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium for dessert. You won’t want to leave Bar Harbor without trying their lobster ice cream. It wasn’t as bad as I expected but I was not interested in having more than a sample taste of it!
If I could go back and do the Beehive Trail again, I probably would’ve done it closer to sunset or early in the morning during sunrise. It would have been amazing to see the sun coming up over the horizon from the top of Acadia National Park. While in Bar Harbor, I hiked Cadillac Mountain at sunrise and it was my first time hiking in complete darkness. While it was really scary in the dark, it was 100% worth it watching the sunrise from the top. I would’ve loved to hike the Beehive Trail the same way.
But how do you get to the Beehive Trail?
Getting to Bar Harbor is technically easy but it does take quite some time. It’s REALLY far into Maine. Even though it was an eight hour drive, driving was the easiest way to get there from New York City. You can fly to Bar Harbor direct from Boston but from New York you have to connect so it really is about the same time as driving in the long run. If you fly into Portland, Maine, it’s still a three hour drive to Bar Harbor from there so that doesn’t make a ton of sense either.
We left at 4 a.m. to avoid traffic getting to Bar Harbor and I highly recommend it. We downloaded some podcasts and watched the sunrise as we drove into Maine.
There are tons of bed and breakfasts and Airbnbs throughout Bar Harbor. We chose to stay at the Holiday Inn located about five minutes down the road from the main strip of town. The rooms aren’t anything great but we spent such little time in the hotel that the cheaper price was worth it. Though there is a really nice pool and bar area that we got very sunburnt at!
To anyone looking for a northeast U.S. getaway this summer, I highly recommend Bar Harbor. There are so many delicious places to eat with the freshest seafood and tons to do besides hiking! We went on a whale watching tour with Bar Harbor Whale Watch but unfortunately didn’t see any whales so they gave us a free ticket to come back to try again. Looks like I’ll be getting back to Bar Harbor sooner than I thought!
Whale you be visiting Bar Harbor this summer?
See what I did there…!? 😉