Beehive Trail Acadia National Park Hike Guide
The Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park is a slightly toned down version from the park’s infamous Precipice trail. The trail starts with a slight incline and ascends a small overlook via a series of iron ladders and handholds. Although the trail does have exposure, its nothing like neighboring Precipice trail has. The hike is family friendly, but I would recommend this for someone who is comfortable dealing with scrambling and heights. This was without a doubt one of our favorite trails in Acadia National Park.
Beehive Trail Quick Facts
Beehive Trail Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)
Distance: 1.38 Miles RT
Elevation Start: 116 ft
Highest Point: 600 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 541 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 Hours
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 3 (With ladder assistance) – What does this mean?
Season: Year Round (expect trail closures during winter due to weather)
Directions to Beehive Trail
Trailhead: Beehive Trail
Getting Here: There are a number of different ways to get to Acadia National Park since it has multiple entrances. Assuming you enter the park at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, follow the park road towards Cadillac Mountain. Once you reach the one way road (Park Loop Road), take a left. Follow this for a couple of miles until you reach the signed trailhead on your right and Sand Beach parking area on your left.
Fees: $30 per car to get into Acadia National Park
Parking: There are three options for getting to the Beehive trail:
- Take the free park shuttle – I don’t recommend this though because the shuttles come ever 30 minutes and take much longer to get back to the visitor’s center. If you do use this option, be sure to be aware of where the routes go. You could easily end up on the wrong bus (raises hand).
- Parking along road – there are a limited amount of spaces along the road before the trailhead. If you use this option, be sure to follow signs because park rangers will issue you a ticket.
- Sand Beach lot- This is probably your best bet for the Beehive trail as the lot is massive and although it fills up, the turnover is relatively quick.
The Sand Beach parking lot does have plumbing bathrooms as well.
Summary
Camping: You can’t camp along the Beehive trail, but Acadia and Bar Harbor have several campgrounds to choose from. For official information about Acadia National Park campgrounds, visit this page.
Dogs: Dogs are allowed on some trails in Acadia National Park, but not on the Beehive trail.
Make it a Loop: The Beehive trail is a loop which you could easily extend depending on the amount of hiking you want to do. Although you can descend the iron ladders, most people do not do it. View a complete park map here.
Trail X Factors: Iron Ladders & Hand Holds
I have hiked all over the country, but this was the first time I can remember having hand and foot holds built into the rock that the trail ascends. It’s a cool concept, adopted from the via ferrata system used all over Europe. The trail is heavily used though so even with some extra help, be sure to watch your holds as the iron is very worn out in spots and the rock can get slick.
Mick’s Tip: Instead of heading directly down Beehive Mountain after the climb, take some time to explore the rest of the area near the Beehive trail. Cool spots like “The Bowl” are short additions to the hike and provide additional views with more seclusion than the popular Beehive trail.
Best Views: The Beehive trail offers several good spots to take photos, including ascending the side of the hill itself. From a scenic point of view, the top of the hill offers good views of the harbor, beach and into Bar Harbor. If you want to extend your hike a bit, The Bowl also has nice views of a little pond.
Beehive Trail Hike Route
Gear Needed
- Men’s Trail Runners
- Women’s Trail Runners
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Booths (Women’s)
- Backpack
- Food & Water
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Headlamp
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: Camera and Lens
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
Our Trip to the Beehive Trail: June 2018
I have a love hate relationship with National Parks in the United States. On one hand, they offer an accessible way to see unique nature, landscape and wildlife of some of the most beautiful spots of our country. On the other, they are swamped with people who have little to no respect for nature, no hiking etiquette and give zero fucks about everyone around them as long as they get their shot for the “gram”. Jackie had never been to Acadia National Park and the last time I visited was over ten years ago, so we thought it would be a fun day trip. When doing some research, I found that the Precipice trail (one of the most known and unique hikes in New England) was closed due to Peregrine Falcon nesting. I was so bummed out, but was happy to see that the Beehive Trail offered a similar experience.
For some stupid reason, we decided to take the free shuttle to the trailhead because according to maps, there was not parking at the trailhead. Wrong. There was plenty of parking. If you have read my hike review of Lake Helene in RMNP, you may remember that park shuttles and me do not get along. We hopped of the shuttle and started the short walk to the start of the Beehive Trail. The trail started with a small rocky incline through some dense trees. After about .2 miles of hiking, we reached the official start of the Beehive Trail.
There trail was loaded with people like ants to a cracker on the ground, but we managed to find a nice little break in the crowds to enjoy the trail to ourselves. After about a half mile of hiking, we reached the first series of iron handholds. Some of my favorite hiking is Class 3, so it was kind of cool to ascend the terrain I usually like without having to think too hard about where my hands and feet were going. Even though the holds were everywhere, I did find that the rock around many of these spots had been so worn down it made for several slippery spots of dry granite.
We continued up the side of the hill and eventually reached the “crux” of the Beehive Trail, a 50-75 yard section up steep rock. This section was really fun to ascend and gave us a little taste of what the majority of the Precipice trail was. After the short scramble, we reached the top of the hill and enjoyed the views of the harbor and the trail we had just ascended. We have been spoiled with our views in Colorado and throughout our travels, but it was cool to take in views of the ocean which we seldom see.
After a quick break and some photos on top, we headed over to The Bowl before starting our hike down. The hike down from the Beehive Trail was very uneventful with no scenery besides the thick forest which the trail wound through. Overall, I liked the Beehive Trail and thought it was a unique hike. Even with lots of crowds, it was still possible to enjoy a piece of nature which made the experience much better. I would highly recommend the Beehive Trail on your next visit to Acadia National Park if you can deal with the heights and minor exposure.
