One of our favorite hikes is a nice loop that starts just outside the park. The Hunters Beach Trail is great for a day when you just want to poke around the beach, or take a little longer hike with fantastic views.
The first section of this hike travels through tall pines, over roots and rocks, crosses bridges and boardwalks, and just under a half mile later, walking along little hunter brook, you come to a nice, open, rocky pocket beach. The brook cuts through the rocky beach, and past a tiny inlet accessible at low tide, and into the rough surf. This is not a swimming beach, but fun to hear the tide tinkle over the smooth rocks, search the pebbles for sea creatures and climb over the rocky outcrops.
This can be a good enough day by itself, but, for an added adventure, the trail branches up over the cliffs (to the right, facing the beach, to the right just as the trail opens onto the rocky beach). This adds another half mile (although I think it feels like more awesome stuff than just a half mile) along the cliff, over dry rock, through blueberry patches, and pops out about a half mile down Cooksey Drive. This makes a nice loop.This hike is not on the Acadia National Park map. We have a Map Adventures hiking map (from 2005). But it is easy to find:
Following Route 3 from Bar Harbor, go about three quarters of a mile past Blackwoods campground, take a left onto Cooksey Drive. The trail head is about a quarter of a mile on the left. If all four spaces are taken, there is additional parking around the bend.
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