Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park/Mount Desert Island, Maine

Acadia National Park Running Highlights

Featuring the stunning Maine coast, Acadia National Park gets over two million visitors each year and is one of America’s most visited national parks. The park is located near Bar Harbor, Maine and occupies much of Mount Desert Island. Acadia National Park features granite cliffs side by side with sand and cobblestone beaches. Glacier-carved mountains rise from the sea, cupping deep lakes in their valleys. Acadia is famous for Cadillac Mountain — and it is possible to run up it. Its green, lichen-covered, pink granite summit is, because of a combination of its eastern location and height, one of the first places in the United States to see the sunrise. Note: the park can be very crowded in summer. There’s a great shuttle bus system, which is a bonus for runners wanting to do one-way routes!

Our major running recommendations for Acadia are the Carriage Trails; the Park Loop road; and the challenging run up Cadillac Mountain. For trail runners, there are some gentler hikes that can be done as runs. The Park recently acquired land on the Schoodic Peninsula, where a 6-mile loop road and 8 miles of bike paths are good for running.

Park Map

Park Loop Road

27 miles all the way around.  Park Loop Road MAP.
Section from Seal Beach to Little Hunters Beach is 4.7 miles one-way
MAP 

It is possible to run along the 27 mile (43km) Park Loop Road at Acadia. There is a shoulder in parts, but not all. The eastern section of the loop road from just north of Cadillac Mountain to near Jordan Pond is one-way. The road south of Sand Beach features some of the best views. One can run along any section of the road. The most spectacular section with the best views is south of Seal Beach to Little Hunters Beach, which is 4.7 miles one way, featuring 220 feet of elevation gain. There is a path along the ocean for some of this section. One option for runners is to run one way along a section of the road and use the Park Shuttle to get back to starting point. Note: much of the park loop road is closed in winter.

Carriage Trails

See our separate post for the Carriage Trails.

Schoodic Peninsula

See our separate post for the Schoodic Peninsula/Winter Harbor, which highlights a 6-mile loop road and 8 miles of bike paths.

Cadillac Mountain

3.3 miles one-way. Elevation gain of 1,000 feet with 5–7% grades. Start: Cadillac Mountain Rd. off Park Loop Rd. MAP 

Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard, and it is the first place in the United States to see the sunrise from October 7 to March 6. Running up Cadillac Mountain is a great running challenge. There is a paved road, accessible to cars, that rises from the Park Loop Road to the Cadillac Mountain summit. It is 3.3 miles one-way to the summit, with an elevation gain of some 1,000 feet with grades of 5–7% most of the way. There are some great observation points just off the road along the way, providing a good opportunity for a rest!

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