The 20 Most Amazing Peaks in Maine

When ascending Beehive Peak, be sure to go counter-clockwise. There's a sign to that effect on the trail leading to the start. The reason will become clear once you reach the climbing sections and via ferratas. Firstly, the trail is so narrow and winding in places that passing is impossible (even for overtaking). Secondly, there are some climbing sections that are significantly easier to ascend the slope than they would be in the opposite direction.

Strong legs and low gears needed to climb. Good views of the ocean, mountains of NH and the Maine forests from the top.

The "Dike Peak" lies along the "Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail" south of the small mountain lake "The Featherbed". However, the small elevation is not included in the statistics of the "26 peaks in Acadia National Park". The "Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail" follows the ridge west of the summit down to the depression at 'Fetherbed Lake' and then over the 'Dike Peak' and 'Eagles Crag' to the 'Champlain Drive'. On the way down you have a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

George Bucknam Dorr (1853-1944) is known as the father of Acadia National Park. He spent most of his adult life creating, maintaining and expanding the park and was the first park administrator from 1914-1944. When Acadia was declared a national monument by President Wilson in 1916, its centerpiece was Sieur de Monts Spring and Dorr Mountain, then called Dry Mountain. After his death in 1944, the mountain was renamed in his honor. https://www.nps.gov/people/george-b-dorr.htm

At the end of the 19th century, Desert Island became a tourist attraction. The Green Mountain Cog Railway, a cog railway, was in operation from 1883 and took tourists to the summit of Green Mountain, today's Cadillac Mountain (from 1918), where they could enjoy the breathtaking view. The railway ran from Eagle Lake to the summit over a distance of around 1.8 km. When passenger numbers declined, the railway service was discontinued in 1891. In the following years, the railway line was completely dismantled. Today, only remnants of the route remain. The Buckboard Road was built in the late 19th century, leading up to the summit along the north ridge. However, the journey was only possible by horse-drawn carriage and tourists preferred to walk up the mountain. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/secrets-of-the-summit.htm The paved ‘Cadillac Mountain Road’ was completed between 1929 and 1932. The more than six kilometer long route is considered an exceptional example of construction work in mountainous terrain. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/motor-road-history.htm

This is one of the easiest summits on Mount Desert Island, but the views do not disappoint. From the very top you can see north to Champlain, Dorr, and Cadillac mountains (from east to west), and you get views of Sand Beach from an overlook not far down. There are often lots of families with children on the trail in the summer. Those looking for more of a challenge should be sure to check out the Cadillac Cliffs Trail.

The ‘Parkman Mountain’ is located on our six-peak circular hike between ‘Somes Sound’ in the west and ‘Sargent Mountain’. At the end of May we reach the granite rock summit after a short descent from ‘Bald Peak’, which is in the immediate vicinity. The well-marked rock path leads steeply down into a mountain depression and steeply up again. The direct ascent to the mountain is usually via the ‘Parkman Mountain Trail’ from the Norumbega car park on Route 3.

The summit of Sargent Mountain can be reached via various hiking trails - from the west on the Sargent Northwest Trail in connection with the Giant Slide Trail and from the south on the Sargent South Ridge Trail. At the end of May we hike on the challenging Grandgent Trail from Parkman Mountain over Gilmore Peak to the summit. On the rocky plateau of Sargent Mountain we have a beautiful view of Mount Desert Island. We see Cadillac and Pemetic Mountains to the east, Eagle Lake to the northeast, Penobscot Mountain to the south and the mountains of Acadia National Park to the west. https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hike-sargent-and-penobscot-mountains-from-jph-with-island-explorer-bus.htm