Hiking: Dorr Mountain | Acadia National Park, Maine | July 18, 2008

The thing about hiking in Acadia National Park is that none of the trails are really all that long, it's just that they are steeper than hell. In some places, the trails literally climb their way up through cliffs or go over the cliff via iron ladders drilled right in Acadia's granite.

While tough, the shorter trails, do make it easier to do multiple trips in a single day. The first day of hiking we had in Acadia we did a loop over Dorr Mountain and then in the afternoon did a loop over The Bubbles. Dorr was definitely the longer trip at probably 4 or 5 miles, but The Bubbles weren't any cake walk at just under two miles considering how steep the climb up and back down was.

This mountain is located adjacent to the Sieur de Monts Spring and the Wild Gardens of Acadia area of Acadia National Park. We decided to climb the mountain via the Ladder Trail, which required us to skirt along the shore of The Tarn to reach the base of the trail.

This part of the hike was easy, but it was cool, as the trail runs right along the edge of the swampy lake and you get great views of the surrounding areas.

From the trail junction, the Ladder Trail takes a more direct route up Dorr Mountain. The trail itself is almost a constant granite staircase up the mountain, except in places where there are iron ladders or the slope isn't all that much.

All that climbing is worth it though, the views from the summit area of Dorr are pretty impressive. Cadillac Mountain is just to the west, while the ocean stretches out beyond to the south and east and to the north you can look up into Maine.

From the summit of Dorr, we looped back around via the East Face Trail so that we'd come back out at the Sieur de Monts Spring. This trail had some great views as it mades it way down the open face of Dorr Mountain.

Down at the Sieur de Monts Spring I had to do the obligatory trailhead photo!

All in all, this was probably my favorite hike in Acadia that I've done over the years. It was pretty long, the trail was incredible as it made its way up and down the mountain and the views were great. I also liked it because it wasn't all that crowded (most people head up Cadillac next door).

I didn't break out the photos for this hike from the overall Acadia/Bar Harbor vacation set, so if you want to see all the photos from the hike, they are in this set.

Guidebooks, Maps and Hiking Information for Acadia National Park

If you are looking for a good guidebook (with maps) for hikes throughout Acadia National Park, we have been using Tom St. Germain's A Walk in the Park and found it to be a great resource.  The Maine Mountain Guide from the Appalachian Mountain Club also includes trail descriptions and maps for Acadia.  A good introduction to Acadia National Park is available online here.