Flying Mountain Trail – Acadia National Park – Southwest Harbor, Maine
Distance: 1.4 miles total
Type: loop
Difficulty: 5 of 10.
Total score: 7 of 10.
Terrain – rocky seacost, small harbor, and forest.
Map – None available (Pick up the AMC Acadia Hikes Book for great maps!)
Trailheads – 44° 17.984’N, 68° 18.977’W
Directions – drive to Maine, trail is on Fernald Point Road, Southwest Harbor, ME
Parking – a few spots at the trailhead.
Standouts – rugged seacoast
Markings – Follow wooden signs
Description – My favorite of The Pres and I’s early morning “let Mom sleep” hikes. We were already climbing Flying Mountain on this short (it’s just under a mile and a half) by 7 AM, so we had the trail to ourselves. The climb is steep, but short, and the view is well worth the effort (which is much less effort than some other summit hikes in Acadia).
Up, up, up the steps.
This trail is rocky, but it’s very manageable.
Almost there!
Before you know it, you have this view.
Congrats, you summited.
Once your at the top, why stop? Walk along the top, then follow the trial all the way down the steep, rocky far slope until you hit water level again. A nice, easy former logging road will take you back to your car.
Leave early? You miss more views!
Down these steps can be tricky!
Weird tree on the way down.
Rewarded at the bottom by a sailboat view.
Follow the signs back to your car.
Easy walking on the old logging road.
Overall recommendation: Not sure how popular this hike is (it’s far from the main areas of the park), but we loved it in the early morning.
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That looks beautiful! I’d love to go there, hopefully some day!