Parkman Mountain and Bald Peak are two smaller mountains in Acadia National Park that offer terrific views from their bald summits. The trail head is located on Route 3 with parking on the opposite side of the road.
The standard route is a 2.2 mile loop hike on the Parkman Mountain Trail and Bald Peak Trail, which could be traversed in either direction.
I also wanted to see Hadlock Falls on my hike so I did a longer loop by staying on Hadlock Brook Trail instead of turning left on either Parkman Mountain Trail or Bald Peak Trail.
The Hadlock Brook Trail has a slight and gradual ascent through the woods to Hadlock Falls, where the trail meets the carriage road at Waterfall Bridge. A beautiful spot to take a break and admire the falls if there’s been rain recently. (Note: There may be no water at all during summer drought)
After the falls, walk on the carriage road for just a bit until you come to another bridge, Hemlock Bridge. There’s a trail before the bridge that takes you down to Maple Spring Trail, which goes under the bridge and follows the stream. It won’t feel like you’re on a trail but just follow the stream which you’ll hop over a few times on rocks and once on a small wooden bridge.
After just 1/10th of a mile, you’ll reach a trail fork where you can continue straight on Maple Spring Trail to Gilmore Peak or go left to Parkman Mountain on Giant Slide Trail. In retrospect, I should have stayed on Maple Spring Trail and bagged Gilmore Peak on this hike, as it wouldn’t have added much distance.
This section of the Giant Slide Trail was unremarkable but its a nice quiet half mile walk through the woods until you reach the trail junction for the Grandgent Trail. To the right the trail goes up to Gilmore Peak and to the left the trail climbs up to Parkman Mountain.
It’s only 2/10 mile up to Parkman Mountain but it’s a very rugged trail. Fun but four legged friends would have some difficulty.
After scrambling up the Grandgent Trail, enjoy the wide open view at the top of Parkman Mountain. Gilmore Peak and Sargent Mountain are behind you. In front of you is Somes Sound and in the distance you can see Blue Hill Mountain and other distant mountains on the mainland. Just about a quarter mile away is Bald Peak.
It’s a quick hike to Bald Peak where more fabulous views await. Both peaks were about equal in my mind in terms of scenery and were especially beautiful in October when the blueberry bushes turn bright red.
Bald Peak Trail will take you back to the Hadlock Brook trail head on Route 3. This trail had some pretty steep sections and there were a couple of times when I found it easier to slide down the flat rocks on my butt. I think my thighs would’ve been burning if I was going up this trail, so I suggest using it for your descent instead of your ascent, unless you hate steep descents.
For a longer hike, you can combine these peaks with Gilmore Peak like I mentioned, but you could also add-on Sargent Mountain, or even add-on Penobscot Mountain and Cedar Swamp Mountain for an epic 6 peak loop hike as shown below!
Check out these other hikes in or near Acadia National Park:
