Ocean Path Hike

Wednesday was Sandy's birthday and we had a special day planned in Acadia National Park.  There's not much in Northeast Harbor so we drove to Bar Harbor and got a great breakfast from Mount Dessert Bakery.  Then we headed into the park to the Sand Beach parking, which was almost full by 8.  But we got a spot and started hiking the Ocean Path.  This mostly paved trail follows the road along the coast with lots of spots to pop out onto the rocks.  We soon came to a nice view of Sand Beach, which we couldn't visit with Alex.

We couldn't possibly stop at every side path, but tried to pick the ones the looked best.  All led out to the rocky cliffs along the coast with just fantastic views.

On one cliff, we saw a little goldfinch nesting.  He didn't seem to mind us since I think he knew we could never reach him.

We could continue to see Sand Beach looking north for a quite a ways down.

In about a mile, we went out to Thunder Hole.  The lowest portion of the viewing deck was closed, but I climbed up a rock for a clear view.

There's a loud boom when a big waves crashes into the narrow crevice.  Here's a video I got of Thunder Hole.

Continuing on, we next went out north of Monument Cove.  An unusual column had eroded in this particular cove.

A little further on, we went out on the rocks again to view Monument Cove from the other side.

We found a nice spot here to take a break and eat a snack. 

After a snack break, we continued on and went out on the rocks again near Otter Cliffs.  A rock-climbing guide was taking a couple down the cliffs and it looked like a lot of fun.

A little further on, we could catch of view of the cliffs from the other side.

The trail became a little more steep and rocky with a number of steps as we wrapped around Otter Point.

At one point, we saw an artist painting the lovely view from here.

The waves were crashing pretty hard against the rocks.

Ocean Path ended here with a nice view of Otter Cove.

We turned around and started making our way back.  We wanted to hike the Beehive Trail, but dogs are prohibited on the ladder trails so we took turns.  The Bowl Trail led up from the Sand Beach parking to a split where Beehive Mountain was towering above.

The trail got steep heading up but there were a few places to stop and enjoy the view.

Near the top, the trail was nearly vertical with ladders and rungs to assist climbing up the most difficult portions.  All in all, I didn't think it was too bad and a lot of fun, though the high temperatures made the climb strenuous.

Soon, I made it to the top with fantastic views looking down towards Sand Beach and the lagoon.

I spent a few minutes up here enjoying the view and then continued on.

Heading back down the other side, the Bowl and Champlain Mountain were visible.

The trail descended to the Bowl, a scenic mountain lake.

From here, I took the Bowl Trail to make a loop and head back to parking.

After the hikes, we continued on, making one short stop at the causeway over Otter Cove.

Leaving the park, we headed into Bar Harbor so Sandy could have a birthday dinner at Bar Harbor Beer Works, her first Maine lobster dinner.  After dinner we walked down to the harbor.

Then we headed through town so Sandy could get in some shopping as most of the places are dog friendly.  We even stopped at Bark Harbor to get Alex some salmon treats.  Then we headed back to Northeast Harbor for the evening.