Hunters Beach

Hunters Beach is a small cobble cove on Mount Desert Island’s southeast side. The visit is a 0.6-mile out-and-back forest walk, usually 30–60 minutes; it stays mostly level before dropping about 80 feet to the shore. It’s a good short coast-and-woods stop, but the beach is stone rather than sand.

From Route 3, turn onto Cooksey Drive and watch for the small trailhead pull-off about 0.2 mile down on the left, or east, side. Parking is limited. This is the Route 3 cove, separate from Little Hunters Beach on Park Loop Road. The trailhead sits just outside the park boundary; an NPS marker appears early in the walk.

The wooded trail joins Hunters Brook and follows it down to the cove. At the shore, the stream runs through rounded stones into the sea. The beach mixes large boulders with smaller, egg-sized cobbles, and pine-covered rocky sides enclose the water. The cove often feels quiet once you reach the water.

At low tide, use Hunters Brook’s line through the exposed stones as a foreground and keep the wooded rock edge in view; it shows more of this cove than a frame of open water alone. Expect loose, uneven cobbles that can be slippery even when dry, so choose your footing carefully.