Parking
Use the marked parking access by the Eliot Mountain Trail along Thuya Drive, off Route 3. Follow Eliot Mountain Trail 1.0 mile uphill to the summit and the start of Asticou Ridge; parking capacity is not listed.
Overview
About Asticou Ridge Trail
Why go
- A compact link from Eliot Mountain to the Asticou & Jordan Pond Path
Heads up
- Reaching the start adds a separate 1.0-mile climb; the ridge segment is one way
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
4 active Acadia alerts
- CautionAvoid water contact at Sand Beach LagoonDo not swim at Sand Beach Lagoon. - Bacterial levels have exceeded public-health standards, so the NPS has posted a Public Health Advisory.Official details
- ClosureSchoodic Mountain Road closed for repairsSchoodic Mountain Road is closed from Schoodic Loop Road to the summit of Schoodic Head. - The closure began August 31 for resurfacing, regrading, and ditching.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Acadia Tour Guide
Your drive to Asticou Ridge Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Acadia National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
Asticou and Jordan Pond’s Historic Path0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching the access for Asticou and Jordan Pond Path, a woodland route reached by steps from Asticou Terraces parking.”
Plays on the road 0.3 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Brown Mountain Gatehouse and Its Bells
- The Periwinkle's Toothed Tongue
- From Ash Log to Wabanaki Basket
- Harbor Brook’s Mossy Woodland Walk
- 116 audio storiesacross Acadia’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 142 trails, 72 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…As we drove through Acadia it gave us a tour, which was really cool. Lots of great info about the parks and how to avoid the crowds. It’s a great travel companion!”
Trail guide
Hiking Asticou Ridge Trail
A short ridge linkAsticou Ridge Trail is a 0.
Asticou Ridge Trail is a 0.8-mile, one-way path from the summit of Eliot Mountain north to the Asticou & Jordan Pond Path. It’s a useful connector if you’re linking the island’s older routes, not a loop or a summit hike. Allow about 30 minutes for the ridge leg; reaching its south end adds the separate 1.0-mile climb on Eliot Mountain Trail. The route trends downhill from the summit, dropping roughly 100 to 140 feet toward the north connection.
Getting to the startPark at the Eliot Mountain Trail access along Thuya Drive, off Route 3, then follow that trail…
Park at the Eliot Mountain Trail access along Thuya Drive, off Route 3, then follow that trail 1.0 mile uphill to the summit junction. Asticou Ridge heads north and ends on the Asticou & Jordan Pond Path inside Acadia. Plan to retrace your steps over Eliot Mountain or continue on adjoining paths before you set out; the ridge segment ends at a trail junction, not a parking area. The Preserve’s natural trails are open from dawn to dusk year-round. Dogs are allowed, but must be leashed on trails around Thuya Garden.
One of the island’s old pathsAsticou Ridge is part of Mount Desert Island’s Historic Hiking Trail System.
Asticou Ridge is part of Mount Desert Island’s Historic Hiking Trail System. Its record traces the trail to an 1885 entry, and a 1915 path guide describes a wood lane over Asticou Hill, now called Eliot Mountain. The route still links that ridge to the Asticou path and carries the old name forward.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Acadia
130 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around noonSighting map
21 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
396 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
305 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
201 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsMinkMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Acadia. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
