Parking
Use Sand Beach parking on Park Loop Road, then follow the Bowl Trail to The Bowl. The South Ridge begins at the pond-side junction; this access walk is not included in the 1.6-mile segment distance.
Overview
About Champlain South Ridge Trail
Why go
- Granite summit views without iron-rung climbing
- The Bowl and Champlain summit in one route
Heads up
- A separate Bowl Trail approach adds mileage before the ridge
- Cairns across open rock can be confusing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Acadia map
Full mapElevation410–1,043 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Champlain South 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
The Beehive’s Rung Climb0:00 / 0:30
“The Beehive trailhead is coming up, for an iron-rung climb to views over Sand Beach and the sea. The one point four mile loop takes about two hours, with scrambling and steep drops without railings.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Keeping the Alewife's Route Open
- Sand Beach’s Shell-Rich Shore
- Schooner Head Overlook and the Shore Below
- The Eider's Down-Lined Nest
- 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 Champlain South Ridge Trail
What the route asks of youThis point-to-point granite climb runs 1.
This point-to-point granite climb runs 1.6 miles one way from the south side of The Bowl to Champlain Mountain's 1,058-foot summit, gaining about 600 feet. It is an open-rock alternative to the mountain's iron-rung approaches, but a short scramble near the top still calls for steady footing. The 1.6 miles is the named South Ridge segment; from the common Sand Beach access, the Bowl Trail makes the summit about 2.4 miles one way. Allow 2–4 hours for the full out-and-back, or about 4.8 miles if you return to Sand Beach by the same route.
From the pond to the summitThe lower end meets the Bowl Trail at The Bowl.
The lower end meets the Bowl Trail at The Bowl. A short planked stretch skirts the pond before the path turns north and climbs over granite. The ascent is steady; trees thin as you gain the ridge, and the last short scramble gives way to a more level approach across open rock. At the summit, the route meets trails toward Precipice, Beachcroft and Champlain's North Ridge, so choose your descent before you set off.
Keep the cairn line in viewMuch of the upper route crosses exposed granite.
Much of the upper route crosses exposed granite. Cairns mark the way, but some informal rock piles can look like trail markers. Pause at turns, keep the next marked cairn in sight, and follow the established line rather than a tempting side path. This is less technical than the iron-rung routes, but the brief scramble and uneven rock still make it a poor fit for anyone uncomfortable with rough footing.
Look back over The BowlThe Bowl is a glacially carved pond tucked between The Beehive and Champlain.
The Bowl is a glacially carved pond tucked between The Beehive and Champlain. As the ridge opens, look south to see it below you, with the Atlantic and outlying islands beyond; Dorr and Cadillac stand to the west. Red blueberry leaves color the open slopes in fall. For a photo, include a strip of granite foreground with The Bowl and the sea stacked behind it.
Access, dogs and an older nameUse Sand Beach parking on Park Loop Road, then follow the Bowl Trail to The Bowl; the 1.
Use Sand Beach parking on Park Loop Road, then follow the Bowl Trail to The Bowl; the 1.6-mile figure begins at the South Ridge junction, not at the parking area. Dogs are permitted on this route on a leash no longer than six feet. The path was formerly called Bear Brook Trail and belongs to Acadia's older mountain-trail network.
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.
