Parking
Limited parking in the long, narrow boat-ramp lot at the south end of Long Pond on Long Pond Road. Find the Long Pond Trail behind the pump station, then take the Cold Brook junction.
Overview
About Cold Brook Trail
Why go
- A short wooded link from Long Pond into the Western Mountain trail network.
Heads up
- No separate summit or viewpoint; hiking it alone means backtracking or arranging a ride.
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 Cold Brook 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 trailhead
Long Pond Access and Perpendicular Trail0:00 / 0:32
“You're approaching the access road for Long Pond's south shore and Perpendicular Trail, a steep climb up Mansell Mountain.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Flower That Makes Heat
- Gilley Field and Razorback Ridge
- Mill Field and Bernard Mountain’s Forest Loop
- Carroll Homestead’s Seafaring Family
- 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 Cold Brook Trail
A short connector, not a loopCold Brook Trail is a 0.
Cold Brook Trail is a 0.4-mile, one-way connector from the south end of Long Pond to Western Mountain Road by Gilley Field. It climbs through woods, with about 100 feet of rise. This is a link between other trails, not a summit walk or a loop. On its own, you’ll need a ride at the far end or retrace it for roughly 0.8 miles.
From Long Pond toward Gilley FieldStart at the south-end parking and boat-launch area on Long Pond Road.
Start at the south-end parking and boat-launch area on Long Pond Road. The Long Pond Trail begins behind the water-supply pump station; Cold Brook branches off almost immediately and climbs through the woods to the road near Gilley Field. Give it about 15–20 minutes one way. No standalone time is published. A gravel-circle link to the Gilley Trail adds about 0.1 mile if you continue; it’s outside the mapped Cold Brook segment.
Where it fitsThe NPS Western Mountain Loop uses Cold Brook for its final return from Gilley Field to Long…
The NPS Western Mountain Loop uses Cold Brook for its final return from Gilley Field to Long Pond parking. That whole loop is 3.8 miles round trip and takes about two to three hours. I’d use Cold Brook as part of that larger walk or another western-side route; as an out-and-back, it’s a short wooded climb with no separate summit or overlook.
Parking and dogsParking is in the long, narrow lot at the south-end boat ramp on Long Pond Road, and space is…
Parking is in the long, narrow lot at the south-end boat ramp on Long Pond Road, and space is limited. Dogs are allowed on most Acadia trails; keep the leash no longer than six feet.
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.
