Emery Path

Emery Path is a 1.15-mile out-and-back from the Sieur de Monts Nature Center to the junction with Schiff Path and Kurt Diederichs Climb, then back the same way. The ascent is about 0.58 mile with roughly 475 feet of climbing; allow about 1 to 1½ hours for the return and a pause. It’s a quick way to see Acadia’s historic stone trailwork, but the grade is steep and the granite is rough. Dorr Mountain’s summit is farther along Schiff Path, outside this route. A park entrance pass is required year-round, though there’s no separate activity fee for the hike.

Start at the nature center, cross the small wooden bridge, turn left, then right past the stones marked “Sieur de Monts Spring” and “Sweet Waters of Acadia.” Emery climbs through forest on granite stairs and uneven rock, with narrow passages. An open shelf gives a brief view near the Homans Path junction; farther up, a stone staircase squeezes through a tall rock notch, with places to sit above it. The wet granite can be slick. If you’re going on to Dorr’s summit, continue about 0.9 mile on Schiff Path; returning by Homans Path or Kurt Diederichs Climb makes a different route and isn’t included in the distance here.

Mrs. Alfred Anson funded the path in memory of her first husband, John Emery, a Cincinnati real-estate developer. The Civilian Conservation Corps improved it in 1934, and George B. Dorr counted it among his favorite trails. At the narrow notch, frame the steps with the boulders on both sides; that shows how tightly the old stonework fits the rock.