Acadia National Park, ME
A 1914 spur on Norumbega's wooded southwest flank.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Acadia Tour Guide
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
Brown Mountain Gatehouse and Its Bells“Brown Mountain Gatehouse is ahead, with stone towers and red-brick bands at a historic carriage-road entrance. Bells let the gatekeepers know when a carriage or rider wanted through.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“…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
Golf Course Trail is a 0.45-mile one-way branch between Norumbega Mountain Trail and the golf-course side of Norumbega Mountain. It is a connector, not a self-contained loop; walking it back makes the segment about 0.9 mile. The branch is short, but its roughly 400 feet of elevation change makes it more work than the mileage suggests. The mapped line crosses private land, and current public access at the golf-course end could not be confirmed. Check with the park before planning an exit or start there.
The upper junction is on Norumbega Mountain Trail. From there, the branch descends through woods and stretches of ledge along the mountain’s southwest side to the golf-course end. The older route description calls it rough and rarely used; that does not confirm present-day tread conditions. There is no summit viewpoint on this short connector. If you want a complete outing with an established public approach, use the separate Norumbega Mountain Loop instead.
This is trail #81, built in 1914 and formerly called Circular Trail. Its point is the link between the golf-course side and Norumbega Mountain Trail, not a destination of its own. The route crosses both park and private land, so confirm permission at the lower end before setting out.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
EasyLower Hadlock Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 0.5 mi awayA gentle shoreline connector with a trail story from 1881.
EasyHadlock Ponds Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.5 mi awayEasy pondside walking and a 1926 carriage-road bridge at the far end.
ModerateHadlock Loop Carriage Road4.2 mi · 2.2 hr · 0.6 mi awayA gravel loop to three stone bridges, including a 40-foot waterfall.
EasyNorumbega Mountain Trail1.3 mi · 45 min · 0.6 mi awayA forested ridge trail eases down to Lower Hadlock Pond.
ChallengingBald Peak and Parkman Mountain Loop2.7 mi · 2 hr · 0.8 mi awayA steep granite loop to two peaks with ocean views.
ModerateHadlock Brook Trail1.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA steep, rooty climb beside a waterfall to Sargent’s south ridge.
ModerateGoat Trail to Norumbega Mountain1.1 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.8 mi awayA short, steep climb to a mostly wooded summit.
ModerateBald Peak Trail1 mi · 45 min · 0.9 mi awayA short, steep granite climb to islands above Upper Hadlock Pond.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayBrown Mountain GatehouseA 1932 stone-and-brick gate marks the carriage-road entrance.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayHadlock Brook BridgeA small stone arch on the car-free Hadlock Loop.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayWaterfall BridgeA 1925 arch frames Hadlock Brook's waterfall along car-free roads.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayLittle Harbor Brook BridgeA 1919 granite-faced arch over a shallow brook on car-free roads.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayHemlock BridgeA rare Gothic arch tucked into the car-free carriage roads.
Sight · 1.4 mi awayAmphitheatre BridgeA granite arch curves around two trees toward a waterfall.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayAcadia MountainA rugged granite summit above Somes Sound
Sight · 1.6 mi awayCliffside BridgeA 1932 stone bridge with castle turrets above Jordan Stream.Parkwolf’s Acadia ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
