Parking
Access is off Cromwell Harbor Road; dedicated parking there was not confirmed. The Ledgelawn Avenue approach has no trailhead parking. Treat this as a walk-in route or use seasonal bus access at Sieur de Monts.
Overview
About Great Meadow Loop
Why go
- Easy, low-grade wetland circuit
- Links a Bar Harbor walk with Acadia paths
Heads up
- Low gravel can flood and soften
- Some route links run close to traffic
Map & elevation
The route
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, and 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 is for repairs; workers are operating heavy equipment 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 Great Meadow Loop, 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.
See the Acadia audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Great Meadow’s Wetland Loop0:00 / 0:25
“Great Meadow Loop's Cromwell Harbor Road access is ahead, for an easy wetland walk below Dorr Mountain. Allow about an hour for the full one point eight mile circuit, including Kebo Street.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Dorr Mountain’s North Ridge Access
- The Glacier's Scratch Marks
- Gorge Path Between Cadillac and Dorr
- Bar Island’s Low-Tide Crossing
- 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 Great Meadow Loop
The full circuitGreat Meadow Loop is a low, roughly 1.
Great Meadow Loop is a low, roughly 1.8-mile loop around Great Meadow, linking Bar Harbor with the wetland trails near Sieur de Monts. Allow about an hour for the whole circuit. This route follows the full mapped loop, including the Kebo Street connection; a shorter 0.8-mile figure is also published for the named trail, but it does not match this complete circuit.
A low wetland walkExpect gravel and dirt or forest-floor paths, with an asphalt stretch on Kebo Street.
Expect gravel and dirt or forest-floor paths, with an asphalt stretch on Kebo Street. The route stays low and generally easy, changing from wooded trail to open wetland edge and village-side walking. Repeated flooding can soften the gravel and loosen sediment. Some connecting sections bring walkers close to vehicle traffic, so take care at road crossings and stay on the marked tread.
The wetland's storyGreat Meadow is part of the Cromwell Brook wetland network below Dorr Mountain.
Great Meadow is part of the Cromwell Brook wetland network below Dorr Mountain. Roads and greenhouses built during the park's early years altered how water moved through it and helped non-native plants spread. Current restoration work aims to reconnect water flow and remove invasive plants; the wetland is still a living landscape being repaired, not just a green clearing beside town.
Access and dogsThe mapped start is at the Great Meadow Loop access off Cromwell Harbor Road.
The mapped start is at the Great Meadow Loop access off Cromwell Harbor Road. A Ledgelawn Avenue approach also appears in walking directions, but it has no trailhead parking; dedicated parking at Cromwell Harbor Road was not confirmed. Seasonal bus service to Sieur de Monts offers another walk-in approach. Pets are permitted on most park trails; keep dogs on a 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
397 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
305 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
202 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.
