Parking
Use the Brown Mountain Gatehouse parking area on Route 3 (Sound Drive). Cross Route 3 to the Lower Hadlock access; the mapped trail start is a short walk from the lot.
Overview
About Lower Hadlock Trail
Why go
- An easy woodland walk beside Lower Hadlock Pond
- A direct connection to Hadlock Ponds Trail and an 1881 trail story
Heads up
- It is one way; retracing the route makes the walk 1.2 miles
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Acadia alerts
- ClosureSouthern Ocean Path section closed for repairsThe southern section of Ocean Path is closed for repairs from the trailhead across from the Otter Point parking lot to the trail’s southern terminus.Official details
- ClosureSchoodic Mountain Road closed for repairsSchoodic Mountain Road is closed for repairs from Schoodic Loop Road to the summit of Schoodic Head.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Acadia Tour Guide
Your drive to Lower Hadlock 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.
See the Acadia audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Brown Mountain Gatehouse and Its Bells0:00 / 0:29
“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 as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Periwinkle's Toothed Tongue
- Norumbega Access to Bald Peak
- Asticou and Jordan Pond’s Historic Path
- Somes Sound’s Ice-Carved Valley
- 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 Lower Hadlock Trail
A short pondside linkLower Hadlock Trail is a 0.
Lower Hadlock Trail is a 0.6-mile point-to-point woodland walk from the Brown Mountain Gatehouse approach to Hadlock Ponds Trail, following the east shore of Lower Hadlock Pond. The path has mostly natural tread, with stone steps, log cribbing and a curved wooden bridge. Allow about 20–30 minutes one way. Turn around at the north junction for a 1.2-mile walk back, or continue onto Hadlock Ponds Trail.
Follow the east shoreThis is an easy connection rather than a summit hike.
This is an easy connection rather than a summit hike. The shoreline path passes through woods and uses old trail-built features where the ground calls for them; expect a few uneven sections instead of a smooth boardwalk. The route ends at the junction with Hadlock Ponds Trail, where you can decide whether to return the same way or keep walking into the larger pond network.
A path with an old island storyA route along this corridor was mapped in 1881 as part of the Champlain Society Trail.
A route along this corridor was mapped in 1881 as part of the Champlain Society Trail. Harvard students formed the Champlain Society to study Mount Desert Island’s natural history and geology; their early route toward Sargent Mountain roughly followed the present Lower Hadlock, Hadlock Ponds and Norumbega trail alignments.
Keep the water protectedLower Hadlock Pond supplies drinking water for Northeast Harbor.
Lower Hadlock Pond supplies drinking water for Northeast Harbor. Swimming and wading are prohibited, and dogs must stay out of the water. Dogs may use the trail on a leash no longer than six feet.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Acadia
131 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around noonSighting map
21 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
403 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
307 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
205 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.
