Parking
Park at Brown Mountain Gatehouse, off ME 198/3. Follow the carriage roads about 0.7 mile to the South Ridge trailhead; at the first two forks, bear right.
Overview
About Sargent South Ridge Trail
Why go
- Sargent Mountain Pond adds a quiet stop along the climb.
- The broad summit opens views across both sides of Mount Desert Island.
Heads up
- The named route is one way; retracing it makes 5.6 miles on trail.
- Brown Mountain Gatehouse adds about 1.4 miles of carriage-road walking to the full out-and-back.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Acadia map
Full mapElevation328–1,355 ft
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 Sargent South Ridge 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 area
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 on the road 0.4 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Acadia Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Periwinkle's Toothed Tongue
- Asticou and Jordan Pond’s Historic Path
- From Ash Log to Wabanaki Basket
- 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 Sargent South Ridge Trail
A south-ridge climb to SargentSargent South Ridge Trail is a 2.
Sargent South Ridge Trail is a 2.8-mile point-to-point ascent from the southern carriage-road junction to Sargent Mountain’s open summit. Sargent is Acadia’s second-highest peak at 1,373 feet. The route climbs about 1,100 feet overall, with a little more accumulated climbing as the ridge rises and dips. For the simplest visit, retrace the same trail: that makes 5.6 miles on the South Ridge. From Brown Mountain Gatehouse, add about 0.7 mile on carriage roads each way, for roughly 7 miles total. Allow around 4½ hours for the full out-and-back, with time to enjoy the summit.
From forest to open ridgeThe climb starts in evergreen forest, with occasional open patches, then follows Sargent’s…
The climb starts in evergreen forest, with occasional open patches, then follows Sargent’s rocky southern spine. It rises gradually toward the eastern side of Cedar Swamp Mountain, then climbs about 430 feet more to Sargent. The longer ascent is the point here: you get a real mountain walk before the summit opens up.
Sargent Mountain Pond and the cairnsSargent Mountain Pond sits along the route and makes a good place to pause before the top.
Sargent Mountain Pond sits along the route and makes a good place to pause before the top. Higher up, cairns mark the line across open granite. Some extra rock piles can look convincing, so keep track of the established cairns where the path is hard to see.
An open summit in every directionSargent’s broad, relatively flat summit gives you room to look around.
Sargent’s broad, relatively flat summit gives you room to look around. To the east are the Atlantic and offshore islands, Eagle Lake, Cadillac, Jordan Pond, Pemetic, and the Bubbles. Turn west for Somes Sound, Norumbega Mountain, Southwest Harbor, and the western peaks. This is a strong choice if you want a longer climb with a wide island panorama rather than a quick summit stroll.
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.
