Beehive Trail

Beehive Trail is an Acadia National Park “rung and ladder” hike built around steep, exposed cliff climbing. The route uses iron rungs on granite staircases and rock scrambles, with sections that include walking across iron bars rather than solid footing.

On the ascent, expect steep, rocky climbing that turns into a narrow, single-file flow as hikers work their way up the rungs and around exposed areas. Much of the difficulty is close to the cliff edge, where secure footing matters.

A practical way to run it is as a loop: start from the Bowl Trail side across Park Loop Road from Sand Beach, climb up the Beehive Trail, then descend back to the Bowl via the Bowl Trail without returning down the rung/ladder side.

Midway up the cliff, the route crosses a section of iron bars, and higher still it transitions into ladder-assisted moves that require reaching upward for the next rung/handhold to gain a small ledge.

Toward the top, the trail crests and continues about 200 ft of uneven walking to reach the Beehive summit, where the climb finishes and the exposure eases off of the rung/ladder system.

For timing and logistics, the trail is one of Acadia’s most trafficked routes, and parking at Sand Beach is a known bottleneck in summer; allowing extra time helps if you’re arriving during peak hours.

If you’re planning a shorter loop option, there’s a Bowl Connector that can reduce the overall hike length versus the longer connection back through the Bowl area.

More information: Visitor information, Hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park, Hiking Acadia's Beehive Trail: A Complete Overview