Hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park
One of Acadia’s famed iron rung routes, hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park is not for the faint of heart.
A shorter hike with less elevation gain than the famous Precipice Trail, the Beehive Trail is kind of like the Precipice’s little brother. But, make no mistake, it’s still not to be underestimated. There are still iron rung ladders, narrow ledges with some decent exposure, and some steep climbs – just less of them.
In this article, we’ll give you a sneak peek into what it’s like to hike the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park and give you some tips along the way to help you decide if you want to take on what’s considered one of the best hikes in Acadia.
Things to Know Before Hiking the Beehive Trail
The Beehive Trail in Numbers
Distance: 1.2 miles
Elevation gain: 450 feet
Time: 1 hour
Trail profile:
Trail type: This is a loop hike. It is highly discouraged to hike down the Beehive Trail. It’s much trickier and more dangerous to hike down the rungs, plus two- way traffic can create dangerous back ups along the trail. Instead, take the Bowl Trail to loop back down to the car.
Getting to the Beehive Trailhead
The Beehive Trailhead is located along Park Loop Road. Park at the lot for Sand Beach and walk across the road to find the start of the Beehive hike.
IMPORTANT: This section of Park Loop Road will be requiring reservations in 2021. They piloted this system from October 1st to 18th, 2020 during our visit, so we got a glimpse into what it’s like. Check out the NPS website for more details. The gist is that you need to make a timed entry reservation to enter through the Sand Beach entrance station between 7 am – 5pm in advance at recreation.gov. These reservations are $2 and are in addition to the normal park pass.
Even with reservations, this park of the park is the busiest and most congested. Unless you have an early morning reservation, expect the lot to be full. Parking is allowed along the right side of the road in most places. If you see a spot, take it, because this road is one-way!
Parking and congestion along Park Loop Road in Acadia
Best time to hike the Beehive Trail
Late spring through early fall is the best time to hike in Acadia, when the trails are clear from snow and ice and the temperatures are warm. Expect huge crowds all the time in Acadia National Park, but the peak season is summer (especially July and August) and October (for the changing colors).
Fall colors from the Beehive Trail in Acadia
It is recommended not to try the Beehive hike in wet and rainy conditions, because the granite and rungs become dangerously slippery (not something you want to be on during the exposed ledges!).
Hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia - A Step-by-Step Guide
The start of the Beehive hike is a nice 0.2 mile gradual uphill walk through the woods.
At the intersection, take a right. From here, you can look up right at the face of the Beehive and see all the little hikers maneuvering their way across the cliff face. It looks scarier than it actually is, trust us!
From the intersection, the climb starts right away up a rock stone path. The views open up pretty quicky, too, back down to Sand Beach and Great Head. It’s a pretty killer view, it will almost make you forget you’re walking along the side of a cliff! And you’ll have these views pretty much the whole way up.
Along the Beehive Trail, you’ll walk across wide dirt ledges with stellar views, and find some iron rungs over short rock faces. For the most part, these rungs don’t have much exposure. You’ll walk across some narrow granite ledges and climb more rock stairs.
Finally, you’ll make it to the most exposed sections of the trail. This section is a bit more reminiscent of the Precipice Trail.
You’ll come to the tallest climb that’s half scramble, half iron rung ladder, with some beautiful views over Acadia (we thought these were better views than from the Precipice Trail!).
After a few more ledge walks, scrambles, and ladder climbs…
…you’ll finally reach the summit block. The summit is small on the Beehive, but the views are gorgeous. A short walk through a wooded path will bring you to a few other open areas to get views of the other sides of the Beehive.
The Bowl Trail - Hiking down the Beehive
As we said above, it is recommended not to hike back down the iron rung route on the Beehive. Two way traffic along that trail can cause dangerous back ups at tricky points along an already crowded trail.
When you’re ready to head back, continue onto the Bowl Trail. This trail starts off a little rocky to get off the summit block, but it quickly transforms into a beautiful and easy wooded trail that brings you gradually back down to the trailhead.
On this trail, you can take a short trail that brings you to a nice overlook of the Bowl itself, a scenic mountain lake. This small detour will only add 0.2 miles to the hike (bringing it up to 1.4 miles total).
The Bowl Trail will bring you all the way back down to that first intersection of the trail, and then it’s a quick 0.2 miles back to the road.
Tips for Hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park
The Beehive Trail should really only be attempted by experienced hikers who are used to exposure and heights. Some people to say that this is a good trail to do if you want a taste of Acadia’s iron rung routes but without doing the more intense Precipice Trail. But just because this trail is shorter, doesn’t mean it should be underestimated…it still has climbing and exposure, and it’s still going to test your nerves if this isn’t your cup of tea. It only takes one exposed ledge to get that heart pumping.
That said, we hiked the Beehive right after the Precipice, and we flew up the Beehive. The exposure or climbing on this trail didn’t phase us a bit. But it didn’t really phase us on the Precipice either. So I don’t think it’s necessarily because we thought it was less daunting.
If you’re unsure if you can handle the Beehive Trail, try another of Acadia’s iron rung routes first. We recommend trying the Jordan Cliffs Trail. It has the iron rungs and some exposure, but it’s not nearly as intense as the Precipice or the Beehive.
No dogs or small kids should hike this trail. If you want to get to the summit of the Beehive, you can hike an out and back of the Bowl Trail.
Do not hike this trail in wet or rainy conditions! The granite and rungs become dangerously slippery.
Wear good hiking boots with good grip for the granite surfaces.
Plan to do the full 1.2 mile loop…going back down the Beehive Trail is not recommended for safety reasons.
Get there early… both to get a parking spot in the lot and not have to walk a mile up the road first, and to avoid crowds on the trails. No matter the time of day though, expect a busy trail. The Beehive hike attracts a lot of people, moreso than the Precipice, because it’s shorter and “easier”. You have lots of slow hikers, cautious hikers, nervous hikers, and hikers who stop to get a photoshoot at every chance they can. Come to this trail with a good degree of patience! Part of the reason we flew up this trail is to get by the crowds of people taking their time at the bottom of the trail. Once we got up about half way, we more or less left the crowd behind had the trail to ourselves.
Wear sunscreen – this hike has a lot of exposure and little shade.
Pack light – it’s way easier to scramble and climb up the iron rungs with a light pack on your back.
As always, practice Leave No Trace Principles and help keep Acadia beautiful and wild.
The crowds at the start of the Beehive Trail
Have you hiked the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park? We would love the hear your thoughts below!