Hiking the Most Dangerous Trail In Acadia National Park

So for those who don’t know, Alexa has been my best friend since we were both seven years old. It’s that type of friendship where if I want to do something stupid or dangerous, I’ll contact her and if she agrees to go on the adventure with me, I know that my persuasion skills are still top tier. But I think one of the craziest things that Alexa willingly agreed to do with me was hiking the Precipice trail in Acadia Nation Park.

Over the summer, I saw a Tik Tok about Acadia National Park. It was of these two girls who were climbing metal rungs hammered into the side of a cliff like a ladder. It looked extremely dangerous so I sent it to Alexa and told her we were doing it and by some miracle, she agreed. My grandparents have a lakehouse in Maine only a couple of hours from Acadia and somehow, we were given the materials for the perfect day trip. The morning of, Alexa and I woke up at 7:30 in the morning, packed our bags, and started our two-hour drive up to the park. Surprisingly, traffic wasn’t bad at all and we were able to make it there by around 10. Luckily the park really wasn’t crowded for a Saturday so we parked the car and started our trek up the mountain.

Now the first thing I’m going to say about the Precipice trail is if you are going to hike this trail, make sure you have the proper footwear to do so. This is an extremely dangerous trail. I’m not kidding. Before we even started, there was a huge yellow warning sign that reads:

CAUTION: FALLS FROM THIS MOUNTAIN HAVE RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURY AND DEATH!

I took a picture with it and continued forward.

The minute we started up the mountain, we came across this group of people who decided to hike up the mountain in low-rise converse and jeans. We were only behind them briefly, but in the time we were behind them, they literally almost fell off of the mountain because their shoes had no grip. It became very frightening and when I say I have never heard Alexa gasp as loud as she did when one of the girls started slipping against the rocks. They were actually such a hot mess that the two guys behind us looked at them and said

“Y’all do know that this is the EASY part of the hike right?” Then looked at Alexa and me and said “Oh you two will be fine, you have good hiking shoes on.”

We got to talking to these guys as we were hiking and apparently they have hiked the trail before and came back to do it again because it was so fun. Both were really nice and super friendly. I honestly love meeting new people in situations like these so it was a very nice part of the day.

The next thing I’m going to say is if you’re going to hike this trail, make sure you’re not afraid of heights. The definition of a precipice is literally “a very steep rock face or cliff, especially a tall one” and this trail is no different. I’m not kidding when I say that there are points in this hike where the trail is straight up. I don’t know who woke up one day and thought to themselves “I’m going to hammer a bunch of metal rungs into the side of a mountain so random people can climb up them with no safety harness and cheat death,” but I would like to thank whoever did. I’m a lover of all hikes but my favorite type of hike is a hike with a view. This trail had a view at every twist and turn. It was absolutely breathtaking and something that every person should experience at least once. When we finally got to the top of the mountain, we found a sign that told us our elevation gain was 1058’ which is one of the tallest hikes I’ve ever been on.

And not only was this hike high, but it was also so so so hard. Now Alexa is a track athlete in college and I like to think of myself as physically fit, and both of us had to take several breaks. We told ourselves it was to take in the view, but in reality, it was just so we would lower our heart rate and stop profusely sweating. And if you don’t believe me, I later that day found out that the Precipice trail is the most difficult and dangerous trail in all of Acadia National Park. But it was worth it when we finally made it to the top. We even saw the two guys we were talking to before and they told us they were impressed with how fast we made it up the mountain (and yes that was a humblebrag.)

The way down was honestly a lot lamer than the way up. however, it was a lot more painful. The downwards slope of the mountain made it extremely hard to get a grip and when we did, it was equivalent to stubbing your toe over and over again. I’m not lying when I say my feet were at a 40-degree angle the entire way down and my entire foot was smushed up against the top of my shoe. Very painful and would not recommend but it is necessary to get back to your car, unfortunately. But something that was super cool on our way down was that instead of trail markers, they used little rock statues that we followed all the way down. I think it was really cool how people just know not to knock them over. A very nice community touch if you will.

When we finished our hike, we were both absolutely starving. My dad is actually an Acadia fanatic and told us to go to Bar Harbor (if you’re from Boston, “Bah Hahbah”) and pop into Geddy’s for lunch. He actually told us probably 17 times the day before we went because “it’s the best place in Bar Harbor!” Now I know I have only been to one restaurant in Bar Harbor but I do think I’m going to have to side with him on this one. I got the lobster roll (because it’s Maine) with fries and Alexa got the margarita pizza. Not only was the food amazing but the service was impeccable and our food came out within ten minutes after we ordered it. After we were done eating we went to the Geddy’s gift shop and got the cutest matching sweatshirts. They were pale yellow with sheep on them and said “bah hah bah” (Get it? Because sheep say bah?) I actually don’t think I have seen Alexa laugh as hard at stupid puns as she did at the shirts we saw walking around downtown.

While we didn’t stay too long downtown, I would definitely recommend taking the time to walk around as much of Bar Harbor as you can. There are some adorable shops, bookstores, and ice cream parlors that really are worth the visit and give the whole “small town” vibe.

All in all, Acadia was one of the most fun adventures I went on this summer. It was short and sweet but still packed with fun memories. And honestly scaling the side of a mountain and then turning around to see a beautiful ocean view was so rewarding. And getting to the top was even more so. I would also like to say thank you to Alexa for always tagging along with my shenanigans and risking her life so I could have an adrenaline rush. You’re a real one girlfriend and I appreciate you so much. If you’re ever in the Acadia area and up for a challenge please do this hike. I promise you won’t regret it.

Hope you have a lovely week!

-Meg

P.s. Here are some photos from that day! The first is a picture of me with the warning sign, the next four are from on the trail, and the last is Alexa and I in our matching sweatshirts!