GREAT HILL

This is actually a piece on LOST ACADIA, and I will add more in the future. If you were to look at a very old map of Acadia that showed the old trails, and looked at Great Hill, you would see that way back the hill was criss-crossed with hiking trails. For whatever reason, the National park "abandoned" all the trails on Great Hill. But if your a local, and do some searching, you can locate where some of these trails once ran.
The easiest of these trails to locate, and the most worn down one, as many locals still hike it, is located along the park loop road. You begin at the visitors center, just off route 3 in Hulls Cove. Drive along the park loop road, - you will pass over a very high, long stone bridge. I would suggest you park here and get out and walk along the sides of this bridge, for the views are unbelieveable, and yes, this bridge is indeed very high up - once back in your car, continue on. You will pass over a second stone bridge and pass the turnoff that heads back into town, As you continue along the park loop road, you will very quickly come upon a pull-over. Continue on to the next pull-over - its a large pull over with a sign that tells the story of the great fire that swept through the park.
This is where you want to park. Directly across the roadway is a stone ledge. Towards the left side of the ledge where is goes low, to meet up with the trees, there is a worn path that begins there, going up to the top of the ledge. Looking away from the roadway, you will see an opening through the trees. The worn path leads through that opening, and continues up over bare rock and dirt, making its way almost straight up to the 1st peak. Be day you can see cruise ships in the harbor below, and by night you can watch airplanes take off and land at the Bar Harbor Airport.
Note - 2/3 of the way up you will come upon a very huge boulder that just seems to be ready to roll down the hillside. This makes for very good pictures. Again, for the most part, the path here is well worn, and where it passes over stretches of bare rock, just be on the lookout for tiny rock piles that quickly point the way to where the path continues on dirt.
Todays weather - very dismal with light rain to a mist.