Acadia National Park, on the rugged, rocky Atlantic coast of Maine, is a day-hiker's paradise. A dense, interconnected network of rugged, rocky trails runs throughout the park, and while they can be strenuous, nearly all of them are short, quick trips. On a side note, forgive the poor photos here. All I had was my cell phone, which is so old that it has a button for the letter omicron.
The Beehive
The name of this landmark doesn't make it obvious what it is, but the Beehive is an oddly roundish hill which does look a little like its namesake from a distance. The trail to its top, while short, is a great little pocket adventure. The trail ascends a cliff face with the use of metal grates:
...iron rungs:
...and boulder scrambles augmented by rungs:
The path up the Beehive is almost entirely along cliff faces. The climb is quick and not especially difficult, but if sheer drops bother you, stay away! Acadia is full of helpful wooden markers. This one marks the top of the Beehive:
And here is the view from the top:
I looped back to the trailhead by this lovely lake, called the Bowl:
The whole trek was just over a mile, an exciting jaunt that left plenty of time for more.
Penobscot Mountain
The hike to Penobscot Mountain's peak packs a lot of nice scenery in under 4 miles. The hike starts by following the shore of Jordan Pond and then climbs very steeply to the summit of Penobscot Mountain, where this spooky black bird was waiting for me:
The signpost at the summit of Penobscot Mountain, helping keep all of Acadia's intersecting trails straight:
While the ascent to the summit is steep, strenuous, and not particularly scenic (you're stuck inside the forest and can't see far), the best part of this hike by far is the long trek across the open summit and the gradual descent. All the way across, you can look down into Jordan Pond below, or across Mount Desert Island in front of you:
The ramble across the summit area is one of those wonderful hiking passages where you just float along, soaking in the scenery. Keep an eye out for cairns so you don't lose the trail. Looking back at Jordan Pond:
Follow the trail back into the trees and back to the trailhead. Though this hike is not long, I'd recommend a map - many trails crisscross each other through here, and you'd hate to make a wrong turn.