89: Hiking the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park

that is where the lost boys would live that is where Captain Hook would anchor his ship that is Mermaid Lagoon and Peg Leg point is out there as well it's it's just a lot of fun this is the exploring the national parks podcast with dirt in my shoes my name is Ash and I'm a former Park Ranger and the founder of dirt in my shoes I think that the parks are best seen from the trail and I'm here to make National Park trip planning easy and I'm John I carry the kids on the trails tell stories and notice all the things that Ash doesn't care about much like birds join us as we show you around America's spectacular national parks we're sharing our favorite places fun facts adventures and Misadventures and we'll even throw in a little trip planning let's start [Music] exploring we have officially hit my favorite season in the national parks autum it's the best after Labor Day and all the kids go back to school unfortunately now we have kids that go back to school so we don't get to travel during this time as much as we used to but holy cow it is my favorite time to be in the Parks oh yeah so today we wanted to talk about a national park that we love visiting in the fall although it is a little funny aadia national park that's where we're going today we're talking about the Beehive Trail which is one of the most iconic trails in any national park oh I love this one but I was thinking about it and I was like I love Acadia in the fall and people go to New England like crazy to see fall colors and stuff right yeah but Cadia is like sticking it to the man cuz they're like nope we're shutting down October 12th on the dot for Raging Against the Machine we will not stay open beyond when we want to I know it's so funny because it's like last time we went there in the fall and we did like we timed it so that we were there like the beginning of October and into October because we wanted to see the Fall colors and the colors were spectacular although they weren't Peak right it wasn't even done yet it was just like we were getting we were starting to get some good color and then they were like shut down it's cuz the locals want to enjoy it themselves without all of us probably exactly we've had a great summer now the islands ours do you blame them though oh my gosh four million people on that tiny Island I do not blame them it's an amazing location and you should have some time to yourself not when it's all snowy and muddy and stuff yes so anyway I was just having a good laugh cuz I was like it's funny that a Cadia season like shuts down before the Fall colors even Peak MH but they do I know they do kind of I mean you can still get into the park and stuff but it's just like the campgrounds are done like the restaurants in town start to shut down like it's just like oh I think we're overstaying our welcome a lot of the hotels are like not enough people staying even though like we're clamoring to get there nope it's like they're looking the other direction nobody's here nobody's staying here nobody nobody wants to be here right now I just realized this was a podcast and I was like acting out the person at the hotel looking away from the other anyways we are approaching being my favorite season in the Parks especially these parks that just have really good Leaf peeping like aadia Great Smokies Shen andoa all of those are going to start peeking in October right so anyway but today we want to talk about hiking the Beehive Trail this is going to be a shorty episode cuz this Trail is only one and a half miles it's short but it's awesome yeah but you know what's really interesting and I have a fun game that I want to play with Ash and with whoever's listening anybody who's listening I have a fun game because as I was getting ready for this episode I realized something that I've never noticed before about Acadia and the Beehive Trail plays a really important part in What I realized but I never noticed how much like Neverland Acadia and mount desert island actually is do you notice this especially the higher you climb on the Beehive Trail because you get this awesome bird's eye view perspective of the island and I googled tons of maps of Neverland which honestly was a little hey John what are you doing looking at maps of Neverland instead of working but yes it was surprisingly difficult to find original maps of Neverland but I did just to make sure I wasn't too eager for this to be true but it absolutely is now I mean the names are a little bit different but even still the names on M desert island which is where Acadia is and Acadia are very Peter panish and the shape of the island is also very similar with some of the locations of the Coes and the mountains and things like that so to the game and just to prove my point that Acadia is Never Land I've got this idea so this is how the game is going to go I'm going to name off some places in Acadia and mount desert island and then every once in a while I'm going to throw in some locations from Neverland and you have to catch them K Ash do you think you can do this yeah I do and if you're listening at home do the same thing if I say something you think is on Neverland call me out and count because there's 26 total items here 18 of them are in Acadia and eight of them are in Neverland and it's actually harder to figure this out than you would think so we'll start easy Mermaid Lagoon Neverland okay good Wonderland ship harbor seal Harbor cannibal Cove not cannibal Cove that's the neverland very good yeah flying Mountain little Hunter's Beach Hangman's tree black woods I've never heard of flying mountain or The Hangman's tree flying Mountain isad where is that that's a great name it's great it's perfect for Peter Pan yeah okay but Hyman's tree is Neverland okay blackwoods that's aadia Wildwood Acadia blind men's Bluff Neverland it is Neverland good job Otter Creek Acadia Bear Brook Acadia crocodile Creek Neverland break neck pawns oh Neverland that's a Kia aadia Breakneck ponds Wich hole pond that's Acadia that is which yeah Thunder Hole aadia sounds very Neverland though doesn't it does Skull Rock is there one in aadia there's one in Joshua Tree a skull Rock we'll say Neverland never you're correct okay bubble pond that's aadia a Betty Pond kadan yep Indian Point Neverland aadia really yeah that's Mount desert island but yes Indian Camp Neverland Neverland Lookout Point Acadia yep Otter Point Acadia Folly Island Acadia Peg Leg Point Neverland yep dude those names are so good isn't it though like this is totally a pirates Paradise it is that's crazy yes and as you climb the Beehive Trail which we'll finally get back to The Beehive that's what we're here for but as you climb the Beehive and you look up and you look out into Newport Cove and the ocean you're like totally dude Captain Hook would absolutely anchor right there or the mermaids would absolutely be right there on those rocks there could totally be a Mermaid Lagoon oh absolutely for sure yeah there's tons of places for them on Mount desert island and in Acadia as a whole this whole place oh I just AB anyways I wanted to prove to everyone Acadia is Neverland and I'm pretty sure we just did that I would have to agree with you I also don't know if we mentioned Acadia is in Maine right so if you're looking for Neverland the real Neverland you'll find it in Maine on Mount Desert Island also second start of the right and straight on till morning either way you'll get there yeah that's funny yeah I we love Acadia it just it does have this really cool Vibe The Beehive Trail is the most popular Trail in aadia national park because going along with that vibe that you get when you're there like Acadia has what's known as iron rung Trails mhm which are a purely aadia thing really yeah they have S roll but what we mean by Iron rung Trails is there are trails in aadia that you actually have to climb up like they have these iron rungs bolted into the cliffs and you have to use these iron rungs to climb up the mountain or to continue on the trail and so there are several of them but the Beehive being the most popular and the most famous right where you are getting to the top of the Beehive which is a mountain in aadia with the use of the iron rungs that are bolted into the cliffs yeah it's the Angel's Landing of the East Coast it is except the precipice right is I would say probably closer to the Doom of Angel's landing and the scariness of angels Landing The Beehive is like a good primer that's probably for some of the bigger iron rung stuff that you can do in a Cadia for me the Beehive is enough yeah I guess I would think like the beehive is the equivalent to Angel's landing and observation point is the equivalent to no because observation point you don't have to hold on to chains yeah I guess you're right Ash wins I win because I feel like when you have to hold on to metal to safely navigate a trail MH it just takes it up a notch that is true or two or three or five and here in the Beehive Trail you have to use them because you're scaling a cliff you're scaling Granite Cliffs here and it is a oneway unlike Angel's Landing it's a one-way Loop because even though I would love Angel's Landing to be a one-way Loop you don't not want to be climbing down while people are climbing up these ladders yes please don't go down the iron rungs I had I was looking on all Trails just for what people were saying and they're all like yeah we made sure we did it counterclockwise so we go up the iron rungs and I was like you have to go up the iron r like you don't have a choice you do not go down the iron rungs that's so unsafe that's so dangerous for everybody so yes you have to go up the iron rungs so in order to do that you're going to park at Sand Beach which is along the Park Loop Road sand beach is kind of the main like it's the first really big parking lot that you get to as you go on the Park Loop Road but it does fill and so my first like d do for this hike do get there early or late right do not come in the middle of the day you will not find parking at Sand Beach they let you park in a whole Lane of the road the whole right lane of the road you can park in and even that fills right and the thing is is if you get there maybe the parking lot at Sand Beach is all full but you're able to park along the road that still means that when you get on the Beehive it's going to be stacked right there are going to be so many people up there that you're not going to be able to hike at a normal Pace or travel at a normal Pace it's going to get backed up right and so getting there early or late actually makes a huge difference not only in the parking situation but just in your overall enjoyment of the trail really what would you say to people that are like I don't think I'll be able to get parking but I'll take the Park shuttle in I mean the Park Shuttle is fine the Park Shuttle is great actually aadia has a great shuttle the trail will be pretty crowded the trail will be stacked yeah and so I just personally especially if you're a little nervous about the cliffs and the heights I like to be able to kind of do it on my own terms right right I don't want to feel like there's people behind me that are like pushing me to go faster right and I don't want to feel like there's so many people in front of me that I get stuck on an iron rung and I can't move forward forward do you know what I mean y so for me because I definitely am more scared of heights I think than you are and I'm more cautious yeah that's than you are and so for me I would rather get up nice and early and get on the trail so that I can Hike It kind of at my own pace and feel like I'm not being rushed by people right that's a big deal to me actually on these trails that do require a little bit extra yeah well because they're choke points right bottleneck L the lines build certain you don't want like you said you don't want to be stuck on a ladder looking at somebody's butt you know wait I've got nowhere to go also I feel like people turn kind of into idiots on Trails like this when they get impatient and stuff and they try to climb around you nope I'm not going to deal with that crazy so you will find me there early in the morning or like during dinner time or a little bit later right when things calm down which honestly yeah you have to get up early or something like that but wow the sun and the views everything is perfect at those times it is amazing to be out hiking when there aren't a million people surrounding you yeah it's the best so I highly recommend like the timing on this one not only the timing of day but also watch the weather because you don't want to be on this iron rung Trail climbing up cliff lifts if everything is all wet right aadia does get a lot of rain your hands and your feet will slip yeah it's not like these are all no slip whatever guardrail things just a piece of metal yeah exactly it really is it's like you're holding on to a lead pipe yeah is really all it is yeah so that's another thing to keep in mind check the weather it can be really foggy in the mornings especially really early morning in this park so you don't want to go too early right cuz you want the fog to have time to burn off you want to get there before the crowds get really bad so sometimes evenings just are the better option all around depending on what the weather looks like so another thing bring a map this Trail is only a mile and a half round trip yes you gain 500 ft of elevation it's pretty straightforward you would think see looks at me whenever she says that when she says bring a map Acadia is confusing I don't blame you even like on my 4day itinerary for Acadia or something like trying to explain to people which route to take for these Trails it's like you cross so many other Trails yeah as you're hiking around this park and so it's just really wise to have a map with you so that you can know where you are yeah I've gotten lost and I've gone on the wrong trail in Acadia because if you look at the park brochure map that they have on nps.gov or the one that they give you there is a network of trails that go throughout this park and they all intersect in different places and a lot of times the only way that you can distinguish between what trail is going which direction is the color of paint that they Mark the trees with along the route that you're taking and so sometimes they can be as challenging as light blue dark blue yeah or something white versus gray or something like that you know that and so if you don't pay attention like I didn't you will get lost you'll take a right instead of a left and all of a sudden you'll be like where is the parking lot but even on the Beehive as you're coming down off the Beehive there's several cross trails that confuse people so do bring a map do go early or late in the day don't hike if the weather is bad don't hike if you're scared of heights right if you're just like mildly scared of heights and you're like I think I can do this go for it but if you are deathly scared of heights this is not the trail for you right we'll talk about a back way that you can go if you want to get to the top still without all the scary iron rung ladders and bridges and stuff but this really isn't one where you're going to want to be like I'm really scared of heights let's do it you know yeah because if you freeze up halfway through I mean it's kind of like a roller coaster ride once you're buckled in you're kind of stuck there so yeah and it doesn't go as fast as a roller coaster you're stuck there for a good 30 minutes exactly the other thing and this is a question I get a lot kids do we take kids on this Trail our kids haven't done it yet younger kids I would say no I think if they get to the age where they can understand and I say this same thing about like the Angel's Landing Trail in Zion where you have to hold to the chains it's very similar it's a very similar scariness when you're doing this if they're at the age where they totally understand like if I let go of this or if I misstep I will fall down the cliff and die mhm they can compute that in their brain appreciate the how important this is and they know how they cannot fool around they cannot be goofy they cannot do stupid things like yeah if they're at the age where they can handle that then I think they would be okay on this Trail but if they are not then I would leave them back right because they will have to hike by themselves there's not like you're not going to be able to carry your kid up the iron rung ladder yeah so they're going to need to be able to do it themselves and you're going to need to feel like they can do it themselves without falling right so our kids have not but we're going to go next year and we will take them on it I think they're old enough and mature enough now to do that yeah so it's true but they weren't last time we were there no it's true it is very true and so definitely a really a real concern people have so take it seriously but this all of these things all of you go prepared you go in the right situation this can be the most amazing Trail it is it really is I mean it every time we go to aadia it is a highlight yes and I always hike it by myself cuz like I said we haven't taken our kids on this one so we'll switch off so I solo hike it and then I'll come down and then John will go it's still a highlight I think easily for both of us yep you always meet some really fun people yeah on the trail it's always an adventure so all of those disclaimers aside let's talk about what the actual Trail looks like and what to expect right so I mention you park at Sand Beach and then you cross the street and you get on What's called the Bow Trail mhm and you'll hike the bll trail for 2 mil just up it's pretty Rocky you're working your way over and then you'll see the turn off to The Beehive yep and at that point you'll take that turn off and then it's almost immediate Cliffs yeah it doesn't warm you up slowly it doesn't and you're on the cliffs for about3 miles it's not a Long Trail you're not spending a ton of time on here but it does take a while because because as you're working your way up these Cliffs and not the whole thing is iron rungs like there is some actual Trail yeah but you'll reach some areas where you'll need assistance going up and over the rocks and then that's where they'll have these iron rungs bolted into the Granite Cliffs for you to climb and for you to navigate to get higher and higher up on the Beehive yeah if you remember the old school like Donkey Kong games that you'd play on like Super Nintendo or something like that where you'd like go up a ladder and then you'd have to go right over like a floor and then jump a barrel and then go up another ladder and you dodging barrels back and forth but you're going left and right and up and down and stuff like that's kind of how it looks and actually you can sort of see it really good if you get on Google Maps which is where I was figuring out all my Neverland stuff if you get on Google Maps and push on the 3D button and you zoom in on the Beehive you can see how the trail kind of switchbacks up and goes back and forth like a snake going up with these ladders it's pretty cool but you realize at that point oh you are going right up the mountain here there's even one section I think it's my favorite part it's pretty scary but where they have like an iron rung Bridge uhuh almost so you are not even stepping on Rock you're walking across these iron rungs at a place where there was no Rock to make a trail right they made something for you to walk on like put these things going out so that you could walk around and continue on up the Beehive so that part is always a little freaky but I love it yes it's like holy cow super cool yeah SO3 miles you're using these iron rung ladders and bridges to scale The Cliffs Of The Beehive and then you'll get to the top you're 520 ft above sea level you're right next to the Sea so it's pretty much that straight 520 up and then you just have views all around and you'll have views as you're hiking too so definitely take your time because it's pretty incredible to be up there on those iron rungs looking out over the beautiful Acadia landscape you've got sand beach right below you you've got the ocean right out there lots of forests tree covered mountains that you can see so it is absolutely beautiful totally worth the climb but I mean the real Adventure is in the climb yeah it's true The Adventurous part is all of the ladders and everything that you need to climb up to get to that point and then 360 degree views it's awesome and then you look around and you're like that is where the lost boys would live that is where Captain Hook would anchor his ship that is Mermaid Lagoon and Peg Leg point is out there as well it's it's just a lot of fun but then you've done the stressful part and you take a deep breath as you kind of circle back around and make your way back back towards the parking area so once you reach the summit then you just go back down you continue following the blazes the paint down on the rocks that will show you your way down the Beehive like I said do not try to go down the iron rung section please right you'll put yourself and others in danger but there is a trail that goes down the backs side of the Beehive and you continue following that if you follow it for3 miles you will hit the bowl which is a small pond back in here it's really picturesque super pretty mhm and then you'll take a left and you'll kind of follow it just for a minute and then you'll take another left back to the parking lot right and you'll continue on the bull Trail straight back down to the parking lot passing by that intersection that you took to get up the Beehive towards the beginning right so this is the area where it gets a little bit confusing because there is another connector Trail if you don't want to go all the way to the Bowl which I mean it's not that far 3 miles right but if you don't want to do that you can actually take the connector Trail and cut over and bypass the bowl and just go back down to the parking lot that way the I think the South Champlain Trail is down in there and so it just like it gets confusing like I said this is the area where you're going to want to map or at least know exactly which route you're trying to take to get back to the parking yeah cuz a lot of stuff happens really fast in.3 miles I mean that's pretty quick especially because you're coming downhill things you're moving fast lots of stuff is coming at you so especially before you take off on this Trail look at all the connector trails and recognize them so that you know what's coming your way so that you can make the right choices at each intersection to make sure you know where you're going this is not the one I want we want the next one yep the other thing is and I said if you don't want to hike the iron rung section but you still want to get to the top of the Beehive or maybe your group wants to split up and some of you want to do the iron wrong but you all want to meet at the top of the Beehive it's the Bow Trail that you'll use to get yourself up the backside of the Beehive and up to the top right you just do this backwards yeah you bypass the iron rungs you continue on the bll trail instead of turning off on the Beehive and then you go up the back side right so that's another option too if you're just like listening to this going no I don't think those iron rungs are for me that's another way that you can still get to the top of the mountain enjoy all the views with everybody yeah exactly don't let the iron rungs deter you from that amazing view that you get at the top and the 360 degree views of Acadia and mount desert island you've got to get that view it's so iconic and so either way up the rungs or around the back it's awesome so that's the Beehive Trail I mean like you said it's pretty short it packs a punch is so much adrenaline rushing through your body as you're navigating these iron rungs on the cliffs but it is one of the coolest hikes you can do in any national park right so today for your task head over to the dirt and my shoes Instagram or Facebook page we will post a picture of those iron rungs you tell us would you hike this Trail if you have hiked the trail chime in let us know how you enjoyed it but we would like to know is this a trail that you are hoping to hike and thank you to all those of you who have left reviews for the exploring the national parks podcast if you're enjoying it please we would love to hear from you please give us a five star review or leave a comment on the YouTube video we love communicating and and hearing back from you thanks a lot we appreciate you and please go get some dirt in your shoes [Music]