ANEMONE SEA CAVE - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Once years ago you could pick up a trail map of Acadia national Park and find Anemone cave clearly marked on it.  Than the National Park Service decided to abandon it, like so many other trails in the park, and it suddenly stopped appearing on any map produced of Acadia National Park.  Signs were removed, even the steel railings that got people safely from the cliff down to the cave entrance were cut and removed.  Today there is no signs at all that an ancient sea cave is even there, even though the sea cave has gone nowhere - it is still there.

Map of Acadia National Park

It is interesting to note that during the late 1800's and early 1900's newspaper articles sometimes referred to Anemone Cave as The Devil's Oven, and this could of been for a number of reasons.  At least one book claims a number of people have become trapped in the cave by rising tides and lost their lives by drowning, and while I did do research on this, I was only able to uncover one such tragic event, where Douglas Rose, a young student from the College of the Atlantic, did get trapped in the cave by a rising tide, his body was recovered from the cave the following day, and this tragic account would suggest his was not the first death at the cave.  And during the time the cave was a major attraction of Acadia National Park, the Park Service had to respond to way too many calls for help of people who were becoming trapped by a rising tide, or who had fallen on the caves extremely floor and suffered injuries.  If you plan on a visit to the cave, wear proper footing and enter the cave at the low tide mark.

There are two ways to reach the start of the Anemone sea cave trail.  The first method is the easiest.  Drive along the one way section of the park loop road, keep driving as if headed to Sand Beach.  You will see the entrance station coming up in awhile, where they collect fee's for entering the park.  If you don't have a park pass, don't panic, you will not be passing through the fee station.
As you approach the fee station, be in the left hand lane, and turn onto the road just beofre entering the fee station - this takes you to Schooner Head Overlook parking lot.  You drive straight into the parking area by going straight  at the four way intersection.  Left is the Schooner Head road which leads to route 3.  Right goes to Great head trail.

At the parking lot, you will see a sign by a wooden rail fence.  The sign use to tell you about Anemone cave.  Follow the narrow paved path down through the woods.  It will come out at the top of a high cliff.   at this point you are standing on the roof of the cave.
Many make their way down to the cave entrance from the right of the cliff, footing can be slippery and the way down steep.  Another approach to the cave entrance is from the left, the way I like to take.  Simply follow the narrow rough path along the top of the cliff, until you come to a long gully that heads down toward the ocean, moving toward the right, back in the direction of the cave.  The gully will pretty much lead you to the entrance of the cave.  The cave can only be entered at low tide, and a good pair of shoes is a must, as the inside of the cave is wet and very slippery.

ANEMONE SEA CAVE - ABANDONED TRAILS - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

 the second way to reach Schooner Head parking lot is by taking route 3 out of Bar Harbor, heading in the direction of Otter Creek.  Once you pass the town ball fields, you will begin to go uphill, near the top of the hill is Schooner Head Road.  Take Schooner head road to the four way intersection, and turn left into the Schooner Head parking area.
One other way of reaching the sea cave is to simply get onto the free Island Explorer bues, you want the Sand Beach bus for this.  Tell the driver when you board the bus you want to get off by the entrance fee station.  Now walk to the road before the fee station and keep walking until your at the Schooner Head parking area (it is a very short walk).

DEATHS IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK