OLD MAPS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Old Maps Of Acadia National Park offers visitors to the site a collection of old maps of Acadia dating back to the 1800's and early 1900's. We also offer a collection of custom made maps of abandoned trails, phantom and ghost trails, and lost trails in Acadia National Park - and all maps are free. Maps cover the Great Cave, Anemone cave, the hanging Steps, the Green Mountain Railroad, Sand Beach, Carriage roads, and many other popular locations within the park.

Friday, June 7, 2019

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK'S MOST DANGEROUS CAVE

If we were having a conversation on which of the two climbs in Acadia National Park are considered the most dangerous, there would be no debate, it would be Champlain Mountain's Precipice followed by a close second with the Beehive trail. No one knows for certain just how many lives have been lost on those two trails because according to the National park Service, they don't keep those kind of records, but judging by old newspaper articles a number of hikers have met a most tragic fate on those two climbs.
If on the other hand we were to have a conversation on what is the most dangerous cave in all of Acadia National Park, we may not see eye to eye, since several of the caves in the National park on Mount Desert Island have taken a life or two. At Schooner Heads Anemone Cave, college of the Atlantic student Douglas Rose was the last person to have died there by drowning after becoming trapped in the cave by rapidly rising waters, and a bad coastal storm approaching did not help matters any. The cave on Great head claimed a teens life as he attempted to enter the cave and a rogue wave swept him off the rocks and out to sea.
Clearly the caves that are easy to access pose a danger unique to themselves, but the most dangerous of all the caves are the ones very little, if anything is written about, caves whose past are so dark only a handful of explorers have dared venture into them. One such Maine explorer, Matthew Marchon, described as a death cave, the kind of cave where one can easily lose their life in. The cave I am speaking of is the ancient Sporting Horn Cave, and while you will find some writings on the Sporting Horn, you will come up short when it comes to the Sporting Horn Cave. That was not always the case, back in the mid 1800's to early 1900's crowds would gather nearly every day to make their way out on the dangerous cliffs just to look down at the mouth of this mysterious cave, all lured there by the spectacular show the mouth of the cave put on, for as each onrush of wave advanced toward the mouth of the cave, a hugn shower of white water would shoot upward into the sky.
I had come across a very old story that told how a few island school boys had accessed the mouth of the cave by rowboat at low tide and how two of the boys ventured a short ways into the cave. The cave reached its heigth of popularity when a couple films used the cave in a motion pictures, but with the passing of years and the property where the cave is located on changing hands, the cave faded into time and nearly became forgotten altogether.
Today's land owners, unlike the ones of the past who welcomed the crowds, would rather not see anyone on the property, and the less written about the Sporting Horn Cave the better. This is a true cave in every sense, it runs pn some distance, and earns its nickname, the death cave, simply by the fact that the further back you venture into the cave, the more it slopes, go too far in and you risk sliding downward to a certain death. Due to how dangerous this cave is and the potential for loss of life, I will not give instructions as to how you can reach the mouth of the cave by land, but I will post a few photos and maps. In his book, The Acadia You Haven't Seen, explorer Matthew Marchon gives specific directions on how to reach the cave, listed under the name "Meadow Brook Sea Cave," which is also known as the Sporting Horn Cave. Needless to say, you DO NOT want to get caught in the cave as the tide is rising, and only enter the cave at low tide. Good footing is a must and flashlights strongly recommended.

MAP OF SCHOONER HEAD
SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Acadia National Park

SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head - Acadia National Park

THE MYSTERIOUS SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head
Acadia National Park

PEOPLE GATHERED TO VIEW SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head
Acadia National Park

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

REAL HAUNTED PLACES IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

A GUIDE TO HAUNTED LOCATIONS IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

In some cases a demonic spirit can seek a person out for one reason or another, as countless stories attest to, but one can also attract a spirit to show itself in various ways, anywhere from a ghost-like sighting to strange, unexplained sounds, such as a voice around the corner or footsteps coming up behind you, only to turn and find no one there. In some cases we encounter these restless spirits when we seek them out, by visiting the site where their grim deaths occurred.
it should not come as a surprise to anyone that restless spirits, or ghosts, are rarely if ever encounter during bright sunny conditions, that is simply not how the spirit world operates. Restless spirits seem to be mostly at home under conditions they find most favorable, during a storm, when fog creeps in, in a dark place with candle light of a burning fire, and at those prime times at dusk or early dawn. Many times people encounter those from the spirit world not by a sighting or through strange sounds, but through their senses, you will suddenly feel a chill come upon you, perhaps the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up, and you will suddenly find yourself focusing on an area, sensing something, or someone there.
Your best chance of encountering the spirit world is by visiting a location where a horrific death has occurred, at dusk or dawn, preferably when a fog is present or just coming in, and watch and wait for a sign to show itself.

TWELVE YEAR OLD MEETS MOST HORRIFIC DEATH
In August of 1853 one of the most tragic deaths to ever occur on Mount Desert Island took place on the cliffs of the Precipice, and it was perhaps the earliest recorded death on that trail, the most dangerous in all of Acadia National Park. This death of a young girl who was about to turn 12 occurred in an area just above a site known as The Great Cave. Some women from town had taken a group of young girls up by the Great Cave for a picnic and to pick wild blueberries, as the baskets were filled with nice plumb berries, the women gathered up the girls to head back down the mountain side, but two girls, Lucreatia K. Douglas, going on 12, and Almira Conners, a few years younger, had spend the entire time talking with one another, so as the group prepared to depart, the two girls begged to remain behind so they too could fill their baskets with berries. No one knows why, but the women consented and the group was soon out of sight as the two girls began picking berries. At some point, one of the girls spotted a nice clump of berries not far away, and the girls made a dash for them, not realizing the clump of berries was perched on the edge of a high cliff. They no sooner reached the berry bush when a section of the cliff gave way, carrying both girls downward. The Conners girl ended up landing in the upper branches of a tall tree and had broken bones, cuts and bad bruises , she was the lucky one and would live to tell of the horror which followed that tragic accident, for the pain and suffering had only just begun.

For the Douglas girl, it was not a question of rather she would die, but when, for as she rolled on the ground from the fall a large boulder rolled on top of her. Both girls were badly injured and one was being crushed by the weight of a huge boulder, and as duck came on all each girl could do was cry out in pain, as well as for help. The Conners girl would later recall how the Douglas girl continued to cry out in pain nearly throughout the entire night, her voice finally going silent and her body limp just before dawn, for her the fight for survival was over.
It was the Uncle of the Conners girl who discovered the two girls and raced back to town for help. One story recalled how the parents of the Douglas girl was poor and how her body was brought back to town and buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery along Mount Desert street which lies between two churches. For years she lay in that unmarked grave, until one day her brother returned to the village and purchased a headstone to mark his sisters grave.
There are those that say to this day she in one of a few ghosts in that tiny cemetery that make their presence known at duck or early dawn, when a haunting fog stretches out over the cold gravestones there.
Still others have said her young spirit still roams the narrow ledges of the precipice, and that as the fog has come creeping in hikers have heard a young girls voice ahead, or sensed some one coming up behind them, to turn and find no one there. And as strange as it may seem, the dead girls family lived in a house at Compass Harbor, a site others have written about of ghost sightings and strange sounds on foggy evenings.

PULLED TO HIS DEATH BY WATER LILIES
On July of 1896, one of the most strangest deaths to have occurred on Mount Desert island took place at Witch Hole Pond. Two boys, Jimmy Elkhorn and Guy Bunker had ventured out to the pond one day and decided to row out to the center of the pond in a home made rowboat Jimmy had build and kept by the shore of the pond. They rolled out to the center of the pond when Jimmy began to rock the small boat. The bunker kid did not like this at all, but dispute his protests Jimmy continued to rock the boat until it overturned. The Bunker kid clung to the boat, and begged the Elkhorn kid to stay with the boat with him, but Jimmy took off swimming toward shore. Now what makes this case so strange is the fact that not only was Jimmy a good swimmer, everyone who knew him said he was a great swimmer, yet as Jimmy got close to shore, he suddenly stopped swimming and began thrashing about, as if something in the pond had a hold of him. Jimmy finally sand below the water.

After a rescue party arrived and got the Bunker boy out of Witch Hole Pond, they went to the area where Jimmy was last seen and were able to retrieve his body from the pond. What they found shocked everyone involved, for Jimmy's legs were entangled in a mass of water Lillie stems which had prevented him from making it safely to shore, and it was the way Jimmy died that so shook the entire community. Jimmy earned spending money from that very pond, going out early in the mornings in his boat to pick water lilies which he would take to town and sell out front of the motels in the summertime. Jimmy died at age 15 in one of what is today one of the more beautiful areas of Acadia national Park. Some say if you stand on the banking of witch Hole Pond on a calm summers evening and watch the water, you will catch the sight of a disturbance on the pond, in the area where the lilies grow to this day, some say its just fish coming up to feed off passing bugs, but others swear its the spirit of Jimmy, still entangled in a place he loved.

MURDER AT OTTER CLIFF
Some say on a foggy evening, just around dusk, one can hear the lone blood curdling scream of a young bride plunging to her death from the eerie cliffs at Otter Cliff. One thing is certain, if such screams are heard there, it is for good reason, for a new bride meet with a horrific death there one evening - plunging 88 feet to the rocky shore below.
Dennis R. Larson, one might say, seemed on a run of bad luck when it came to wives, with his first wife meeting an untimely death by drowning in a creek, and a second wife soon leaving him. He placed an ad in a Maine newspaper in search of a third wife and 25 year old Kathy Frost answered his ad and soon married seven weeks after that. The day after she said "I do," Mr. Larson took out a $200,000 life insurance policy on her, though his new bride had no idea of the keen interest her new husband had just taken in her health.

MURDER AT OTTER CLIFF
Acadia National Park

The marriage was on the skids almost from day one and Kathy wanted out of it, but Mr. Larson talked her into taking a trip to Bar Harbor so they could work things out. She reluctantly agreed to go, but with the intend of telling him she wanted to end the marriage, while friends and family members pleaded with her not to go on the trip. Mr. Larson had his own reasons for the quickly planed trip to Maine, and once the couple arrived in Bar Harbor, Mr. Larson suggested they take a drive into nearby Acadia National Park. At Otter Cliff, the couple walked out to the high towering cliff where Mr. Larson pushed her off the edge to her death, her final scream echoing off the granite wall of the cliff.
At his trail, Mr. Larson admitted to having drown his first wife, also in order to collect the insurance policy and as it turned out, and as it turned out marriage was simply a business deal for Mr. Larson, and there's no telling how many young brides might of meet an untimely death at his hands had he not been convicted of murder.

THE NINE YEAR OLD GHOST THAT HAUNTS EAGLE LAKE
Ghosts come in many forms, the one that haunts the shores of Eagle lake takes on the form of a nine year old child, who vanished from sight on Christmas Day in 1909 while onlookers could only watch in horror.
The day had started out like any other Christmas Mornings, with nine year old Adren Peach in a hurry for him and his mother to start out from Southwest harbor and make the trip over to his Cousin's house in Bar Harbor, where the two families were to unwrap gifts. In a house on Forest Street in Bar Harbor, 12 year old Clarence Suminsby paced back and forth as he kept an eye on the street, anticipating the arrival of his cousin.. As the car pulled into the yard and gifts were carried inside, the two boys had but one thing on their minds, for each had repeatedly asked for the same gift, a pair of new ice skates. The two sisters, wanting to spend some time together, had the two boys open a gift, and to their elated surprise, both unwrapped a new pair of skates and immediately began to beg to go to the lake to try them out. The sisters agreed to let them go, the other gifts could wait to be unwrapped later that day.
The two boys headed for Eagle lake, with their brand new ice skates hung over their shoulders. Once at the lake they skated for a bit before noticing a group of other skaters on the far end of the lake. The two decided to head to the other end of the lake and join the others, with the nine year old skating down one side of the lake while the twelve year old skated down the other side of the lake. At one point as they neared the other group of skaters, Clarence began skating across the lake to join up with his cousin, as he got nearer there was a screams as first one, two, than three skaters fell through the ice. People on shore scrambled to try and rescue the skaters from the freezing waters of the lake as the nine year old continued in the direction of the horrific scene playing out before him, when the ice opened up below him, in a heartbeat he was gone, his cousin Clarance turning and racing for the safety of the nearby shore. The three that had first fallen through the ice were soon pulled to shore and the focus was now on helping young Adren Perch, yet the surface of the lake was eerily still. A rescue party arrived at the scene and hours later the body of the nine year old was recovered from 69 feet of water, as they pulled him from the frigid waters his tiny mittens were still frozen to his hands, and his brand new skates still laced to his feet.

THE DEVIL'S OVEN LIVES UP TO ITS REPUTATION
Anemone cave got its most recent name from the anemones, tiny sea life, which make the cave their home, but the cave has a dark past and was known as far back as the 1800's as The Devil's Oven. It is not the only place on Mount Desert Island so named, but it is the only sea cave that lives up to its name, for as others have found over the years the Devil's Oven below the cliffs at Schooner head can turn deadly in a heartbeat.
Books have been written and stories told of cries for help coming from the ancient sea cave, which the National Park Service claims was abandoned as a park attraction in order to protect the Anemone that live there, but truth be known, deaths by drowning and countless accidents and injuries from falls in the wet sea cave also played a key role in abandoning the cave. As one Ranger put it, "we were called to assist tourists at the cave too often who were either injured or becoming trapped by the rising tide."
So were the books and stories of cries for help and blood curdling screams heard coming from the cave over the years true? I set out to investigate if there was any such records of people becoming trapped in the Devil's Oven and meeting a horrific death at the hands of a brutal rising tide. At first I could not find any such proof, in part because the National park Service doesn't keep such records. Finally one evening, after pouring over countless newspapers, I came across one such tragedy, that of a local college student, Douglas Rose.
On an evening in 1993, Mr. rose and another college student used ropes to climb down to the mouth of Anemone Cave, not knowing at the time that only one would make it out alive. While the two were inside the cave a storm approached, causing the sea to become rough, and soon threatening waves began to crash against the rocks outside the cave as the water inside the cave began to rise alarmingly so, to the point where the two students knew they had to exit as quickly as possible, leaving their climbing gear behind a struggle between life and death unfolded. Exhausted and beaten by waves, the two students finally exited the cave, to be met by heavy downpour and thrashing winds and waves. One student made it to the rope they used to reach the cave by and began to climb up it toward the cliff above, stopping along the way to look back at the other student and encourage him to also climb up the rope, but Rose was too exhausted and his body soon sank below the surface of the sea. The following day a rescue team ascended upon the scene and the body of Douglas rose was found floating inside the cave.
Because no records were kept, we will never know how many others have met the same fate, or what the exact body count is for the Devil's Oven, but clearly Mr. rose was not the first, nor will he be the last to meet an untimely death in a place so names, "the Devil's Oven.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

OFF THE BEATEN PATH IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

For those who are into exploring abandoned and lost trails, or discovering secret places with Acadia National Park, this is a quick take on such places along with links to the blogs on each piece.

People killed in the park; You would think this would be a no brainer, you pick up the phone and make a simply inquiry, "Could you tell me how many people have been killed in the park from falls?" Sounds simple enough, however you quickly learn that the park service doesn't keep such figures. They usually point to a well reported death in the park and follow that up with a statement that there really aren't many deaths that occur in the park. It has been their attempts to down play the deaths in the park which prompted me to begin my blog on Deaths In Acadia National Park. Falling to your death can happen at any time, as too many have already learned, and a moment taken to poise for a photo on the rocky shore can become a life changing ordeal.

DEATHS IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

The Green Mountain Railroad Trail; Now to be honest, this was not a trail but the route the cog train used to go from Eagle Lake to the summit of than Green Mountain, today named Cadillac Mountain. However, once the Railroad Company went out of business and the tracks were torn up, locals took over the route and it quickly became a popular hiking trail.
What many don't know is the secret of the Green Mountain trail, as most of the time it is reported that all the railroad spikes and rails were taken up and removed from the side of the mountain. This is not true, in fact the majority of the railroad spikes still remain all along the route, sticking up out of the granite. as for all the rails having been removed, this is also not true. As you get about two thirds of the way up the trail you come to one long section of rail that was never removed.

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD TRAIL

The Great Cave; The Precipice Trail was constructed but not enough people were going there, so it was decided the area needed an attraction to lure more people to the area. A plan was formed to build a Lopp from the Precipice Trail, beginning near the lower section, to a cave that locals called The Great Cave. Once at the Cave entrance, the trail would continue off to one side of the Cave, and run upward and over the cave by way of a long series of stone steps. A metal bridge was built near the top of the loop to help get hikers from one ledge to another safely, where soon after the Great Cave Loop connected to the Precipice trail near the upper section.
The Great Cave must of done its job too well, because years later the Park Service abandoned it.

STORY OF THE GREAT CAVE

The Hanging Steps; Some refer to these hanging steps as one of the great wonders of the National Park, but most have never heard of them, let along been to them. They are located along a section of the Orange and Black trail, a section the Park Service abandoned years ago. They thought by many to be a wonder because the huge stone slabs that make up each step are held in place using iron rods, to make the steps seem to "hang in mid air." and when a park ranger first saw them after their construction, he replied just that, "They seem to hang in mid air," and thus they were named the Hanging Steps.
The abandoned end of the Orange and Black Trail began along an unmarked trail that the Rock Climbing Schools use to go to in order to practice their rock climbing skills. The trail continued past the Hanging steps, making its way upward to the edge of some dangerous cliffs, before entering the woods. Once through the woods the trail came out onto open granite, making its way downward to join up with the Precipice Trail at a spot known as the "Turn Around."

THE HANGING STEPS

The Turn Around; The secret of the Turn Around is how it came to be in the first place, and why the park service see's it as doing its job. The secret is that one place a short ways up the Precipice Trail was designed to get many unexperienced hikers to turn around and go back to the parking lot, and it does that well. The Turn around is a very large boulder with some iron rungs in it, designed to make it hard on people to get up and over that boulder.
With a little knowledge you could get past the Turn around simply by walking up the Park Loop road from the Precipice parking lot and taking the Orange and Black Trail to the Precipice Trail, which joins that trail just above the turn around.

Anemone Cave; Once a popular attraction in Acadia National Park, it was also abandoned years ago. All signs were taken down, map makers were asked to remove it from newer maps, and the railings that once safely helped people down the cliff to the caves openning were removed. So today people risk life and limb to reach the cave which can be entered at low tide. And even though the way to the cave can be slippery, it is even more dangerous inside the cave, which is slimy and extremely slippery.
The ancient sea cave was why Schooner Head Overlook exsists, from its parking lot is a narrow paved path which winds through the woods down to a high cliff. Once you reach the top of the cliff, you are standing on the roof of the cave.
But this sea cave also has another secret, two hikers from the local college became trapped in it as the tide rose, one managed to escape but the other drowned and his body was removed from the cave the following day.

ANEMONE CAVE

The Lost House of Eagle Lake; For many years only the Park Service, its volunteers and their friends knew of this house and its location. It is actually not a house at all, but a huge foundation with a huge arched doorway over looking the waters of Eagle Lake, and large arched windows.
So how did such a majectic foundation come to be, and what ever happened to the house?
There never was a house, only plans for a house. As the foundation was completed, it was George B. dorr, often called the father of acadia National Park, who approached the home builders and convinced them to abandon their dream home.
they did, but left their majestic foundation in place where it sets today, overlooking the lake.
Dorr took this victory and went to the legislature to push for a law to protect such bodies of water as Eagle lake, the Bubble Pond and Jordan forever protected from development. The legislature agreed with Dorr's vision and several bodies of water on the island became protected from development.

LOST HOUSE OF EAGLE LAKE

The Bear's Den; This old Bear's den shows up on old maps long before there was a National Park here, in fact its trail dates back to the days when Bar Harbor was called Eden. When Acadia National Park built the One Way section of the Park Loop Road, a big chunk of the trail was destroyed, but a tiny section remains and leads to the Bear's den, or cave.
The amazing thing is that nearly everyone passing through the park has either driven, hiked or biked through the park has passed right by it and never seen it, yet its hiding in plain sight.    Once on the One Way section of the Park Loop Road, drive until you come to a large pond on the right hand side of the road - Champlain Mountain towers over the pond. Continue until you reach the curve in the road up ahead where you will find a pull over, park there.
Now cross the roadway so your on the same side of the road as the ledge wall, and walk a short distance in the same direction as the traffic. Once you reach a spot where the ledge ends and the woods begin, look into the woods and you will see a black area further back with a worn trail leading to it - that is the Bear's Den.
It is so close to the road that when you kneel inside the cave you can see the cars passing by on the Park Loop Road. Back in the days beofre the Park Service put into place a policy of removing bears from the park, it is likely this den was once a home to a bear or two. Than the Park Service began to remove bears from the park and bear sightings were rare. Today, that policy is nolonger in place and bears are as welcome as everyone else, but because the cave is as close to the road as it is, it is very unlikely any bear would reclaim it.

THE BEARS DEN

Compass Harbor; It may well be one of the parks biggest secrets yet it is a mystery why the park service continues to treat the area of Compass harbor like an abandoned area of the park. You won't find any signs there, even though it is perhaps one of the most important areas in the entire national park - it was where the home of George B. Dorr was located. The home was named Old Farm, and to this day the brick floors of the rooms remain in place, along with some sections of crumbling walls.
Not only are there no signs at compass Harbor, the parking lot is tiny and hard to see from route 3. To reach the parking lot you drive down Main Street in Bar Harbor, pass the YMCA and town ball fields, round a curve, and continue a short ways until the road begins to go up a hill, right there on the left is a tiny unmarked parking lot. If you drove past the Schooner Head road or Jackson Labs, you missed it.
The Old Farm Road is just past Compass Harbor, and it has a tiny pull over just large enough for two cars, with a path leading into Compass Harbor.
The only other way to reach it is to go onto the Schooner Head Road and park by Jackson Lab. The Schooner Head Trail begins right by their rear entrance. A short ways down the road is a connector trail which leads through the woods, past a pond, and to Compass Harbor.
So what is the park service hiding there, besides the remains of Dorr's estate?   Just before the start of a very long stairway which makes its way up to the top of the hill is a tiny cove. Locals often go there on hot summer days to swim. Compass Harbor itself also has an area where you can swim.

COMPASS HARBOR AND OLD FARM

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The secret of Lake Wood; Lake what, you might be asking, because many have never heard of Lake Wood, and for those who go there in the summer time, it is in fact one of the parks best kept secrets. Lake Wood is a large lake whose warm waters are a perfect invitation for swimmers. But un like many lakes that offer swimming, lake wood is a bit different. Instead of swimming at the open area below the parking lot, most prefer to walk along either side of the lake to his or her own favorite swimming spot.
Lake Wood also holds another secret, for running along one side of the lake, high up along a ridge, is the start of the Fawn Pond Trail. It may be near impossible to find this trail from the Breakneck Road end, but from Lake wood the trail is well worn and easy to follow.
So where is lake Wood? From Hull's cove, drive out along the Crooked Road, and look for a narrow dirt wood entering the woods with a small park sign by it. The narrow road makes its way to the lake.

LAKE WOOD AND FAWN POND

The Mysterious Stones of Little Hunters Beach;
Is there such a place in Acadia National Park where there are perfectly round and oval stones? If you have ever found your way to the rock strew beach of Little Hunters Beach, than you know the answer already. This is not Hunters beach, which is a larger beach, but Little Hunters Beach, unmarked and easy to miss. I can only tell you the one way you can't miss it, and that is to arrive at Blackwoods Campground. You can take the Free Island Explorer bus from the Bar Harbor Village green, board the Sand Beach bus.
Once you get off the bus, walk up along the camp loop to the far left, you will pass several tant sites on the right, with just woods on the left. A short ways in and you will come to an ocean path which takes you quickly to the one way section of the Park Loop Road. Now walk to the right, its about a twenty minute walk, passing a couple pull overs before you come to a small stone bridge with a wooden stairway leading down the left side of the bridge to a stony beach below. It is un marked, but off in the trees at the top is a sign telling of the beach.
Twenty or thirty years ago when I went there you could find these perfectly shaped and smooth stones all over the place, but people have broken the law over the years and carried the stones home with them, which will get you a date in federal court if you get caught. We were there several months ago and found several nice large ones, perfectly round, the size of bowling balls.

LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH

OLD MAPS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK; You asked for them, we went out and tracked them down, a collection of old maps showing abandoned and lost trails in Acadia National Park which no trail explorer should be without.

OLD MAPS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Acadia National Park in 1932; Ever wonder what was here back in 1932, where people stayed and ate and what prices were back in those times? This gives you a good feel for what it was like back than.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK IN 1932

George B. Dorr Bike Path and Wild Gardens;
if George B. Dorr had a passion for anything beyond building hiking trails ad creating a National Park, it was for bike riding. It is said he could often be spotted riding his bike along his favorite bike path he created along a section of Indian Pass. He loved his bike path so much he created what would go on to become his famous Wild Gardens of Acadia next to the path. Today only sections of the bike path he built remain, and his Wild Gardens were dug up and relocated to where they are today.

GEORGE B. DORR BIKE PATH AND WILD GARDENS

The Lost Homan's Trail; Okay, to begin with, I am not the one who claimed this trail was ever lost, in fact, for the many years it lay abandoned by the Park Service, I was hiking it a number of those years, so as far as I am concerned, this trail was never lost. That aside, a few years ago the Park service announced the once lost Homan's Trail had been found, a news story was done on it, and even a painting was made. Now if you have ever hiked Dorr Mountain and not done so by means of the Homans Trail, than add it to your bucket list, and be sure to bring along a camera. Once you have hiked it and had a moment to take it on in, ask yourself how such a trail could of ever been abandoned in the first place - it simply boggles the mind.

THE ONCE LOST HOMAN'S TRAIL

YOUNGEST PERSON TO DIE ON THE PRECIPICE;
This is a tragic story of two school girls, both age 12, who climbed up the Precipice one day and how that decision cost one of them their life. This took place in the mid 1850's long before there was a Precipice trail, but even back than people were finding ways to climb the Precipice.

YOUNGEST PERSON TO DIE ON THE PRECIPICE

CAPTAIN KIDD'S LOST TREASURE
Yeah, go ahead and laugh now, but years ago people were not laughing, in fact they were heading for the woods with anything they could dig with in search of this buried treasure. Was any ever found? If it was, no one let it be known. Many years ago I visited the site, now a part of Acadia National Park, and found many signs of old dig sites scattered throughout the woods there. Today, the use of medal detectors is banned in the park as is any digging, so any lost loot still hidden in the woods there will have to remain lost.

CAPTAIN KIDD'S LOST TREASURE

2017 edition Of Our Free E-Book;
Yup, it's finally complete and up for free download. You may find a few blank pages in it, I am still trying to get use to using the free software program. Our 2018 edition will include more trails and more photos, as well as new maps, some of which have begun to appear on some of my blogs. And is always the case, any maps I design are placed into the public domain, free for anyone to repost or use.

2017 EDITION OF ABANDONED TRAILS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK E-BOOK

Abandoned Witch Hole Pond Marsh Trail;
Once again yet another abandoned trail hidden in plain sight. This trail is a quick short cut from the Park Loop Road, to Witch Hole Pond and the Carriage road. So easy is it to find, once you do locate it you will never forget how to get back to it again.

ABANDONED WITCH HOLE MARCH TRAIL

THE OLD BUCKBOARD ROAD;
It goes without saying that at one time cars were banned from the island. During those years the only way to reach the summit of Cadillac Mountain was either by way of the Buckboard Road, or by way of the cog train that the Green Mountain Railroad Company operated.    The Buckboard Road was also where a gunman dubbed The Gentleman Bandit operated along, robbing from the men only while allowing the women to keep their watches, rings and money.

THE OLD BUCKBOARD ROAD

BEAR BROOK PICNIC AREA TRAIL
Not so much a trail as a connecting path between Jackson Labs, or the Moust Factory as locals call it, and Bear Brook Picnic Area in Acadia National Park. It's about a 3 to 5 minute hike from the lab to the picnic area.

BEAR BROOK PICNIC AREA TRAIL

ABANDONED BRACKEN TRAIL
Once this trail served as a major connecting point, allowing hikers to reach trails in Acadia National Park from the gorge Trail end all the way up to the Lake Wood and Fawn Pond End. Than on day the Park service abandoned the Bracken Trail, along with all of the trails to the right of it.

BRACKEN TRAIL

ABANDONED FERN TRAIL
The old gurnee Trail may of once served as a village connector trail between the villages of Bar Harbor and Hull's cove, but it was the Fern Trail that connected those villages to the trail system in Acadia National Park.

ABANDONED FERN TRAIL

EXPLORING BREWER MOUNTAIN
Brewer Mountain has a number of secret and hidden sites on it, just waiting to be found. There is the Stone Tower, as well as two large foundations that served as a sand filtering system for the Bar Harbor Water company, remains of old buildings along with foundations hidden in the woods, and than there is the two granite mining sites.....

EXPLORING BREWER MOUNTAIN

THE STONE TOWER
Imagine walking out of the woods and entering a small field and finding a large stone tower rising up out of the center of the field - that is what happened to me one afternoon and this is the story of the Stone Tower.

THE STONE TOWER

THE WATER PIPE TRAIL
The Water Pipe Trail use to follow the water pipeline from the Park Loop Road up past Great Hill. In recent years the old Cast Iron pipeline was replaced with a more modern pipeline, and you can still locate and follow this route today. As you hike along one side of Duck Brook you will be treated to some nice views of rapids along the way.

THE WATER PIPE TRAIL

ABANDONED GREAT HILL SUMMIT TRAIL
You would not know it today but at one time Great Hill was one of the more popular hiking areas in the in Acadia National Park. There was once several hiking trails on the hill where today there are no official hiking trails. You will also find views on Great Hill that you can't find anyplace else in the park.

ABANDONED GREAT HILL SUMMIT TRAIL

THE GURNEE TRAIL
Abandoned and for a long time thought to be lost, a large section of the Gurnee Trail can still be located and hiked along today, if you know where to look. The Gurnee Trail is not a trail as much as it was once a Village connector path, connecting the villages of Eden, now Bar Harbor, with the village of Hulls Cove

THE GURNEE TRAIL

THE GREAT HILL WATER TOWER
Once the new Bar Harbor Water Company water system went on line, there was no longer a need for the huge water tower, thus it was abandoned and lies hidden in the woods on the side of great Hill. It is a short hike and fairly easy to find once you know where to look for it.

THE GREAT HILL WATER TOWER

THE GREAT HILL RESERVOIR
In the woods on the side of Great Hill, over looking the Duck Brook Bridge Road, lies an abandoned reservoir. It is about a two minute walk up to it, yet few have ever seen it.

THE GREAT HILL RESERVOIR

THE LOST RUDOLPH BRUNNOW TRAIL
This abandoned trail took a bit of leg work to track down, but it was well worth the time and effort. Old maps don't give this a name, so we did, though recent research suggests this may of once been a section of the Orange and Black Trail which may of been abandoned due to rock slides, with the main trail being rerouted.

THE LOST RUDOLPH BRUNNOW TRAIL

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND PHOTO COLLECTION
Some of the photos I have taken over the years of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND PHOTO COLLECTION

ABANDONED SECTION OF GORGE TRAIL
This is the original start of the Gorge Trail, most likely abandoned by the Park Service because the trail passed along private property, in some areas over private property, and the land owners did not want people crossing their land. This trail is not hard to locate and today comes out onto the official extended Gorge trail, close to the Cadillac North Ridge Trail.

ORIGINAL START OF GORGE TRAIL

ABANDONED BASS HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE TRAIL
I first located this abandoned trail on an old map, which has a small stony beach the locals call Whistlers Beach. There is also a nice stretch of the trail where nice pieces of drift wood wash ashore.

ABANDONED BASS HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE TRAIL

DUCK BROOK TRAIL
An old trail that most likely connected to the old Gurnee Trail at one time. The widening of route 3 and the building of two bridges pretty much erased a large section of this trail, yet some sections of this trail can still be located today for the adventurous explorer. After doing further research we discovered the secret behind how the early hikers of this trail were able to get past the really rough sections, a series of wooden covered bridges criss crossed the brook in different areas, without the aid of those bridges, today hiking the length of this old trail is a real challenge.

DUCK BROOK TRAIL

ABANDONED CRASH SITE OF CEDAR SWAMP MOUNTAIN
For reasons only known to the experienced Air Force Captain and pilot of the plane, he decided to fly into bad weather, into rain and fog, when the plane suddenly vanished. Three months later his body was recovered, but the wreckage of the plane still remains on the side of the mountain.....

ABANDONED CRASH SITE OF CEDAR SWAMP MOUNTAIN

THE SHIP WRECK SITE AT SEAL COVE
The wreckage of a large ship is discovered in a small cove and a mystery begins on what the name of the ship was and how did the large ship get to where its remains lie today. Seal Cove is the setting for this mystery and the ship wreck has been documented, yet the mystery of the ship still remains.

THE SHIP WRECK AT SEAL COVE

KEBO MOUNTAIN GRANITE MINING SITE
Not so much an abandoned trail as it is an abandoned road, I had come upon this old road many years ago and never followed it. Today we now know from evidence found near the end of the road that it was once a granite mining site. The photos show what appears to be rusting parts from some type of equipment used at the location.

KEBO MOUNTAIN GRANITE MINING SIRE

ABANDONED MCFARLAND MOUNTAIN SKI SLOPE
When I first read that Bar Harbor was once the home to a ski slope I found it hard to believe, but after doing some research I learned more about the operation and what remains of it on McFarland Mountain in Acadia National Park. By one of the supports for the chair lift that was used at the site is a large power box, as can be seen in the photos.

ABANDONED MCFARLAND MOUNTAIN SKI SLOPE

BUILDING OF THE ARTS
Long before the great fire of 47, there was the Building of the Arts, a building in which serious lectures and art shows was held at. It also was a place were many very famous people of that time came to perform on stage. In fact a young and upcoming actor named Henry Fonda performed on stage, and president Taff golfed in the shadow of the building. The photos at the link below show just how grand and majestic the building of the Arts was, yet no one back than could of known just how big of a role World War 2 would play in the buildings future.

THE BUILDING OF THE ARTS

THE ROCKEFELLER   BOAT HOUSE
I came across the Rockefeller Boat House one day while hiking in the rain some forty years ago, it was an amazing building than and it still is today. At the time I thought I was approaching some one's house, and once I realized what it was, even in the rain it was a beautiful sight. There is a kind of poach or walkway along the sides of the building with railings where visitors can walk out along, with beautiful views of the pond. Even though the site is open to the public, I believe they may not publicize the site much because they may want to keep the number of people visiting the site down, but that's just a guess. It is not a very long hike to reach the boathouse and if your in that area put it on your to do list.

THE ROCKEFELLER BOAT HOUSE

THE DEER BROOK TRAIL AND STEPHEN KING
The Deer Brook Trail, one may say, has deep roots as part of its history in Acadia National Park. I can make that statement with certainty because it was the large old twisted roots found along this trail that caught movie producers eyes and found their way into a very popular Stephen King movie. The name of the movie most would recognize, Pet Cemetery.
sadly today those roots no longer exist, they were removed by the national park Service during a trail rehabilitation project. Check out the link below to see exactly where in the movie the old roots appeared in...

THE DEER BROOK TRAIL AND STEPHEN KING

"Schistostega Cave."
I learned about this little known cave while reading a very old copy of the bar Harbor Times. It stated that while many of the children in the area knew about the cave, very few adults knew about it. Some people also call the cave by another name, Goblins gold.    The cave itself is on Bald Porcupine Island, and can only be reached with the aid of rope. The opening is small, and the further you go into the cave, the smaller the space in the cave becomes.
A group of scientists visited the cave to gather samples of a very rare moss that grows in the cave, a moss that glows with a very bright green light. One scientist in the articles stated, "Once you have seen this strange glowing moss, you will never forget it." The moss samples were gathered with the aid of children who had to go deeper into the cave in order to gather the moss. The moss was than taken to Jackson Labs to be examined. when asked how deep the cave was, one scientist said it was at least 100 feet deep, and at that point a flashlight was aimed down into the cave and the end still could not be seen.

"Schistostega Cave."

GHOSTS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT - Acadia National Park

What determines when some ones soul passes on to the world beyond or gets left behind, trapped in a place with no way out? And do such places exist in a places as beautiful as acadia National Park? Many know Anemone Cave as a site to explore at low tide, but most do not know the caves first name, or the many deaths connected to it.

GHOSTS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

THE DORR MOUNTAIN CREVICE CAVE

It may be hard for many who have hiked up along the Dorr Mountain Trail, but there is a crevice cave hidden in plain site that many hikers never see. This cave clearly was once a part of the Dorr Mountain trail, as the top opening of the cave has two large stone steps leading down into the entrance of the cave. I first discovered this old cave from a video that was placed on Youtube.

DORR MOUNTAIN CREVICE CAVE

STORIES FROM THE PAST

A collection of old newspaper stories from the past, from automobiles first being allowed on Mt Desert roads to vandals removing a section of Tilting Rock to a brutal murder.

STORIES FROM THE PAST

MAINE HOUSING REVIEWS

Looking to move to the state of Maine or looking for a new apartment in Maine, than check out some of the apartment reviews in this blog. Some of the reviews even have the floor plans of the apartment and photos to help you decide which apartment is best suited for you.

MAINE HOUSING REVIEWS

THE POETRY OF J.R. LIBBY

Over the years I have had four chapbooks published and a number of my works have appeared in over a dozen small press publications. Many of my poems are drawn from real life experiences with a number of my poems having a tongue in cheek feel to them. Some of my favorite works are the ones that deal with rural Maine and rural living.

THE POETRY OF J.R. LIBBY

Check out my son's online store at Zazzle...he has some pretty cool gift ideas