Precipice Trail
Precipice Trail
5
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Half-mile long trail for experienced hikers at Acadia.
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5.0
265 reviews
Excellent
238
Very good
17
Average
9
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Dean S
Long Island, NY149 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
I was extremely excited to do this trail because of the difficulty level. Certainly lived up to it. This is quite the adrenaline rush. Partner and I are both hikers, in fit shape and we were able to do this easily but it was not without some sweat and fear creeping in here and there. We did this hike after a downpour of rain. We waited for the rain to subside and then proceeded along. I don’t recommend doing the trail during it immediately following a downpour. Well, some spots were slippery and rungs were also nonexistent in certain areas so that was somewhat scary. Amazing experience and would do it again. Saw some folks turning back once they saw the rungs. I would caution not to attempt if you have serious fear of heights, 0 hiking experience or does not have even basic climbing skills. If you are out of shape, you will certainly have great difficulty as well. Lots of lifting your body up using the rungs so certainly be aware of this. Lots of other amazing trails in Arcadia that you can experience. Cheers, be safe and enjoy!
Written 14 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ZIK
Tel Aviv, Israel307 contributions
Aug 2021
We've been to Acadia many times, and whenever we wanted to ascend the Precipice trail, it was always closed due to the nesting of the Peregrine Falcon. This year, we arrived a little later than usual (end of August) and were delighted to learn that the trail was open (since mid August, actually).
The trail offers a combination of a rather fun/challenging climb (rungs and ladders. Plenty of), as well as amazing views of the islands surrounding Bar Harbor.
You need to be quite fit to hike(/climb) this trail, and to have sufficient muscle power in your lower, as well as upper body.
Don't need to be a professional rock climber or be Marathon ready though. Just use your common sense.
If you only time to do one hike in Acadia - do the Precipice trail. You will not regret it.
The trail offers a combination of a rather fun/challenging climb (rungs and ladders. Plenty of), as well as amazing views of the islands surrounding Bar Harbor.
You need to be quite fit to hike(/climb) this trail, and to have sufficient muscle power in your lower, as well as upper body.
Don't need to be a professional rock climber or be Marathon ready though. Just use your common sense.
If you only time to do one hike in Acadia - do the Precipice trail. You will not regret it.
Written 29 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josh W
Portland, OR280 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
This is the best most dangerous most fun trail ,I have been on since Angel's Landing at Zion. Anyone can hike up to the dangerous cliff at Angel's but NOT everyone can do the vast majority of this hike.
Note : this hike is only available August thru October due to bird nesting and is not available during or recently after precipitation.
If you struggle with the bouldering at the beginning (there is no trail), take the orange and black trail.
After the bouldering comes a series of metal ladder rungs going straight up with short breaks along ledges with hold bars. There is no fence. There is no safety catch. There is not a landing spot if you slip and fall. The series of rungs are 4 to 5 at a time and my guess is there are at least 10 of these series, possibly more. One of the last ones requires a reach around from one series to another.
If you are short, overweight, or⁰⁰⁰00
Note : this hike is only available August thru October due to bird nesting and is not available during or recently after precipitation.
If you struggle with the bouldering at the beginning (there is no trail), take the orange and black trail.
After the bouldering comes a series of metal ladder rungs going straight up with short breaks along ledges with hold bars. There is no fence. There is no safety catch. There is not a landing spot if you slip and fall. The series of rungs are 4 to 5 at a time and my guess is there are at least 10 of these series, possibly more. One of the last ones requires a reach around from one series to another.
If you are short, overweight, or⁰⁰⁰00
Written 5 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AdamOhio
Ohio22 contributions
Sept 2022 • Couples
I am afraid of heights and almost didn’t do this trail, after reading many reviews, I decided to give it a try.
Honestly, the hardest obstacle to get over was the first one. Someone offered to help me and I told them no because I wanted to make sure I could handle the trail.
Where it gets a little tricky, there are places to hold onto. And the rungs at the end are split up- no worse than climbing to the top of a house each time. There was one spot at the very top that I had to focus on not looking down. There were bars to hold onto but there was a pretty sheer drop off. It was only a few steps though and to me, that was the hardest part.
The view at the top is beautiful, but I think the Beehive is just as pretty, if not prettier.
The walk down was beautiful. You can climb up that way if you don’t want to do the rungs.
I am a female pushing 60 and keep active. I saw some men in their 20’s struggling more than me, and some people that were older struggling less. My advice is to just take it slow and listen to your body. And good shoes are a must!!!
Honestly, the hardest obstacle to get over was the first one. Someone offered to help me and I told them no because I wanted to make sure I could handle the trail.
Where it gets a little tricky, there are places to hold onto. And the rungs at the end are split up- no worse than climbing to the top of a house each time. There was one spot at the very top that I had to focus on not looking down. There were bars to hold onto but there was a pretty sheer drop off. It was only a few steps though and to me, that was the hardest part.
The view at the top is beautiful, but I think the Beehive is just as pretty, if not prettier.
The walk down was beautiful. You can climb up that way if you don’t want to do the rungs.
I am a female pushing 60 and keep active. I saw some men in their 20’s struggling more than me, and some people that were older struggling less. My advice is to just take it slow and listen to your body. And good shoes are a must!!!
Written 2 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tinaNtravel
San Jose, CA2,123 contributions
Sept 2021
This is not a hiking trail. It is a non-technical climbing trail. That means, while you don’t need ropes and such to climb, you will be climbing almost the entire time. There is no stretch of flat ground to walk on, you are always climbing over rocks, boulders, and or ladders. In many places you need to pull yourself up over rocks. There are helpful handholds in some places. In some places the handholds are required, i.e, you can’t get up without them. If you have a fear of heights, have knee or balance issues, or can’t do some serious climbing this is not the trail for you. This is also not a trail for young kids. You may want to wear pants or you may scrape your knees or legs as in some cases you need to climb with knees first and you’ll need a good pair of shoes with a good grip as in some places, the granite can be a bit smooth. Also, you need patience, as the trail is narrow, you can’t really pass and when we were there, we saw a few people who really shouldn’t have been on that trail, causing a huge hold up for everyone else. We came down a different trail then switched back to this one which was a huge mistake as we had to wait for the crowd going up. Also watch out for snakes. We saw one and it didn’t feel great to be forced to place your hands (to pull yourself up) in the same area where the snake had disappeared. But, with all those comments over, if you aren’t afraid of heights, have good balance and good knees and arm strength, this was a very fun trail to climb. I’d definitely do it again.
Written 23 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karley K
New Harmony, IN54 contributions
Sept 2021 • Couples
Challenging hike, but so worth it! You need to be in good shape, wear good shoes and I recommend gloves too. Take your time so as to not make a careless mistake that could end in injury. Focus on what you are doing, and not how you could easily fall. The metal bars along the way are a big help. The trail is overall very well done, could use a little help in deciphering which way to get down. We ended up having to walk along park loop road for a while.
Written 16 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Krgadlin
Hilton head2 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
I was terrified to do this trail before I began. I would say I am oderately afraid of heights, far more than my hiking buddies who seemed unphased. I talked myself up and worked up the courage and I am glad that I did. The initial portion of the trail is bouldering, then you climb about 0.6 miles up the mountain on a combination of iron ladders and rungs secured into the mountain to reach the summit. At the summit the views are breathtaking! When you are mid climb you feel very safe. I am afraid of heights, but the level of detail and intentionality put into the ladders and iron handlebars made me feel very safe. At no point did I feel like my life was at risk. Was I super afraid before doing this trail that I almost pooped my pants? yes. Now that I’ve done it and experienced it, Would I do this trail again? absolutely!!
Also, if you can do beehive then you can do precipice. Precipice is like beehive but 0.6 miles longer in the ascent.
Also, if you can do beehive then you can do precipice. Precipice is like beehive but 0.6 miles longer in the ascent.
Written 12 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
melissa w
Cincinnati, OH1,247 contributions
Oct 2020
Another Acadia "must do" if you are in shape. We went up Precipice to Champlain, then over to Gorham Mountain and exited to the South of Thunder Hole. We walked back via Ocean Path Trail and stopped at Thunder Hole. It was a long route but was mostly a descent after Champlain so was fairly easy. We started at 7:45 on a cloudy, foggy morning and had the trail almost to ourselves. Reached the summit fairly quickly, stopped for breakfast and within 30 minutes the fog had burned off and we were rewarded with spectacular views. So don't let the weather scare you off.
Written 26 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dlanabry
Ambler, PA86 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Amazing hike/ climb. Beautiful views from the summit. My kids (10 and 12) made it up without a problem. It had rained the day before so there were some slippery spots. Even with that, everyone loved it!!
Important: we mistakingly went down the back of the mountain (Beachcroft trail) instead of the North trail to orange and black. This was near vertical with wet/ slippery surfaces and we had to go down a lot of it on our rears. We also came out near the Sieur de Monts parking area which was no where near our car. Luckily the Island Express stops there and got us back to our car. All in all we loved it and will come back!
Important: we mistakingly went down the back of the mountain (Beachcroft trail) instead of the North trail to orange and black. This was near vertical with wet/ slippery surfaces and we had to go down a lot of it on our rears. We also came out near the Sieur de Monts parking area which was no where near our car. Luckily the Island Express stops there and got us back to our car. All in all we loved it and will come back!
Written 28 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily F
Orlando, Florida, United States27 contributions
Oct 2024 • Family
Epic way to spend a birthday! My husband and two kids (11 and 13) agreed to do this hike with me for my birthday. It was incredible! Large boulders start the hike and there are a lot of ladders and rungs and footholds up the side of the mountain (several sections being completely vertical). It’s tricky at spots and steep and exhilarating! We did Beehive the day before. Precipice is a decent bit longer and definitely more challenging than Beehive in our opinion and very much worth the hike!
Written 20 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I will have a two and a half year old with me that does very well riding in a hiking carrier. Would this trail be do-able with her in the carrier?
Written 30 December 2023
I think it won't be a question of weather in October, it's normally open unless the Peregrine Falcons are nesting, and that's not that time of year.
Written 25 October 2019
lilyroselink
Long Island, New York
Hi! So the Precipice Trail is now open? I read somewhere that it could be closed until August 15th. I'm going to Acadia in 2 weeks and just wanted to know!
Written 27 July 2018
It is supposed to be closed until August 15th, but you can check with the National Park Service first as they can theoretically open it sooner. This year they opened it in July. I personally don't plan on hiking it until at least September.
Written 31 July 2018
Ciao volevo chiedere se questa ferrata o percorso attrezzato c’é bisogno di portarsi dietro il kit da ferrata! Io c’é l’ho devo solo sapere se portarlo
Written 23 July 2018
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