Great Head Hike & Schooner Point Overlook–Friday–July 19, 2013

Today, Bill and I joined Dan and Tricia for a short, but quite scenic hike. Great Head Trail is moderate and loops around the perimeter of the small peninsula called Great Head located on the east side of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park.  Normally, you start the hike from Sand Beach where the parking lot can get crazy busy;o((  However, Dan and Tricia had taken a scooter ride a few days ago and found another trailhead on Schooner Point Road.  So that’s where we started our hike.

00 - Great Head Trail Map
 
It is a short hike, but did have a few good climbs that take you to magnificent views of Sand Beach, The Beehive, Gorham Mountain and the rocky coast!!  We took our time and stop several time to take in all the beauty. At one point near the highest point on the trail, we saw the remains of Saterlee's Tower, a stone teahouse.  It must have been a beautiful place with wonderful views!!

On our way back to the campground, we stopped at Schooner Point Overlook.  There is a short path that leads down to the coast.  Dan and Tricia had stopped here before and wanted to show us the Sea Cave they discovered!!  It was a great way to top off a beautiful day:o)

click on any photo to enlarge
or
hover your mouse pointer on a photo for a description 
 
01 - Great Head Trail - starting from the Schooner Road Parking Lot  01b - Great Head Trail - beginning the climb
01c - Great Head Trail - Dan and Bill found the perfect place to enjoy the views
01d - Great Head Trail - view of Sand Beach and Gorham Mountain  01e - Great Head Trail - view of The Beehive
01f - Great Head Trail - Great Head is straight ahead
01f - Great Head Trail - hiking the rocky coast01g - Great Head Trail - rocks of many colors01h - Great Head Trail - the ultimate viewpoint01i - Great Head Trail - Fog rolling in
01j - Great Head Trail - remains of Saterlee's Tower a stone teahouse
01k - Great Head Trail - Heading to the Parking area  01l - Great Head Trail - Heading to the Parking area
 
 
 
 
02c - Schooner Head Overlook - view of rocky coast
02d - Schooner Head Overlook - Sea Cave  02d2 - Schooner Head Overlook - Sea Cave a little closer
02e - Schooner Head Overlook - Tricia, Bill, Dan climbed down to Sea Cave Entrance 02f - Schooner Head Overlook - Dan braves the slippery sea weed to go into the cave02f2 - Schooner Head Overlook - Dan braves the slippery sea weed to go into the cave
02g - Schooner Head Overlook - one last view before heading back to the campground








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4 comments:

  1. Al and KarenOctober 2, 2013 at 8:12 AM

    We just did this Monday before the park closed. We did go across Sand Beach. Unfortunately, we should have never taken Chelsea on this one. It was much more rock scrambling than I had been led to believe. We did not make it to the point, having had a mishap along the way that ended up with the three of us in a pile at the bottom of a rocky face, and Casey peering down at us. Thankfully no injuries beyond Al bumping his knee and hand that swelled up pretty good, but nothing broken and we're all doing fine. I have found the hiking here, except the carriage roads, far more difficult than anything in Colorado!

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  2. Paul and Marti DahlOctober 2, 2013 at 9:25 AM

    Nice Great Head Parking sign. Nothing better than using the resources on hand instead of lugging some signage in. :c)

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  3. SherryOctober 2, 2013 at 2:05 PM

    Your pictures are fantastic! Such great memories for me. The views in Acadia in every direction are just so wonderful. I'd love to spend every summer there if it weren't for the fact that thousands of others feel the same way.

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  4. Dan and TriciaOctober 2, 2013 at 5:37 PM

    This was a great hike! The clouds, the views, the sea cave, the friends!! :-0 Great times indeed

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