LITTLE HUNTER'S BEACH IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

LITTLE HUNTER'S BEACH
Little Hunter's Beach seems to also have joined the long and growing list of abandoned places in Acadia National Park.  The Little Hunter's brook Trail also seems to have vanished off maps.  If you have never been to Little Hunter's Beach than you have missed out on a unique spot within the park.
It is not a sand beach, it is a rock beach, and a small one at that.  What makes it such a unique place is it is located in a small cove where the waves come crashing in, which over the years acts much like a rock tumbler, causing many of the stones there to be either perfectly round or perfectly oval shaped.   When my kids were young I would take them there and they would call the rocks eggs.
When I passed by there last year I noticed the beach no longer had a sign marking it and checked a current map and saw it no longer listed.  In fact, its bigger sister, Hunter's Beach, further up the road, was also missing from the map.

LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Some people believe these perfectly smooth stones hold mysterious healing powers while others just like to take one or two home with them, however - that is illegal and can earn you a date in court before a Federal Judge.  It's okay to look and admire the unique stones, but leave them were they are for others to enjoy.  Over the years because people steal the stones, there are much fewer of them today.

LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

So how do you locate Little Hunter's Beach, it's easy, but you will have to be alert for the things to look for.

Little Hunters Beach - Acadia National Park

Drive along the One Way section of the Park Loop road, past the popular Sand Beach and Thunder Hole.  Continue past the Fabbri picnic area, and you will soon cross a stone bridge.  Here the road climbs up hill, and you will soon pass the service entrance to Blackwoods Campground, there will be a cross walk and a wooden fence on the left.  Now drive on for some distance still, but keep looking for a small stone bridge you will come to.  Pull over before the small bridge, and on the left hand side of the road there will be a long wooden stairway leading to the beach.

LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Now if you want to be certain you find the beach, go to the Bar Harbor Village Green and take the Island Explorer free bus, the Sand Beach bus, and get off at Blackwoods Campground - or drive or bike to the campground.  Once there, from the bus stop, take the camp loop road to the far left, you will pass tent sites on your right and woods on the left.  In a short ways you will come to a path on the left that leads to Ocean Drive and the high cliffs overlooking the ocean.  This is a very short path and once use to be a service road for the campground.
At Ocean Drive (the Park Loop Road) turn right and walk in the same direction as the traffic in til you reach the small bridge with its steep wooden stairway to the left of the bridge.  There is also a sign telling about the area tucked just inside the woods there, but nearly impossible to see when driving past.

LITTLE HUNTERS BEACH
"Unmarked Stone Beach"
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

GPS
N 44 17' 55"
W 068 12' 40"