Wonderland Trail

Follow a wide and flat trail just over a half mile through a pine forest to the wild Atlantic coast. Unlike many of the other more popular trails at Acadia National Park which follow close to cliffs or feature rung ladders up cliffsides, toddlers will be safe here. This trail is easy enough that even the newest of walkers can walk most of it on their own. The coastline is perfect for exploring amongst the scattered pink granite rock chunks along the shore. If you time your hike right for low tide, you can even search for sea life in the tide pools.

One of the great things about this trail is that it may be short but the foliage and ocean make you feel like you are wandering off on a distant peninsula where few have been before to listen and watch as the waves crash along the shore. Acadia National Park is incredibly popular in the fall, but this hike is a source of solitude as it’s located on the quieter side of the park.

Despite the crowds elsewhere in the park, fall is still the best time for a visit. The bright red blueberry bushes, the canopy of stunning yellows and reds above you and the carpet of colorful fallen leaves beneath your hiking boots make this short hike feel like you’re walking into a storybook. Late July would also be a fun time, when the blueberries are ripe for the picking! This is also a great hike on a rainy day as you’ll have it all to yourself and, unlike a lot of the other trails in Acadia, you won’t have to worry about the ground being slippery when wet since it’s so flat.