On our first nice day in Maine’s Acadia National Park, Sue and I laced up our trail runners and headed up the South Ridge Trail to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the north Atlantic coast.

All Trails rates the climb to 1,527 feet ”hard,” but it was a moderate uphill except for a few challenging rock scrambles. The trail burst out of the forest several times, mostly during the final mile of the way up. The path was root-bound in the forest and included flat-topped logs, sections of mud and puddles from recent rain.

At the top, the view entertained us and hundreds of other visitors during lunchtime. (Most had driven up using the park’s reservation system.) We also opted for a ice creams from the gift shop at the summit. There were even restrooms.

Acadia offers more challenging treks, including a Precipice Loop with ladders and narrow ledges that has been called ”technical.” There is also an alternate Cadillac Mountain trail that travels up a gorge and another that approaches from the north. If one mountain isn’t enough for you, Acadia offers more summit treks. Finally, if you don’t mind crowds, there is a gorgeous coastal walk that you can catch from the Park Loop Road.