Cadillac Mountain Summit
The highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard, this mountain provides visitors spectacular panoramic views.
Plan Around Cadillac Mountain Summit
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Cadillac Mountain Summit Details
You've reached the top of the highest mountain on the East Coast of North America and your reward is an uninterrupted view of all of Acadia National Park and well beyond. The bare summit of the mountain, rising 1,530 above the Atlantic, helped inspire Samuel Champlain to name Mount Desert Island, or the "Iles de Monts Deserts." From here you can see Acadia's mixed forests, lakes, mountains, rugged coastline, Frenchman Bay, and a variety of Maine's coastal islands, including the large Isle au Haut, which despite its distant location is also part of the Park. Plant and wildlife here is sparse, but look around and you'll see pockets of alpine plants and a few stunted trees. A glance upward will reveal birds riding the thermal currents above. Below your feet, is granite flecked with white, pink, and grayish-black, traces of the quartz, feldspar and hornblende that was fused together by heat and pressure millions of years ago to form the granite. The Cadillac Mountain summit was once home to a hotel and cog railway, but both vanished before the dawn of the 20th century. While you no longer can stay overnight at the summit, you can hang around for a spectacular sunset before heading back down the mountain. If you happen to arrive at dawn between Oct. 7 and March 6, you can claim to be one of the fortunate first few to greet the new day in America, thanks to the mountain's location in the far northeast of the continent. Be prepared for crowds from July to September and know that summit parking isn't always the easiest. If you want to escape the crowds, try summiting Cadillac at night and take in the night sky and panoramic view of the stars. If you hike the North or South Ridge trails to the summit, you will need to hike back down as shuttle buses do not run from the top. Choose your timing wisely, as hiking on the Cadillac trails becomes very difficult during rain storms because the smooth granite faces become slick like sheets of ice. Weather on the summit is usually colder and windier than other lower parts of Acadia, so dress appropriately. Be sure to walk only on designated trails and on granite surfaces to avoid trampling slow-growing sub-alpine plants. Help protect the historic Bates cairn trail markers by not adding rock pile graffiti to them.
Difficulty
Low
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
45
Region
Park Loop Road
Nearby Parks Around Cadillac Mountain Summit
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Cadillac Mountain Summit
Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Cadillac Mountain Summit while the map context is still fresh.
0.0 mi away
Cadillac Mountain Summit Restrooms
This restroom is conveniently located next to the gift shop.
0.1 mi away
Cadillac Summit Parking Area
This is one of the busiest parking areas in the Park.
0.1 mi away
Cadillac Summit Loop Trail
This trail is famous for its panoramic views of Frenchman Bay.
0.1 mi away
Mather Memorial
The park's Mather Memorial is located at the top of Cadillac Mountain.
0.2 mi away
Cadillac Mountain
Cadillac Mountain is the major destination for visitors to Acadia National Park. Accessible by car, it is the highest point - 1530 feet (466 meters) - on the east coast of the U.S. and offers magnificent views of a glaciated coastal and island landscape. It is the first place to view sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6.
