Bernard Mountain Loop Trail is a 4.1 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Southwest Harbor, Maine that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, nature trips, and bird watching and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Acadia National Park charges a fee to enter. Fees are per vehicle or per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot, horse, or bike the fee is per person. You can also purchase a park-specific annual pass. Please check with the park's website for current rate information. Nice jaunt through wooded forests to the top of Bernard Mountain. Slight views to the west. Steep in some parts with rocky terrain.
October 29, 2020Great, somewhat strenuous hike that is beyond moderate in some places. You absolutely need proper hiking shoes and should expect a slower hike if you’re not a regular hiker. Some steep climbs and scrambles that can make inexperienced hikers nervous. I completed this with my two dogs, one an 11 year old senior, and my 70-year-old dad. He did great but did get a bit stressed and by the last climbs, I was helping my old girl scale the rocks, but both are proud and happy to have completed it! Note as of Oct. 28, 2020: While this hike reads 4.1 miles, the road to the trail head is closed and so this adds about two additional easy walking miles. The 4.1 is still off though, as we clocked in 7.4 miles in total. My recording stopped 1.7 miles in and so I had to start again where you see the recording starting point so I added this to 5.7 miles this second recording logged. ** Bring plenty of water and a snack. I would NOT bring toddlers or young children on this. Not worth the risk on the steep climbs and some of the climb is precarious.**
October 29, 2020Note: this is the first recording for the Bernard Mountain Loop Trail posted after this.
August 29, 2020Great hike
July 30, 2020This was a loop, did not stop recording until on the car driving back. Bike from Long Pond back to start on Western Mountain Rd was a bit hilly.
July 22, 2020July 20, 2020beautiful trail an the woods were so vibrant and green!! loved it!!
July 6, 2020Not a bad hike. Road closed so you will need to hike an extra mile to trailhead. Otherwise very green and lush with a great view in the first half of the hike.
June 13, 2020I read some folks found this to be a hard one- I didn’t see it like that (it’s all relative)., but doing the loop IS a lot of up and down. We did the loop. It was 7.2 miles because the gate is still closed so I added an extra mile in and another out following the road. If you’re looking for good Acadia-ocean views you get them early with the first peak at Bald Mtn. Then you climb a bit more but it’s all woods walking- which is great but don’t expect anything like at Bald. We added a stop at Knight Nubble- there’s a little view place right after to have a snack but again, manage your expectations. The Sluiceway was fairly dry for the first half. Then you pick up the stream to follow which made the bulldog really happy! The Sluiceway goes ALL the WAY DOWN. It ends at te road and you take an immediate hard right onto Bernard Trail to go.... back up!! You’ll get your steps and/or cardo with this one. You land back at Bald Peak before heading down for the last time. After the many miles of woods it was nice to hang on the rocks for lunch and the view again. Enjoy!!
October 30, 2019We got engaged on this trail! We hiked it on Labor Day weekend. While the other side of MDI was teeming with visitors, we nearly had the whole mountain to ourselves. It was a great trail for our dog as well. The best views are on the way up, as opposed to at the summit. That’s why, after we reached the top, my fiancé proposed on the way back down. We have pictures, and people say the backdrop makes it look like we’re in heaven!
August 13, 2019Loved the trail. We started our hike at 8am and didn’t see anyone for the first two hours and then fewer than 10 total. It took my family 3.5 hrs with 8 and 6 yr old boys (with some piggyback carrying). I recorded 5.5 miles via Strava and had some back-and-forth along the trail but I doubt that accounts for more than 0.5 mi of the difference. Very cool vegetation along the way and I personally loved a stretch just before the summit where there is nothing but pine trees and a blanket of moss on the ground. Bug comments are accurate (mid August experience). Bring deet with you to reapply.
August 9, 2019This hike was beautiful for it’s forested paths! Absolutely stunning. Great workout as well.
June 24, 2019This trail offers many spectacular views of the western side of MDI. It's a difficult trail that requires some good hiking experience. The trail is rocky, steep, and has a lot of exposed tree roots. It took us 5 hours to complete the Bernard mountain loop trail, and we were hurting a bit at the end. Wear good shoes/boots, take plenty of water, a walking stick, and some good snacks, but most importantly BUG SPRAY!!You'll be fine! It's a really nice, "off the beaten path" trail! Well worth the effort!
June 18, 2019My mileage came in a little higher at 4.75 miles, didn’t go off trail. Took about 2 1/2 hours, bring bug spray. Great workout!
June 18, 2019Overall it was a nice hike, though the majority of the views were in the first half hour of the hike. We did the hike in mid June with our dogs. It's our own fault, but we did it in the peak of black fly season. We used big spray before we left and used a pet safe repellent in the dogs. The dogs were tortured most of the hike and we couldn't even stop to have lunch because of the bugs. If you are not the type of person that could do this with out stopping, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone during black fly season because YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP. Seriously, I tried taking a picture when I got back to the car and finally able to eat lunch, but there were hords of bugs swarming the car and it was like that when we pulled up as well
May 18, 2019April 30, 2019lots of fun!
August 20, 2018This isn’t just hard, it is very hard, but still great hike. Worth the effort.
July 16, 2018I live on MDI and have made it my goal to hike every mountain; so far, this has been my favorite as it is challenging but not too strenuous. Since it’s an out of the way spot, there aren’t many other hikers. The views are amazing! If you hike at the right time you will also get a chance to snack on an abundance of blueberries. I love the fact that they have even made a spot at the Bernard mountain overlook to leave messages. I will definitely hike this again soon!
July 14, 2018Great trail, lots of blueberries in July and beautiful views the whole way.
October 11, 2017Awesome trail with nice viewpoints and scenery!
August 11, 2017Moderate challenge. Beautiful views of massive swaths of both Baxter State Park and Katahkin National Monument.
June 18, 2017Great trails but very difficult up and down. Steep up and some steeps on the way down. We enjoyed the hike but hit a foggy day with not too much to see. We combined to hike both Bernard and Mansell. Lots of options for routes. Good workout as well.
June 23, 2016Great exercise Decent views on the ascent. Missing the vista at the top. Hobbit like forest
June 21, 2016It was a great trail. Definitely requires some experience hiking. There were several steep climbs. It was worth it for the views.
June 12, 2013
First to ReviewNice hike as part of my loop today. Took Sluiceway to get there. Once at the top of sluice it is just a short steep scramble to summit of Bernard. Of course on this beautiful rainy day there were no views overlooking the area. Once again if you love the forest these trails are for you. Fall hikes will be beautiful here with the color.
September 16, 2020September 15, 2020September 13, 2020August 2, 2020
