The Bowl Trail is a 1.3 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Bar Harbor, Maine that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
kid friendly
birding
hiking
nature trips
trail running
walking
forest
lake
views
wild flowers
wildlife
Acadia National Park P.O. Box 177 Bar Harbor, ME 04609-0177 Phone: 207-288-3338 Shipping Address Acadia National Park 20 McFarland Hill Drive Bar Harbor ME 04609-0177 More information: http://www.nps.gov/acad/contacts.htm
Great walk has lots of ups and downs the bowl itself was amazing people swimming.
The Bowl was great to see. We did it as our way down after Beehive Trail. Nice add on after the summit.
Pretty sweet to see the Bowl near the top of this trail.
Tony S.
Make sure you take the bowl trail all the way up to the beehive. It’s not as scary as the beehive trail but its still a challenge.
This trail was fairly easy but has a beautiful view! You can take a nice refreshing dip in the bowl if you’re up to it, or relax and enjoy the view for a bit before continuing with your hike.
Not bad but there was no “wow” factor.
Nice nature
nice hike
Very nice and simple nature walk hike though just make sure you're going on the right trail since it has multiple trail intersections. The lake is super nice at sunset as the sun reflects off of the fall foliage.
A pleasant short hike with great views of foliage and the lake with mountain backdrop.
Hiked this trail last Thursday! Enjoyable hike with nice views. The foliage was beautiful!
The Bowl Trail is an easy but amazing trail because it not only brought us to a gorgeous lake, but also gave us with a puppy a chance to climb to the top of The Beehive!
Did this trail along with the Beehive and it's a fairly easy walk and great view when you reach the water. Definitely on the easier side of "moderate".
Great way down from Beehive.
Meh...not a fan. Super easy but the pond left me saying meh.
A lot of stairs. Nice if you're also going through the Beehive but not so great on its own.
Mauri L.
I wouldn't suggest this hike just to see the lake, but it was nice to add into a larger loop with the Beehive, Gorham Mountain, and Otter Cliffs. The lake is beautifully clear and it was fun to see the fish swimming around, but there are so many other great hikes in the National Park that this was not the top of my list.
The lake is gorgeous. Go early so you can have it all to yourself.
Good views, great for swimming( if you are up for it )
Great trail to do with the Back park of the Beehive. The Bowl lake was very pretty.
Loved it!
As a destination itself, the Bowl is not as interesting as Gorham or the Beehive. For those leery of climbing the front face of the Beehive, this is a good alternate to get to the Beehive via the backside, also a nice stop if you combine Gorham and Beehive together. There is some rock scrambing between the Beehive and the Bowl and rock steps along the way, so is a moderate climb.
A moderate climb in elevation on rocky trail to a small, but very pretty tarn (pond) formed and filled by melting glaciers. You can also access the beehive summit using this trail, if you have concerns about the steep climb using the beehive trail.
Use the Sand Beach Parking area to access the Bowl and Beehive Trails. There are bathrooms at the Sand Beach Parking area.
Nice alternate way to see the Beehive if you don't want to take the rungs. Also the way down from the top if you do take the rungs as they advise you not to desend on the rungs. The Bowl is a nice little area to sit and enjoy a snack while looking out over the water.
Amazing swimming spot, but watch out for leeches!
Pretty lake and nice medium difficulty trail. Saw some cool tadpoles and fish. Did this in combo with beehive and Gotham going from hardest to easiest to make a nice half day hike.
Neat hike through forest and rocks with a peaceful little pond to enjoy. One of many ways up Champlain Mt. Continue from here up the mountain and back down another trail makes a great shuttle hike or just walk back along loop road.