Thunder Hole & Ocean Path Trail, Acadia National Park, ME.

On our last day in Acadia, we decided to stop at Thunder Hole located on the Acadia National Park road loop. Joe had noted the best time to be there, so we timed our day around it. I believe Joe said you were to be there 2 hour prior to high tide.

We got there on time and found a place to sit on one of the boulders. Front row seats were all taken, and I really didn't want to be up front and get wet anyway.

We sat and waited, like everyone else around us! After 10 minutes of nothing, Joe said that sometimes if the tide is not as high or strong, the effect is not seen or heard.

If the waves are wild, they will come into the carved out area and sound like thunder and can spray up to 40 feet in the air. But nothing was happening today.

In Aug. of 2009, Hurricane Bill was northeast of Newfoundland. Tourists were standing on the rocks, like they were here. A huge wave came in over 20 people and three people were swept out to sea. Two were rescued, and a 7 year old girl was found dead, an hour later. Of the other 20 people, many were injured and taken to the hospital.

We decide to take a walk on the Ocean Path Trail which runs from Sand Beach to Otter Point parking lot along the coast.

The trail is 4.4 miles, but we did just a small part of it like most people do.

We just walked down the coast for 30 minutes and then back to Thunder Hole. I was a bit sore from our previous day's kayaking trip. I was having some hip and soreness where my leg joins my body. I guess from sitting in the same position for too long.

Most of the trail we did was flat, with a few steps, or inclines.

The trail is rated Easy ( uneven ground but fairly level).

It is a great trail for viewing the rocky coastal shore.

One part of the trail was in the woods a bit, but very short.

On our way back we noticed a lot of people had brought their lawn chairs, and were just enjoying the day with a book.

Kids love climbing up and down the piles of rocks. Even big kids enjoy it, but remember your balance is not as good as it use to be!

I will miss this place,

but I am sure we will return, because there was much more we would have like to have seen and done.

We came upon this strange shaped tree.

Even the limbs had strange round growths on them. Maybe this is normal, but I have never seen a tree like this!

If you want beautiful views and a easy trail, put this one on your list of things to do in Acadia.
National Park.

Do part of it or all of it. Or you could do parts of it every day, picking up where you left off. If you are lucky enough to have the time.

You can take a boat tour of the coast also.

We never got to do the whale watch boat tours,

or bike rides on all the carriage roads.

We wanted to walk out to Bar Island during low tide, but we missed our only chance, on our first day we were here. The rest of the week, low tide was always way too early for us or after dark.