Cannon Brook Hiking Trail - Acadia National Park
To reach the Cannon Brook Trail, we took the Kane trail, which begins along the one way section of the Park Loop road. Look for the large sign for Sieur de Monts Spring and Nature Center and turn in there. The Kane trail begins behind the Nature Center building, at the base of the Dorr mountain trail. The trail leads through woods and passes along a pond.
The trail than enters the woods again.
At one point, the trail passes through a long stretch of wetlands, a boardwalk keeps your feet from getting wet. I have seen deer, beaver, ducks and other wildlife in here.
Once out of the wetlands, the trail slowly makes its way uphill, and before long, you will begin to hear the rushing waters of Cannon Brook up ahead. But first, you will come to a small water falls, a great spot to cool off on a hot day.
Just up ahead, you come to an intersection where the Cannon Brook Trail and the Gorge Trail meet. Cannon Brook and a second brook which follows the Gorge also meet here.
The Cannon Brook Trail for the most part is a pretty steep clim up the side of Cadillac Mountain, with stone steps helping you up the steepest sections. I have some photos in the video link below of the climb. Footing can be poor in sections due to wet rocks and granite and a good pair of hiking boots should be worn. The trail comes out into an open area and levels off, and the featherbed, a tiny pond, is just ahead.
At this point, you have to decide which direction you will go in, left leads down the Cadillac South Ridge Trail to Blackwoods Campground, straight ahead leads down the other side of Cadillac Mountain to Jordan Pond, and right leads up the Cadillac South Ridge trail to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. We went right and headed for the summit.
When your right near the summit, you can see views of the Cadillac summit road, and the summit itself is just ahead. At the summit there is a gift shop with drinks and snacks, and restrooms. Just be warned, they charge you more than double for the same snacks you could buy in town. A .89 cent candy bar in town sells for $1.89 at the gift shop. Also note that there are no trailhead markings on the summit itself, why is beyond me, but you left to guess what leads where. We took the North Ridge trail back down Cadillac, and to find it, walk around the summit and look for a long stone stairway leading down a steep banking, that is the staret of the North Ridge trail.
