THE HANGING STEPS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
Before we get into the details on how to locate the Hanging steps, lets look at a little history on this unusual trail. The Hanging steps trail is actually the lost section of the Champlain East Face Trail, abandoned by the Park Service many years ago. Old accounts told of it, but there were no accounts of how to locate this section of trail containing the mysterious Hanging Steps.
The Park Service of course knew where they were located as did a handful of others who swore never to reveal their location, because like other once popular sites now abandoned within the park, it was to remain a closely guarded secret. I kknow this because I have spoken to three people who had sworn not to give away this secret - and they didn't, I had to do a lot of research to help uncover where they lay.
The Hanging Steps were designed by one of the Parks most famous trail builders, Rudolph Brunnow, whose home was located at the High seas on the Schooner Head Road. Among some of his finest works are the Champlain East Face Trail, The ever popular Precipice Trail, the Beehive, and the the Great Cave Trail. He also designed the Red Trail (today renamed the Schooner Head Trail) which runs the length of Schooner Head Road to the Schooner Head overlook parking lot, where a narrow paved trail winds through the woods to the high cliffs, when you reach the cliffs, your actually standing on the roof of Anemone Cave - an ancient sea cave that can be entered and explored at low tide. A section of the red Trail that Mr. Brunnow had planned to build but never did was to connect Anemone cave area to Sand Beach.
Mr. Brunnow made the large granite steps seem to hand in mid air, almost magically, through the use of iron rods and pins. The end result was impressive to say the least. In fact, it is said the steps got there name from a Park Ranger, who upon setting eyes on the stairway remarked, "they are hanging steps."
This section of the East Face Trail was abandoned many years ago, which means it is unmarked, so paying close attention to the directions is a must.
The first thing you need to do is get to the Precipice Trail parking lot - either hike, bike, drive or catch the Free Island Explorer Sand Beach bus from the Bar Harbor Village Green.
Now walk out to the side of the Park Loop Road and follow it to the right, on the right hand side of the roadway - on most summer and autumn days there will be a long line of cars up ahead parked along the edge of the roadway. Perhaps about 20 car lengths down the side of the roadway you will see an unmarked but well worn path entering the woods - that path is where you want to go.
You will quickly come to a sign in post - which is placed there for people who are there to practice their rock climbing skills. You may not see anyone but they are there, way up above climbing the shear face of the mountainside.
At the shear wall of granite, you turn left - and follow the worn path a short ways before it turns right. Here you begin to climb upward - the trail is soon blocked by an old twisted white birch tree, go between its branches to the other side where the trail passes by towering boulders above.
Now this is where people have a problem and end up not locating the Hanging steps, from that twisted white Birch, you want to go forward about 8 to 10 car lengths and turn right - some make the mistake of continuing straight ahead and miss the turn. You do not want to go down into that dip straight ahead, you need to take that right and be moving upward. As soon as you begin moving upward from that right you will begin to see the first of the stone steps which lead to the Hanging Steps.
At the top of the Hanging Steps is a metal railing and some great views. Now some have contacted me and asked if the trail simply ends there or does it continue onward - it does indeed continue onward as can be seen on my map I made. I have many maps covering many abandoned trails in the park - simple do an online search for ABANDONED TRAILS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK where you will find many maps and information on many of these trails.
So from the area your now in the trail continues onward, and will come to a well worn dirt trail which runs through the woods a ways before coming out at open granite with great views. At this point the trail is unmarked but there really is only one way to continue forward, move down a short section of sloping granite and continue to follow open granite until you come to the official Precipice Trail at the area known as THE TURN AROUND.
The park service designed the turn around to discourage inexperienced climbers from going any further up the Precipice Trail. It is a very large boulder with two hand rails to help get you up and over it. The turn around lives up to its name because many inexperienced climbers do in fact turn around at that point and head back down to the parking lot.
I do want to warn anyone who hikes on or around the area of the Precipice that people have been seriously injuried and even lost their lives there - extreme caution should always be used in this area as the trails, both abandoned as well as official, can be unforgiving should you slip or fall.
