Best Hiking Trails
Explore the best hiking trails from coastal walks to mountain summits. Maine offers diverse terrain for every skill level.
Precipice Trail
Located in Acadia National Park, this is one of Maine's most thrilling and challenging hikes, involving iron rungs and ladders on exposed cliffs. Not for those with a fear of heights!
View Precipice Trail GuideMount Battie Trail
A moderate hike in Camden Hills State Park offering one of the most beautiful views in the state, looking down over Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay.
View Town InfoMarginal Way
A paved, mile-long coastal cliff walk in Ogunquit. It offers dramatic ocean views with plenty of benches to stop and relax. Accessible and family-friendly.
View Marginal Way GuideTumbledown Mountain
Located in the Western Mountains, this popular hike features a crater lake near the summit where you can swim after your climb.
Mount Katahdin (Knife Edge)
The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and Maine's highest peak. The Knife Edge trail is a narrow, exhilarating ridge walk for experienced hikers.
Hiking in Maine is a study in contrasts. You can start your day scrambling up an exposed granite ridge in the western mountains and end it walking a gentle path along a salt marsh at sunset.
The 4,000-Footers
For peak baggers, the 4,000-footers of the High Peaks region. Including Saddleback, Sugarloaf, and the Bigelows, offer rugged, alpine terrain that rivals anything in the Rockies for sheer wildness. Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, is the crown jewel, requiring respect and preparation.
Coastal Walks
If elevation isn’t your goal, the “Bold Coast” trails of Downeast Maine offer dramatic cliffside hiking with the soundtrack of crashing waves. Places like Great Wass Island and Quoddy Head State Park provide rugged beauty without the vertical exhaustion.
Leave No Trace
Maine’s trails are maintained largely by volunteers and landowners. Always practice Leave No Trace principles: carry out what you carry in, stay on marked trails to protect fragile alpine vegetation, and keep dogs leashed where required.
Explore More of Maine
Looking for more inspiration? Browse our full directory of towns or explore by region.