Otter Point and the Otter Cliffs are the best stretch of coastline in Acadia National Park, and a lot of people drive straight past them because they are three miles down the Park Loop Road from Thunder Hole, which is where the crowd stops. The cliffs are 110 feet of pink granite dropping vertically into the Atlantic, they face almost due east, and at sunrise they are extraordinary.
Here is what is actually along this stretch, in the order you meet it driving clockwise.
| Stop | What it is | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Sand Beach | Rare Maine sand beach between granite headlands | 30 min or an afternoon |
| Thunder Hole | Sea chasm. Needs a rising tide to perform | 15 min |
| Monument Cove | Hidden cobblestone cove below the road | 20 min |
| Otter Cliffs | 110 ft sea cliffs, the best view on the loop | 20 min |
| Otter Point | Low granite shelf, tide pools, sunrise | 30 min |
| Otter Cove | Calm inlet with a causeway across it | 10 min |
Monument Cove, the one everyone drives past
Between Thunder Hole and the Otter Cliffs there is an unmarked pullout, and below it a small cove filled with rounded cobblestones the size of footballs, plus a freestanding granite column that gives the place its name. There is no sign and no official trail down, which is exactly why it is quiet.
You can see it perfectly well from the road above, which is the sensible option. Scrambling down is steep and loose and the park would rather you did not. The cobbles roll under your feet and the surf comes further up than you expect.
Listen rather than look. On a swell the cobbles grind against each other as the water pulls back and it sounds like the whole cove is breathing.
Otter Cliffs
The cliffs themselves are the highest coastal headland on this side of the island and one of the most photographed spots in the park. The Ocean Path runs along the top, so you can walk in from Thunder Hole rather than driving, and the view back north along the coast at golden hour is the postcard.
This is also one of the best sea cliff climbing venues on the east coast. If you look over the edge in summer you will usually see ropes and climbers coming up out of the Atlantic. The Otter Cliffs routes are a genuine destination for east coast climbers, and there are guiding outfits in Bar Harbor if you want to try it.
Fair warning: the cliff edge is unfenced granite, it slopes, and it gets slick with sea mist and fog. People take dreadful risks for photographs here. The view from three feet back is the same view.
Otter Point, and why to come at dawn
Past the cliffs the land drops to a broad shelf of low pink granite running out into the water. This is Otter Point, and it is the best place in Acadia to watch the sun come up from sea level.
It faces east across open water with nothing in the way, there is no reservation, no summit road, and no queue, and on most mornings you will share it with a handful of photographers. If you cannot get a Cadillac reservation, or you simply cannot face the 3:30am alarm and the hike, come here instead. It is a genuinely great substitute rather than a consolation prize.
The low granite shelves also hold excellent tide pools at low tide: sea stars, urchins, crabs, anemones and barnacles. Go an hour either side of low tide, wear shoes with grip because wet rockweed is like ice, and put everything back exactly where you found it.
Walking it rather than driving it
The Ocean Path connects the whole stretch: 4.4 miles of flat gravel from Sand Beach past Thunder Hole and Monument Cove to Otter Point and back. It is easy, it is beautiful the entire way, and walking it means you do not have to fight for six separate parking spots.
This is the single best thing to do on the east side if you want a proper look at the coast without a hard hike, and it is the reliable fallback when every lot is full and your day has fallen apart.
Parking and timing
Everything here sits on the one-way clockwise section of the Park Loop Road, which means if you drive past a pullout you cannot turn around. You commit to the whole 27 mile loop to come back, which in August traffic is a solid 45 minutes.
- Before 9am or after 4pm for parking. The Sand Beach and Thunder Hole lots fill first, and Otter Cliffs holds up better than both.
- Roadside parking is allowed in the right lane along much of this stretch where signs permit, which is how people get in when the lots are closed.
- Time Thunder Hole for a rising tide, about two hours before high. At any other time it is an unremarkable gap in the rocks and you will wonder what you missed. You did not miss anything.
- The free Island Explorer runs this stretch from late June through Columbus Day, which removes the parking problem entirely.
Where it fits
This whole coastal run is the back half of day one in our Acadia National Park 3 day itinerary: Cadillac at sunrise, then down onto the Park Loop for Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Monument Cove and the Otter Cliffs while the light is still good and the lots are still empty. Every stop is pinned to a map.
For the rest of the trails, our guide to the best Acadia hiking trails has all twelve with distances and honest difficulty.
