Find the top rated atv trails in Bar Harbor, whether you're looking for an easy short atv trail or a long atv trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a atv trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Disappointing. We had high expectations since this is part of the East Coast Greenway and we have cycled many portions of it from Florida and northward. As mentioned in other reviews, this trail is for ATV's and is not recommended for bicycling. The trail condition was rough due to heavy use by ATV'S. It was rutted, washboarded, and has much loose sand and gravel from the ATV traffic. We were passed by 12 fast moving ATV'S and only saw 1 other bicycle on a Tuesday morning between Tunk Road and Franklin.
It’s too bad that Hancock left all of the rotting ties in place, wasting a great trail for most of the year. Maybe they could find some volunteers to remove them, uncovering a great trail for everyone’s use!
This is a paved trail for both bike and walk that follows the railway thru a part of the town of Ellsworth. Very flat, this is easily traversed and works well for those looking for a good trail for morning walks, runs or rides. Pet friendly but please clean up after your pet.
We were excited to accept the challenge of the 85 mile rail-trail. We bicycled from Ellsworth to Columbia Falls in 8-10 mile chunks parking at different entry points along the way, making a 16-20 mile ride round trip each time. Every time we rode we encountered an abundance of ATVer's who dusted us out each time we passed each other, and since they were approaching us at rather high speeds, we stopped and got off of the trail each time. We did the majority of our rides mid-week hoping to avoid a lot of ATV traffic but also tried riding on the weekends, same story. The scenery in many of the areas was very nice but on our final ride there was deep, loose gravel and we sadly abandoned the challenge to ride the entire trail. From research after we threw in the towel, it appears that the ATV folk have financed a large part of this trail and are enjoying it thoroughly. In my opinion, I don't think that the ATV/Bicycle mix is a good fit.
The sunrise trail is great. It would be a lot better if the groomer didn't wait 2 or 3 days after it snowed. Considering we only get to ride locally a few times a winter. My thought is more people would donate or join clubs if trails where groomed more than once a week. That's just my 2 cents. The scenics are like no other.
a wonderful thing about this trail is that it is handicapped accessible from the outer High Street parking lot in particular. The stone dust surface is impervious to wheels and motor driven and otherwise propelled wheel chairs are very easy to use on the trail.
That said... the trail is a wonder. There are three parking area access points. 1. downtown/intown where it intersects the Armistice Bridge walking bridge and Harbor Walk, 2. Upper Bridge (on High Street) and 3. out at the The Brooks Preservation railroad yard, station, and museum.
It is a remarkable 2.2 miles of natural world.
The trail is beautifully groomed and hugs the Passagassawakeag river for over 2 miles. We started at the north end (13 Oak Hill Road) of the trail by the rail yard. The parking lot was packed when we got there as the excursion train was getting ready to leave. They have rides Saturdays and Sundays at 1 PM. The trains travel north from the parking lot and the trail goes south. The trail surface is perfect for walking and biking. It is treelined and has many small bridges that carry you over creeks. It took us 45 minutes of walking to get to the southern end at the intersection of Pierce St. and Front St. in Belfast. There is now a trailhead with a small parking lot at the southern end (not listed in the description). The trail connects there to the Belfast Harbor Walk which is an awesome urban trail through Belfast harbor and Front Street shipyard with a long pedestrian bridge across the Passagassawakeag.
Was looking for a new "Rail" trail. Pulled into the parking area in Ellsworth, about 40 trucks with trailers. Very dusty with all the ATV traffic. I guess it is called the Sunrise Trail and not the Sunrise "Rail" trail. Everyone needs a place to ride so leave this one to the motorized vehicles and find a Bicycle trail.
I rode from Ellsworth out 20 miles and back yesterday and it was a pleasure! I have a fairly new mountain bike and my only regret was that I did not put knobby tires on it because the loose gravel and sand sometimes posed a challenge. However, for the most part with my 2.0 inch wide slick tires, I had no problem gaining purchase on the surface (it probably helped that the conditions were very dry).
I found the ATV riders to be courteous and they slowed to pass. There were not very many and I was alone for long stretches in the Maine wild. The scenery is excellent, although at times the bogs and forest can seem a bit monotonous. I saw beaver, osprey, eagle, hares, and various other birds (a nice flock of cedar waxwings, for example). I'm sure there are moose and bear in the area, particularly the former, but I did not see any (next time?!). Schoodic Mountain is a great place to stop for a picnic and there are ample picnic benches along that section of the trail to stop for snacks and pictures. I highly recommend the general store in Franklin, which is about 0.25 mile off the trail.
I can't wait to go back and ride the trail from end-to-end when the weather warms up a bit. This being Maine, I'm not sure when that will happen, although we're already into mid-June.
Great trail system use it all the time it's completely awesome atv
My buddy, and I, biked 35,25,and 21 miles on DEST in June,2015.It was great biking except for the ATV traffic. But the trail would never have been built w/out the local support. It's a tradeoff, as always. You'd never see the swamps, beaver ponds, animals, and backwoods w/out the Trail. I lived in Washington County for five years; it needs all the help, and support it can get! Take a trip. See the County. It's what Maine used to be. They should put the whole thing in a museum, to be preserved.
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