Upgrading Trails to Help the Great Meadow

As part of the Great Meadow restoration project, Acadia National Park has planned various trail work projects you may see while hiking the Sieur de Monts Spring area. The goal of the planned work is to restore the Great Meadow’s health and function as a wetland, while rehabilitating and improving trail conditions to continue recreation and accessibility. Significant trail work is planned for the Hemlock Road and the Great Meadow Loop.

Flood waters covered the Great Meadow wetland and surrounding forests after significant rain and snow melt in March 2023.

Patrick Kark, NPS

Current Conditions

An important factor of wetland health is the ability for water and streams to meander naturally and disperse evenly in different directions throughout the wetland. In the Sieur de Monts Spring area and its surrounding trail system, footpaths and roads have interrupted flow of water,disturbed natural meandering, and caused intense flooding in areas.

On a low and flat landscape, the repeated inundation damages the tread, or the gravel surface of the trails. Flooding softens the surface and loosens the sediment. The shoulder and vegetation alongside the trails are also impacted by the flooding, and additional stress is caused as people step off-trail to avoid the flooded and damaged sections. You can learn more about the efforts in the native plant restoration set to accompany this trail work here:link!.

We aim to restore the natural stream connectivity and allow for foot traffic and recreation to continue. By decreasing the impact of flooding events on the trails and landscape, the work will both improve current conditions in the Sieur de Monts Spring area and prepare for the increased quantity and intensity of future weather events suggested by climate change predictions.

Hemlock Road

One site impacted by flooding and the lack of natural water flow is the southern half of the Hemlock Road trail. Rusted metal culverts are undersized and streams coming from Dorr Mountain struggle to move east across the trail into the Great Meadow.

To improve the stream connectivity, box culverts with wood decking and natural stream bottoms will replace the existing undersized culverts. The new culverts on the northern section of the Hemlock Road will be designed similarly to the culverts currently on the northern section of the Jesup Path. The new culverts will be designed to fit in naturally with the landscape and improve the trail’s long-term sustainability.

Water currently passes over and under one section of the Hemlock Road during rain events. While this helps connect one stream in the wetland, it also erodes the trail surface and makes it impassable. The work planned will add another, larger wooden box culvert at the site. The culvert will allow foot traffic to pass while connecting the stream below. In total, 18 new culverts will be placed along the Hemlock Road to help improve water flow and reduce flooding and trail erosion.

Left image
When it rains, water floods the spillway on the Hemlock Road trail making it impassable and damages the trail
Credit: NPS Photo

Right image
The spillway on Hemlock Road will be replaced with a box culvert to maintain water flow and improve visitor experience.
Credit: NPS Photo

Great Meadow Loop Trail

Beyond the northern end of the Jesup Path and Hemlock Road, across the Park Loop Road, visitors can find the Great Meadow Loop trail. The missing segments between the two trails channel visitors towards the shoulder of the road and close to vehicle traffic. An additional goal of the Great Meadow restoration is to improve accessibility of the trail system and improve connectivity to the Bar Harbor community. To work towards this goal, the park plans to work with Bar Harbor to realign the trail system and connect the fragmented sections.

As part of the realignment, the Great Meadow Loop trail would be extended to meet on the southern side of the Park Loop Road at the terminus of the Jesup Path and Hemlock Road trails. The new path would continue east adjacent to the road to the Great Meadow vista. Railing would be implemented to keep foot traffic off the vegetation at the vista. The trail would continue back across the Park Loop Road before extending north towards Bar Harbor. Sections of the Great Meadow Loop trail that cross the Park Loop Road will also introduce crosswalks for safe passage.

You can learn more about how the park is making the Great Meadow a healthier wetland and how park staff and partners are implementing this new management approach throughout the park.