Today we headed out to Acadia to drive the Loop Road and take a shorter hike than yesterday. We arrived at the Sand Beach parking area to begin our initial hike to the Bowl. We had two routes we could choose from to get there and we opted for the Bowl Trail rather than the Beehive route. This was our route.
The Beehive route heads right up the steep south face of Champlain Mountain and includes granite steps, iron rungs to climb up, and several handrails for exposed rock scrambling sections. The picture below shows some crazy people taking that route! When the trail split, there were warning signs for hikers advising the dangers of that trail.
The Bowl is a picturesque little pond tucked high into the mountainside on the south end of Champlain Mountain and just below The Beehive. 
After pausing to enjoy the colors and peaceful shore of The Bowl, we backtracked to the junction of the Gorham Mountain Trail. We passed through woods and open areas on our way to the summit.
At one point we stopped and had a great view of Sand Beach below us. The water was an incredible blue which rivaled the Caribbean!
We reached what is known as the mountain's false summit where we had an open view of Otter Cliff, Otter Point, Baker Island, and the Cranberry Islands, as well as Egg Rock Light. Egg Rock Light is a lighthouse on Frenchman Bay, Maine. Built in 1875 and has a square tower projecting through the square keeper's house.
We reached the open summit of Gorham Mountain with an elevation of 525 feet! While Gorham Mountain is not one of the higher mountains on Mount Desert Island, its close coastal location provided spectacular views!
Heading south from the summit, we continued to the southern Gorham Mountain trailhead. Again, we were back in and out of the trees and the colors were beautiful!
We followed the Ocean Path walking trail back to our car once we reached the trailhead. The Ocean Path runs parallel to the road and was relatively flat. We spotted some not-so-healthy looking trees along the way. They look like they had been attacked by insects which caused the huge bulbs along the trunks. We need our good friend, Phil, along to tell us what caused this!
About half-way back we passed Thunder Hole. If the waves and the tide are just right, you are supposed to hear what sounds like thunder. Today the water was calm and it was no where near high tide, so we heard nothing! We did enjoy the beautiful trees lining the sides of the road as we continued back. 
Just before the parking lot we made the trip down to the beach. The water was beautiful, but with temperatures that range between 45-55 degrees, none of us wanted to take the plunge!
Our Bowl Trail to Gorham Mountain and back to Sand Beach was a 3-1/2 mile hike. While it was shorter than yesterday, we weren’t keen to add the 3-1/2 mile hike around Jordan Pond so we just walked down to the water and enjoyed the beauty!
It was another great day in Acadia and we think it would be an easy place to spend a week!
This evening we headed to Geddy’s for the “lobster menu” meal. Before going in we watched the two cruise ships that were in Bar Harbor for the day set sail. The full moon was making its appearance, too!
At Geddy’s, we all had the lobster bake which included clam chowder, a lobster, fries, and blueberry pie. Dinner was delicious and we were stuffed! 
Tomorrow we bid goodbye to Bar Harbor and will make our way to North Conway, New Hampshire.
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