Valley Cove Trail

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There are no restrooms or water at the trailhead, so you need to find a restroom before you get to the trail and have enough water for the hike(s) that you are going to do.

The Valley Cove Trail is located on the west side of Mount Desert Island along the Somes Sound where it serves as a connector between other trails in the area. The trail starts at a small parking lot along Gerald Point Road where you can access Flying Mountain Trail which starts off to the right side of the parking lot or the Valley Cove Trail which goes out of the back end of the parking lot.

The trail starts as a wide dirt and gravel trail that makes it way gently uphill through the woods. At a 1/10th of a mile, the Valley Peak Trail breaks off to the left hand side of the trail. At 4/10ths of a mile, the trail begins to descend toward Sommes Sound. At half a mile, the trail intersects again with the Flying Mountain Trail, making this part of the trail ideal for creating a loop. At this point, this is where the park service will close the trail from March to August during years when Peregrine Falcons nest here.

If the trail is open, it follows along Valley Cove on the right side of the trail. Cliffs rise above the trail on the left hand where the falcons nest. At 6/10ths of a mile, the trail starts to climb uphill before it drops steeply at about the 1 mile mark. The trail then gently climbs up to the intersection with the Acadia Mountain Trail, Valley Peak Trail, and Man O' War Brook Fire Road. From here, you can explore any of these trails to create loops or retrace your steps back to the parking lot.

Peregrine Falcons are known to nest in the cliffs above the trail. Other birds can be seen in the woods and in the water along the trail.