The Bubbles and Conners Nubble, Acadia National Park

The trails up the Bubbles and over to Conners Nubble make for a fabulous (and rhyming) hike. The three peaks are very distinctive little mountains — craggy, round, picturesque hills rising up between Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake.

Based on my observations during the day I hiked this part of the park, many people start at the Bubbles parking area, off the Park Loop Road. From here, if you want to hike both Bubbles, you can hike 0.3 miles to the intersection with the Bubbles Trail and then turn left, to walk another 0.6 miles to the peak of South Bubble (768 feet).

Unfortunately, I completely missed the side path to Bubble Rock (probably due to my bleary fatigue). I didn’t see a sign for it? It looks like it branches off to the east when you reach the summit market. The Bubble Rock is a large boulder perched on a cliff at a precarious, but stable, angle. Like the angle of repose. By the way, there are no great views at South Bubbles’ summit marker on a pile of stones, but if you continue another 500 feet or so south to an open ledge, you’ll get marvelous views of Jordan Pond and the valley sweeping out to the ocean.

You can retrace your steps if you want to carry on to North Bubble, returning to the Bubbles Trail. Or if you want a shorter hike, you can head down either of the two very steep trails to Jordan Pond Path and make your way back to your car. I recommend descending (or, more accurately, picking your way carefully down) the rocky Bubble Divide Trail rather than the Bubbles Trail, which is the steeper of the two.

If you have the time and energy, I do, however, recommend continuing to North Bubble. From the parking lot, it’s a roughly 0.6-mile hike to the 872-foot summit. From here, you may want to continue to Conners Nubble. To do this, follow a gradual 0.8-mile descent to the Park Loop Road, which you cross before tackling the 0.1-hike (it’s fairly steep) to the 510-foot summit of Conners Nubble, with views of the Bubbles and Eagle Lake and more.

You can loop back to your car by taking Eagle Lake Trail — which is flat but quite rough, rooty, and rocky — to Jordon Pond Carry Trail. The views of Conners Nubble rising up over the lake from Eagle Lake Trail are lovely.

Read more about the park here.

Directions: The best way to access the Bubbles is to park at the Bubbles lot off Park Loop Road, approximately 2.3 miles south of the turnoff for the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road. Try to get there before 9 am in the summer months to grab a parking spot. Or take the Island Explorer bus!