Bubble Rock - By Lisa Ballard

When the opportunity to visit Acadia National Park came up earlier this month, my first thought was, “Finally a chance to climb Cadillac Mountain.” Cadillac is not particularly tall, but it is the highest point (1,530 feet) on the North Atlantic coastline, and the first place you can see the sunrise in the United States.

I wanted to hike it for the sunrise.

“You can drive to the top,” deadpanned my son, Parker, who spent last summer leading teenagers up many of the park’s 20 peaks. “The Bubbles are better.”
The Bubbles sounded weeny.

North Bubble, the taller of the two, topped out at 872 feet, but Bubble Rock, atop South Bubble (766 feet), was one of the historic landmarks in the park.

Bubble Rock is a 100-ton glacial erratic that has captivated geologists, artists and hikers since the late 1800s. It’s the most famous boulder in Maine, deposited on the summit of South Bubble as the last ice age receded, 10,000+ years ago.

Scientists believe the glaciers carried this enormous chunk of white granite 40 miles, from Lucerne, Maine, where similar rocks can be found. (The granite in the park is pink.)
I arrived at the trailhead for this popular 0.7-mile climb around 6:00 a.m., ahead of the crowds. It was a steady uphill hike on a broad, well-maintained trail – a series of giant steps, really.

Emerging onto the open bedrock at the top, this little peak, hemmed in by Cadillac to the east and another nearby “goliath” to the west, offered a miniscule view.

And where was the rock? I poked around some shrubs to my right. Nothing. Then I spotted some blue paint on the slab to my left.
Bingo! The markers led straight to Bubble Rock. It defied gravity, perched on the edge of a near vertical drop. I found the view, too, of the ocean beyond Seal Harbor.

What a beautiful spot!
I’ve seen numerous glacial erratics beside trails throughout New England, sometimes several miles from a trailhead. A few hung precipitously from imposing perches.

But I have to admit, Bubble Rock was an inspiring destination. It made me realize a hike doesn’t need to be epic to be interesting.