Join Acadia National Park

Be a #SoilHero!

Help Save Our Summits in Acadia by hiking up Penobscot or Sargent Mountain with a bag of soil.

Hike to one of Acadia’s iconic summits AND help Acadia National Park’s efforts to restore native vegetation!

Acadia National Park, in collaboration with Friends of Acadia and Schoodic Institute, invites tenacious hikers to bring bags of soil to the summits of Penobscot and Sargent Mountains. You’ll get to choose how much soil you’ll carry – carrying as little as five pounds (about the size of a large freezer ziplock bag) is a huge help!
This soil is integral to the ongoing summit restoration efforts in Acadia National Park.

When:

Our Recurring Save Our Summits Volunteer Program occurs every Wednesday from June through September, 2024. Hikes run from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., weather permitting.
*Advanced registration is required. Register below!

Where:

Meet at the Parkman Mountain Carriage Road Trailhead off Route 3 in Acadia National Park.
Participants will hike up to the summit of either Penobscot Mountain or Sargent Mountain with a Volunteer Leader.

 

Register!

Take note!

If you’re SOS hiking with friends, family, or another group, we highly recommend you carpool. The trailhead has limited parking.

Don’t forget your park pass!

Arrive prepared to be on trail for a few hours. Dress appropriately with reliable hiking boots and sweat-wicking apparel. Bring water and snacks, as well as anything you may need for your known medical and allergy needs.

Bring a backpack with extra room to stow your soil. Carrying soil up via backpack is the most convenient method.

Participants must stay with the group on the hike up to the summit, but are free to continue exploring the park on their own after dropping off their soil and checking in with the Volunteer Leader.

If conditions are expected to be rainy or slippery on the day of the hike, participants will be alerted via email and invited to register for the next drop-in opportunity.

The Routes

Participants will hike with soil up to the summit of Penobscot OR Sargent Mountain.

Sargent Route
Elevation gain: 1,040 ft
Distance: 4.20 mi
AllTrails Map

Penobscot Route
Elevation gain: 1,086 ft
Distance: 4.33 mi
AllTrails Map

Summit Restoration is Critical

Despite their hardened granite, Acadia’s mountain summit ecosystems are incredibly fragile.

Human-caused climate change is causing longer growing seasons, more rain, less snow, and fewer species that we know and love. Extreme weather events are damaging landscapes, cultural resources, and infrastructure. Invasive plants species are trying to out-compete native summit plants. Trampling by humans has damaged the plant communities at the top of mountains.

For the last several years, Acadia National Park, Friends of Acadia, and the Schoodic Institute worked together to evaluate new vegetation plantings and soil replacement on Cadillac Mountain summit. This research continues to provide managers with invaluable information on how to direct change toward desired future conditions on Cadlillac and other summits in Acadia.

Turns out, getting soil on the summits is a critical piece of the revegetation puzzle. The loss of vegetation has caused soil to erode, which means there’s no place for seeds to settle and grow.

That’s where you come in.

By carrying soil to the summits of Sargent and Penobscot Mountains, you’ll play an important role in the restoration of these vital ecosystems and their future resiliency.

That’s something to feel proud of. (Bonus: you’ll get a wonderfully scenic hike in Acadia!)

Lean more about this science-based approach: Learning How to Restore Mountain Summits

Restoring Acadia’s Iconic Summits

Together with its partners-in-science, Acadia scientists are studying the summit plant communities and in some cases actively working to restore them.

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Please park on the road – Route 3 near the Parkman Mountain Carrriage Road Trailhead. There is a lot, but it’s pretty small and tends to fill up quickly.

When you get there please check in with the Volunteer Leader at the trailhead.

That’s up to you. All participants will fill their own bag of soil (sandbags provided), so you can adjust how much you carry. While we’re appreciative of your help getting the soil to the summit, don’t feel pressure to carry more than you can safely and comfortably carry!

Be sure to bring a backpack with room to stow a bag – that’s the most convenient way to carry a bag of soil. Arms tend to fatigue pretty quickly.

Participants will hike either Sargent or Penobscot depending on the week. The summit will be detailed in the registration form for that week.  While the Sargent route is the less challenging of the two options, both are comparable in length and difficulty. The starting point for each hike is the same.

Sargent Route
Elevation gain: 1,040 ft
Distance: 4.20 mi
AllTrails Map

Penobscot Route
Elevation gain: 1,086 ft
Distance: 4.33 mi
AllTrails Map

We provide training, leadership, and bags of soil!

We ask that you please…

  • Dress appropriately with reliable hiking boots and sweat-wicking apparel.
  • Bring water and snacks, as well as anything you may need for your known medical and allergy needs.
  • Bring a backpack with room to stow your bag of soil (this is the most convenient way to convey the soil).

Regrettably, no. Only those who register in advance can participate. If you miss the registration window, try signing up for a future week!

This program runs from June – September (weather permitting) on Wednesdays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

We ask that participants arrive at the meetup location around 8:15 a.m. to ensure they have time to fill out any paperwork. At 8:30 a.m., the Volunteer Leader will give a brief safety overview as well as an introduction to summit restoration work, then volunteers will fill up their bag of soil and start hiking.

Participants should return to the trailhead around 12 p.m.

This volunteer opportunity is best suited for beginning to experienced hikers comfortable navigating steep terrain and carrying anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds of soil. We do require all youth 17 and under to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. And although we love pets, please leave them at home when you come to volunteer for their safety and yours.

If you are interested in bringing a group with more than five volunteers, please check out our service group page. You can write in ‘Save Our Summits’ as the project type.

The best way to help Save Our Summits in Acadia is to be a mindful steward in the park – that means staying on the trail when hiking and rock-hopping to avoid trampling fragile vegetation.

Understanding the impacts that our changing climate and visitor foot traffic have on Acadia’s summits is a big deal, too. Learn more: Learning How to Restore Mountain Summits

For more physically accessible volunteer opportunities, check out the Drop-in Stewardship Volunteer Program!

Still have questions? Email Claire Burnet, Climate Community Volunteer Ambassador at Acadia National Park, at claire_burnet@friendsofacadia.org