Cadillac North Ridge Trail Lookout (no parking) — Attraction in Bar Harbor

This is a rating for "my experience".

Being a national park that collects 30 bucks to enter, they are failing at helping the first time visitors.

To first time visitors (hikers):

There is a parking space (covered in pebbles) for about 5 cars along the road side (west side) about 200 yards from the trail entrance. This is the free option you read in other reviews.

For others that are not lucky 5, there is a visitor center that is miles up north (please use nav, I thought how hard can it be? But there is a section that are miles w/o signs. Would be so helpful to show a simple distance!) where you can park your car, purchase a visitor pass ($30 per vehicle), go back to the parked car, tape it on the driver side window. The pass will last 1 day.

Hop on a free shuttle to the trail entrance. The shuttle schedule and the park map is freely distributed at the information kiosk.

Before heading out, check the time for the last bus (there are summer and fall schedules). If you miss the last bus, you need to walk back. So plan yourself time to return.

My review/experience:

My group failed to do #4. We realized that we won't come down on time to get on the shuttle. I asked a park staff at the summit if I can call Uber (there are taxi stands at summit) and got yes for an answer. Tried to summon cars but didn't get drivers to respond to the request. Somehow, connected to a driver and was told that park rangers don't allow Uber or Lyft to go up past check point. Because there were minors in our group and getting dark, I had to hitch a ride down to the visitor center to get my car to pick them up.

I tried to go through the check point myself but the ranger didn't allow me to go up!

My group got lost on the way down but fortunately another group helped them get down safely. We were lucky.

People spend long hours to come. The park can do a much better job...

Hope this helps your planning. Btw, the view was amazing. Hiking itself...

If you're going up the trail, the parking is off to the side once you turn onto Sand Beach and it's one way traffic. There is no "parking lot". The first parking area you see is the closest to the start of the trail. Do yourself a favor and wear appropriate shoes. With a baby in a backpack carrier, it took us about 2 hours to get up to the summit. On the way down, it took a bit under 2 hours. At the top, there's a little store that sells souvenirs and coffee with bathrooms off to the side. There is a changing table in the women's room; don't know about the men's room though. Great views when you get...

Really ideal hike and route. Parking is hit or miss. There are a couple areas .3-.5 miles before the trail that you can pull over to for overflow parking, but if you miss it you have to do the full 1 way loop. The scenery is great throughout the hike. Very rewarding and just enough effort to feel like you deserve the summit. A number of hikers ended up missing the signs to turn left half way though the hike and end up on the summit road. If you hit the road you can just check google maps and get back on through a small trail that brings you back...