Echo Lake Beach — Attraction in Mount Desert

We visited on a Sunday morning in late June 2025.

There was ton of parking spots when we arrived around 9AM. We didn't really have any intention of playing on this beach or going into the water (it was VERY cold by the way) but we were here to do the Beech Cliff Trail with the ladders. This was a warm up test for us to do Beehive Trail the next day.

We went down to the beach as we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. There were a number of stairs that take you down to the beach area. I think there is a ramp too if you park further back but we parked pretty close to the beach itself. There are trash cans and recycling here. There is also a bathroom with running water and water fountain as well as a ton of changing rooms.

The paved asphalt sidewalk ends and turned into a wooden boardwalk that goes pretty car out into the sand and close to the water. The beach was completely empty except for us and the coolest thing was we saw a turtle laying it's eggs. I know turtles get nervous with people and sometimes this causes them to dig fake nests and try again another time. We tried to keep our distance.

Overall a very clean beach with coarse sand and a lot of natural debris like rocks and twigs and leaves. If it was warmer I'd have no problem hanging out here. There really isn't any shade on the beach itself but there was at least 1...

So happy we went here to swim. We went mid afternoon on a Tuesday and it wasn’t too crowded. They have restrooms, changing rooms, water to wash off your feet, and grass and sand to sit on. Only one picnic table by the beach. The water was so clear and surprisingly warm. It wasn’t even 80 when we went swimming but it felt perfect, not too cold at all. The views of the cliffs and trees while swimming are divine. I felt so refreshed after swimming here. Definitely the best lake swim...

Good place to take the family for swimming if you want warmer water than the ocean. It has a nice small sandy beach for the kids to play on and shade to sit in over to the side. There are also changing rooms and restrooms for your convenience. It is part of Acadia National Park so you just have to display your Park pass on your dashboard. There is also a really good hiking trail from this parking lot that goes up Beech mountain. It is similar to Bee hive but...