Bar Harbor · RedAwning

Acadia National Park49,075 acres of granite coast on Mount Desert Island — Cadillac Mountain sunrise, 158 miles of trails, 45 miles of Rockefeller carriage roads

The first national park east of the Mississippi — established 1916 as Sieur de Monts National Monument and renamed Acadia in 1929. Anchored on Mount Desert Island off the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine, with outliers on Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut. The 27-mile Park Loop Road, the 1530-foot Cadillac Mountain summit (where the sun touches the United States first October–March), Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond House popovers, and Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse anchor a park visited by roughly 4 million people annually.

Hours todayOpen 24 hours – Wednesday hours
TicketsFrom $35Standard Pass — Vehicle (7-day)
LocationBar Harbor, Maine25 Visitor Center Rd
Official sitenps.govPlan your visit

1916Established
49,075Acres
158Trail miles
~4MAnnual visitors

Acadia became Sieur de Monts National Monument in July 1916, the first piece of national-park-protected land east of the Mississippi River, before being expanded and renamed Acadia National Park in February 1929. The park covers 49,075 acres across three pieces — most of Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland, and roughly half of Isle au Haut. Most of that land was assembled and donated by George B. Dorr, the park's first superintendent, and the Rockefeller family — John D. Rockefeller Jr. alone contributed over 11,000 acres and personally engineered the park's 45-mile carriage-road network between 1913 and 1940.

The 27-mile Park Loop Road circles the eastern lobe of Mount Desert Island, hitting the day-trip headliners: Cadillac Mountain (1530 feet, the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic coast and the first ground touched by sunrise in the country October through early March); Sand Beach (290 yards of crushed-shell sand at Newport Cove, ocean temperature 50–55°F even in August); Thunder Hole (a sea cave that booms on incoming swells, best at three-quarters tide rising); Jordan Pond House (the 1893 restaurant famous for tea-and-popovers on the lawn with the Bubbles Mountains framed perfectly behind); and Bass Harbor Head Light Station (the 1858 lighthouse on the southwest tip, the iconic America the Beautiful quarter image). The 158-mile trail network runs from coastal flat walks to iron-rung climbs up the Beehive and Precipice cliff faces.

Plan three to five days to do Acadia properly. Drive in via Trenton on Route 3 — there is no other vehicle bridge to Mount Desert Island. Bar Harbor is the main lodging and food hub; Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor are quieter. Cadillac Summit Road requires a $6 vehicle reservation booked at Recreation.gov 90 days ahead — sunrise slots from May to October sell out in minutes. The free Island Explorer shuttle (late June to Columbus Day) eliminates Park Loop Road parking battles entirely. Bring layers — coastal fog can drop temperatures 20°F off the summit. Black flies peak late May to mid-June; mosquitoes in early July.

Cadillac Mountain Summit
The 1530-foot pink-granite summit at the eastern lobe of Mount Desert Island — the highest point on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard and, between October 7 and March 6 each year, the first ground in the country to receive sunrise. The 3.5-mile Cadillac Summit Road requires a $6 timed-entry reservation; sunrise slots release 90 days ahead at 10:00 AM ET and sell within five minutes.
Bass Harbor Head Light Station
The 1858 lighthouse on the southwest tip of Mount Desert Island — featured on the 2012 America the Beautiful Acadia quarter and the 2016 NPS centennial postage stamp. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The Coast Guard residence is closed but a paved walkway and short rocky boardwalk lead to the iconic east-facing photo angle. Sunset gridlock is real — arrive 90 minutes ahead in summer.
Park Loop Road
A one-way 27-mile scenic drive (two-way for the first 7 miles from Hulls Cove) circling the eastern lobe — the through-line for Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Otter Cliff, Jordan Pond House, the Bubbles, and Cadillac Summit Road. Open mid-April to early December; pullout-style stops mean you can pause anywhere. Allow 4 hours minimum with stops.
Carriage Roads
45 miles of broken-stone roads engineered by John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1913 and 1940 — closed to motor vehicles, perfect for cyclists, runners, and horse-drawn carriages. Sixteen hand-cut granite bridges (Cobblestone Bridge, Hemlock Bridge, Jordan Pond Bridge among them) and rough-stone gate lodges punctuate the network. Bike rentals start at $35/day in Bar Harbor.
Jordan Pond House Popovers
The 1893 restaurant on the south shore of Jordan Pond, with the twin Bubbles Mountains framed beyond the lawn — famous for tea and oversized popovers served with strawberry jam and butter, a tradition since 1895. Reservations on OpenTable open 60 days ahead; lawn seating is first-come, first-served. Open mid-May to mid-October.
The Beehive & Precipice Trails
Two iron-rung scrambles on the eastern face of Mount Desert. The Beehive (1.4-mile loop, 450 feet of climbing on rebar ladders) overlooks Sand Beach and Frenchman Bay; the Precipice Trail (2.1 miles, 1000 feet straight up the east face of Champlain Mountain) is the more serious of the two. Both close late spring through August for peregrine falcon nesting — check the day's status at Hulls Cove Visitor Center.
Sand Beach & Thunder Hole
Sand Beach is 290 yards of crushed-shell-and-shrimp-tail sand at Newport Cove, the only sandy beach in the park; ocean temperature stays at 50–55°F even in August thanks to the Labrador Current. Thunder Hole, half a mile south, is a slot sea cave that booms on incoming swells — best 90 minutes before high tide on a stormy day; calm seas make it silent.
Schoodic Peninsula
The 2366-acre mainland section across Frenchman Bay — Schoodic Point's surf-pounded pink granite, the 6-mile Schoodic Loop one-way road, and 8.3 miles of bike paths added 2015. Receives less than 10% of the park's visitors despite world-class views; reachable by car (one hour from Bar Harbor) or by the seasonal Island Explorer ferry (45 minutes).

Open hours

Park gates are open 24/7 year-round; the Park Loop Road, Cadillac Summit Road, and Hulls Cove Visitor Center are seasonal — typically open mid-April through November 30. Winter access is plowed only on Route 233 and a single trailhead at Eagle Lake. Island Explorer free shuttle runs late June through Columbus Day.

MondayOpen 24 hours
TuesdayOpen 24 hours
WednesdayTodayOpen 24 hours
ThursdayOpen 24 hours
FridayOpen 24 hours
SaturdayOpen 24 hours
SundayOpen 24 hours

Note · Cadillac Summit Road requires a vehicle reservation ($6) booked through Recreation.gov for any sunrise (90 min before) or daytime slot, late May through late October. Sunrise slots release 90 days out at 10:00 AM ET and sell out within minutes; daytime slots release 2 days out at the same time.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Standard Pass — Vehicle (7-day)$35All occupants of one private vehicle
Standard Pass — Motorcycle (7-day)$30Per motorcycle, all riders
Standard Pass — Individual (7-day)$20On foot, bicycle, or commercial bus
Acadia Annual Pass$7012 months unlimited entry to Acadia only
America the Beautiful Annual$80All 423 federal recreation sites for 12 months
Cadillac Summit Vehicle Reservation$6Required for any drive up Cadillac Summit Road, late May–late Oct

Park entry is free in winter (Dec 1–Apr 14) when gates are open but most facilities are closed. The Cadillac Summit reservation is separate from the entry pass and required even with America the Beautiful — book at Recreation.gov 90 days ahead for sunrise. Free Island Explorer shuttle eliminates the need to drive inside the park June–October.

Reserve Cadillac Summit

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