Acadia National Park is one of the most beautiful sights in the country. And we’re lucky to have it right here in Maine. Each year Acadia sees millions of visitors. In 2018, the park saw a whopping 3.5 million people come through! As more and more people recognize the area as a must-see, traffic and congestion has become more difficult to navigate. In order to help alleviate the traffic, the park has come up with a new method for visitors to enter. The goal is to make things more fun, but it might require some advance planning on your part.
Acadia National Park is the 7th most visited national park in the country. With that much well-deserved love, you can imagine the traffic situation on busy days during the tourist season.
Christina / TripAdvisor
Folks in charge have been working to create a plan to alleviate the road congestion on the most popular routes through the park. A new reservation system is expected to help a great deal.
J.R. Libby / Flickr
The system will require visitors heading to Cadillac Mountain, Ocean Drive, and the Jordan Pond north parking lot to reserve a specific time to visit.
Lee Coursey / Flickr
Reservations can be made from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and cars can stay as long as they like. Note that Cadillac Mountain will have slightly different hours to account for the sunrise and sunset demand.
Jim Lukach / Flickr
The plan should make sure that folks visiting can smoothly drive to their park destination, but it also comes at a cost. Weekly entry to the park costs $30 per vehicle.
MVA311 / TripAdvisor
Folks who plan on walking or cycling won’t need to make a reservation though, so you might want to start training now to avoid that car trip!
Lee Coursey / Flickr
The system, which is expected to go into effect for the summer of 2021 will be tested for a few weeks in October 2020. While the plan is expected to move forward, the fall test will allow the park to see where they can improve upon the process.
Paul VanDerWerf / Flickr
Don’t think it’s necessary? To help put things into perspective, remember that there are only about 150 parking spaces for visitors going to Cadillac Mountain. But approximately 450 cars head up to catch the sunrise. That makes for a ton of illegally parked cars, further congesting the area.
jbrandt04330 / Flickr
The idea is that managing the number of people accessing the park at any given time everyone will be able to enjoy a calmer, more fun time in the park.
Christian Collins / Flickr Reservation systems have been rolled out other national parks around the country, making them safer for everyone. The most important thing is to understand exactly how the system works so you can use it and enjoy Acadia just like you always have!
You can learn more about the new system through this article from Outside Magazine.
Christina / TripAdvisor
J.R. Libby / Flickr
Lee Coursey / Flickr
Jim Lukach / Flickr
MVA311 / TripAdvisor
Paul VanDerWerf / Flickr
jbrandt04330 / Flickr
Christian Collins / Flickr
Reservation systems have been rolled out other national parks around the country, making them safer for everyone. The most important thing is to understand exactly how the system works so you can use it and enjoy Acadia just like you always have!
Excited about your next trip to the park? Get ready by checking out these 10 fascinating things you probably didn’t know about Acadia National Park in Maine. And while you’re there here are 10 of the greatest Acadia National Park hiking trails for beginners.
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Address: Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
