General information about the National Park
Acadia National Park protects a rugged section of rocky coastline typical of Maine. You will find mountains, lakes and a very interesting coastal landscape in the only national park in New England.
Current 2024: Auch 2024 ist von Mai bis Oktober ein Permit für das Befahren der Cadillac Mountain Summit Rd notwendig. Dieser Permit kostet 4$+2$ Reservierungs-Gebühr. Die genauen Modalitäten um so ein Permit zu bekommen finden sich auf der reservation page. For all other parts of the park there are no restrictions to normal operation.
Number of visitors
In 2020, Acadia NP ranked 8th in the most visited national parks visitor statistics and 7th in 2023.
Best time to visit: September/October for colorful leaves and fewer visitors.
Our visits:
So far 2 visits: October 2008, October 2010
Entrance fees and opening hours
- 30$/car and all passengers valid for 7 days
- Covered by the Anual Pass*
- Open 24h all year round.
*The Anual Pass is so to speak the "flat rate" for all Parks managed by the National Park Service. The pass costs a one-time fee of $80 and can be purchased at the entrance to each National Park, National Monument, etc. The pass is valid for 13 months.
Bar Harbor
Description: Bar Harbor is a small coastal town on the eastern side of Acadia NP. It is not part of the national park, but we have included it here because of its close proximity.
Our rating: In principle, we liked Bar Harbor quite well. It is a small very nicely located town that offers all kinds of infrastructure such as stores and restaurants. In addition, boats leave from here for whale watching, one of the attractions of the area.
The only tiny problem are the huge cruise ships that regularly anchor off the coast here. When such an ocean giant spits out its thousands of passengers, you can already imagine what's happening to such small coastal town. Especially because there is usually more than one cruise ship anchored here. We would therefore recommend visiting the town when you don't see a ship anchored off the coast. In that case, you can also enjoy everything in peace and quiet and do a little window shopping.
Beaver Dam Pond
Description: Beaver Dam Pond is a small lake located directly on the park road. Since it is usually windless here, the crystal-clear reflection offers great photo motifs. Whether there are beavers here, as the name suggests, no one knows for sure. According to the national park rangers, there are no beavers left in Arcadia National Park, but there are always reports from eyewitnesses who claim the opposite.
Our rating: Especially during fall, when the leaves turn colorful all over New England, you'll find plenty of great views on the colorful hills.
Jordan Pond
Description: Jordan Pond is a lake within Arcadia National Park. It was formed during the last ice age and is picturesquely situated between forest covered hills. This makes this a worthwhile destination, especially in the fall. Since the lake serves as a water reservoir among other things, swimming is prohibited for humans and animals. There are several hiking trails where you can explore the surroundings. The most popular is the 3.3mi loop trail around the lake. On the east side this trail is flat and very easy to walk, on the west side it is a bit more rocky and uneven.
Trail length: 3.3mi roundtrip
Altitude difference: –
Time needed: 2-3 hours
Difficulty level: easy to moderate
Our rating: Jordan Pond is definitely a must see for us. Especially in the fall when the leaves change color, it is beautiful here.
Cadillac Mountain
Description: Cadillac Mountain is a 1545ft high mountain in the middle of Acadia National Park. Since it is the highest elevation in the surrounding area, you have a great panoramic view of the area. You can climb the mountain on foot, on various hiking trails, or take the comfortable way by car.
Fun Fact: Cadillac Mountain is considered to be the place where the first rays of the day's sun can be seen. That's why you can often find a lot of people watching the sunrise here.
Our rating: Cadillac Mountain is also a worthwhile destination if you are in the national park. Also at sunset it is really great up here and you have very nice views of the complete surroundings.
At the park road
Description: A large part of Park Street is a loop, which is designed as a one-way street. Since the road is nevertheless two-lane, you can stop at any time, because one lane may be used as a stopping place . We thought that was awesome, because it really allowed you to stop wherever you discovered something nice. Since the park is located on a very rugged coast, there are always changing views on the park road. Sometimes you drive through a forest, sometimes along a lake and then you get back to the coast.
Our rating: We have visited the park twice (2008 and 2013). We were excited both times, but this may also be due to the fact that we were here in the fall and could experience a wonderful leaf color. We can not really judge whether the enthusiasm would be the same if everything is green here. But because of the coast, the trip is very beautiful and varied, even if you ignore the colorful trees. We can recommend the park.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and Seawall
Description: The Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse was built in 1858. The tower is about 33ft high and stands on a granite rock which is about as high as well. Because of this beautiful location, the lighthouse is also a popular photo motif.
In 1988, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The tower and the small town of Seawall are located in the western part of the park. Actually, there is nothing really spectacular here, but the small fishing town is picturesquely situated on the ocean and you have beautiful views of boats and the pretty coastline.
Our rating: Even if this part of the park is a bit off the main park, we certainly think it's worth a detour. Who likes the ocean, will surely have fun here.
