NPS / Victoria Stauffenberg · Public domain
Planning an Acadia trip
The unglamorous half: the Cadillac summit reservation, where the free bus goes, where to stay and when to come. Reservation windows and bus schedules change every season, so every page says when we last checked.
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Cadillac Summit reservations, and the 10 a.m. drop that actually works
You cannot drive up Cadillac without a $6 vehicle reservation from late May to late October. Most people get one two days out, at 10 a.m. Eastern.
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Acadia entrance fees, and the two that catch people out
$35 a vehicle for seven days, required year-round. The park takes no cash at all, and non-US residents pay $100 a head on top unless they hold an annual pass.
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The Island Explorer, and why nobody uses it
A free bus to every trailhead you are fighting to park at. Seasonal, funded by the park pass you already bought, and consistently ignored.
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Where to stay near Acadia
Bar Harbor puts you on the free bus network and charges for it. The quiet side of the island is cheaper and further from everything you came for.
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The Bar Island crossing and Thunder Hole, and the tide that decides both
A gravel bar you can walk an island on, three hours a day. A granite channel that throws spray 40 feet. Both run on the tide, at opposite ends of it.
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Sand Beach, the 9 a.m. parking lot and the 50-degree water
Acadia's largest sandy beach, reached by a staircase down the cliff. The lot fills by 9 a.m. in season and the water runs 50 to 60F in summer.
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