Acadia National Park brings mountainous terrain face-to-face with the power and beauty of the ocean. Atop Cadillac Mountain, Acadia's highest point on Mount Desert Island, one can behold northern New England's beauty spread out like a painting. This natural wonderland is located along 40,000 acres of Maine's rockbound coast. Contained within Mount Desert (pronounced dessert) Island, Isle au Haut and Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park allows you to experience this splendor first hand. Hike the 120 miles of trails or ride the 50 miles of byways. These broad roads encircle Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake, and wind around the flanks of Sargent and Penobscot mountains. They offer stunning views of Somes Sound and Frenchman Bay and lead you along beaver-dammed brooks. The grades are gentle, but the vistas are long. In addition, if you'd rather sleep under the stars, there are nearly 500 campsites for you to choose from.

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General Information

Visitation

Highest in July and August; lowest in December, January and February.

Location

Mount Desert Island, Isle au Haut, and Schoodic Peninsula, Maine

Highest Elevation

The Summit of Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet

Address

Acadia National Park
PO Box 177
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Telephone

(207) 288-3338 (Voice | TDD)

Operating Hours, Seasons

24 hours year-round; some roads closed in winter.

Winter visitor center hours: 8 a.m.- 4: 30 p.m. daily, November 1-mid-April, except Thanksgiving Day, December 24 and 25, and January 1.

Summer visitor center hours: Mid-April through June and October, daily 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

July-August, daily 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

September, daily, hours vary

Climate & Recommended Clothing

Summers are generally warm, cooling off at night, sometimes dry, sometimes rainy. Winters are very cold and snowy. Always be prepared for cool weather; dress in layers.

Directions

Acadia National Park is located approximately six hours north of Boston. From Boston take I-95 north to Augusta, Maine. From Augusta take Route 3 east to Ellsworth and on to Mount Desert Island or take I-95 north to Bangor, Maine. From Bangor take Route 1A east to Route 3 to Mount Desert Island.

Mileage Chart (Distances are approximate.)

From		To Acadia National Park
Washington, D.C.		700 miles
New York City		476 miles
Philadelphia		564 miles
Boston		271 miles
Montreal, Canada		359 miles
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia		743 miles
Quebec		293 miles

Transportation

Bus Service: Vermont Transit bus service operates between Bangor and Bar Harbor during the summer months. Call (207) 288-3366 for current information.

Major Airlines: Bangor International Airport is approximately 50 miles from Acadia.

Commuter Airlines: Colgan Air, flies to Bar Harbor Airport, 10 miles from Bar Harbor.

Call (207) 667-7171 for a schedule.

Ferry Service: Bluenose Ferry sails between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, call (888) 249-SAIL.

Local transportation: Downeast Transportation runs a local service, which connects Mount Desert Island towns and Ellsworth. Write to Downeast Transportation, P.O. Box 914, Ellsworth, ME 04605; or call (207) 667-5796.

Fees, Cost, Rates

Park Entrance Fees (May 1-October 31):

May 1 - October 31: $5 per vehicle for a one-day pass; $10 per vehicle for a four-day pass or $3 per person for persons entering on foot or bicycle.

Other Passes Available

Acadia Annual Pass: $20

Good for entrance into Acadia for a year from date of purchase.

The entrance station on the Park Loop Road carries all passes and the Park headquarters carries all passes except the Acadia Annual Pass. The Hulls Cove Visitor Center and the Sieur de Monts Spring Nature Center carry only the Golden Access Passports.

Golden Eagle Passport

The Golden Eagle Passport is an entrance pass to any national park, monument, historical site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee. It is a great convenience for those who plan on visiting several different areas that charge special fees. It is valid for one year from the purchase date. A Golden Eagle Passport may be purchased for $50 at any National Park Service entrance fee area or by mail. To order by mail, send check or money order (no cash, please) to:

National Park Service
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Room 138
Washington, DC 20242
Attention: Golden Eagle Passport

Where entry is by private vehicle, the Golden Eagle Passport will admit the passholder as well as any passengers. Where entry by private vehicle is not possible, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Eagle Passport will not reduce use fees, such as those for camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or cave tours. It covers entrance fees only.

Golden Age Passport

The Golden Age Passport is a lifetime entrance pass for those United States residents 62 years or older. These may be purchased at any National Park Service entrance fee area for a one-time processing fee of $10. The Golden Age Passport cannot be purchased by mail or telephone. Proof of age and citizenship or permanent residence must be shown at the time of purchase.

The Golden Age Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. When entrance is not via private vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder as well as children, spouse, and parents.

The Golden Age Pass grants a 50% discount to the holder on any federal use fees charged for things such as camping, swimming, parking, boat launching, or tours. It does not, however, reduce the price of special recreation permit fees or fees for concessions.

Golden Access Passport

The Golden Access Passport is a free entrance pass to any national park, monument, historic site, recreation area, and national wildlife refuge for those who are blind or permanently disabled. The Golden Access passport may be obtained at any National Park Service entrance fee area. Proof of a medically determined disability and eligibility for receiving benefits under federal law is necessary at purchase.

The Golden Access Passport will admit the passholder and any passengers in a private vehicle. Where entrance is not by vehicle, the pass will admit the passholder, spouse, children and parents.

The Golden Access Passport also provides a 50% discount on any federal use fees charged for services and facilities. It does not cover special recreation permit fees or fees charged for concessions.

All passes described above are non-transferable.

Facilities and Opportunities

See the visitor center hours listed above.

Trails, Roads:

120 miles of hiking trails and 45 miles of carriage roads are available for walking and biking.

Program/Activities:

Visitor center audio visual presentation every half-hour. Ranger-led programs, May to mid-October; pick up park newspaper with schedule at visitor center.

Campgrounds:

Blackwoods: on reservation system June 15 - September 15. Contact the park regarding reservations for 1998 at (207) 288-3338. Open year-round with varying facilities and prices. Seawall: open late May - September on a first-come, first-served basis always.

Food/supplies:

Available in nearby towns

Concessions:

Acadia Corporation: Jordan Pond House restaurant and gift shop, Thunder Hole gift shop, and Cadillac Mt. gift shop.

Accessibility:

A guidebook is available through the mail or at the visitor center.

Special needs:

Some trails, restrooms, and campsites are accessible. Sign language interpreter provided with two weeks notice of arrival, if funding is available. Script for audio visual presentation at visitor center available upon request.

Recommended Activities

Drive the 27 mile Park Loop Road, which encompasses shoreline, forest and mountain scenery. A cassette tape tour is available for rent or purchase at the visitor center. Other favorites include: hiking, biking, shore exploration, and cross-country skiing in the winter

Reservations & Permits

Blackwoods Campground is open June 15-September 15. Call the park for reservation information (207) 288-3338, $16/night/site.

Group camping sites are available at Blackwoods or Seawall campgrounds, May 15-September 15, (207)288-3338, $30/night/site (up to 20 people).

Isle au Haut special use permits are available May 15-October 15, (207) 288-3338, $25.

If you want to camp:

June 15 - July 14 Start Calling: February 15
July 15 - August 14 Start Calling: March 15
August 15 - September 14 Start Calling: April 15

Basic Visit Recommendations

Plan to spend one to four days exploring the park.

Special Events & Programs

Park admission is free on August 25, the birthday of the National Park Service.

This park is featured in a lesson plan created by Teaching with Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service that helps teachers and students understand how parks and other historic places embody America's historical experiences and cultural expressions.

Visitor Impacts

Stay on trails; bike on carriage roads, not hiking trails; keep dogs on leashes; turn off car and bus engines when possible.

Adjacent Visitor Attractions

Baxter State Park, 2.5 hours northwest of Mount Desert Island, (207) 723-5140.

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History

Early History

Deep shell heaps indicate human encampments dating back 6,000 years in Acadia National Park, but prehistoric records are scanty. The first written descriptions of the Maine coast Native Americans, recorded 100 years after European trade contacts began, describe Native Americans who lived off the land by hunting, fishing, collecting shellfish, and gathering plants and berries. The Abnaki knew Mount Desert Island as Pemetic, "The sloping land." They built bark-covered conical shelters, and traveled in exquisitely designed birch bark canoes. Historical notes record the Abnaki wintered in interior forests and spent their summers near the coast. Archaeological evidence suggests the opposite pattern; in order to avoid harsh inland winters and to take advantage of salmon runs upstream, they wintered on the coast and summered inland.

New France

The first meeting between the people of Pemetic and the Europeans is a matter of conjecture. But it was a Frenchman, Samuel Champlain, who made the first important contribution to the historical record of Mount Desert Island. He led the expedition that landed on Mt. Desert on September 5, 1604, and wrote in his journal, "The mountain summits are all bare and rocky...I name it Isles des Monts Desert." Champlain's visit to Acadia 16 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock destined this land to become known as New France before it became New England.

In 1613, French Jesuits, welcomed by the Native Americans, established the first French mission in America on what is now Fernald Point, near the entrance to Somes Sound. They had just begun to build a fort, plant their corn, and baptize the natives when an English ship, commanded by Captain Samuel Argall, destroyed their mission.

The English victory at Fernald Point doomed Jesuit ambitions on Mount Desert Island, leaving the land in a state of limbo, lying between the French, firmly entrenched to the north, and the British, whose settlements in Massachusetts and southward were becoming increasingly numerous. No one wished to settle in this contested territory and for the next 150 years, Mount Desert Island's importance was primarily its use as a landmark for seamen.

There was a brief period when it seemed Mount Desert would again become a center of French activity. In 1688, Antoine Laumet, an ambitious young man who had immigrated to New France and bestowed upon himself the title Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac, asked for and received a hundred thousand acres of land along the Maine coast including all of Mount Desert. Cadillac's hopes of establishing a feudal estate in the New World, however, were short-lived. Although he and his bride resided here for a time, they soon abandoned their enterprise. Cadillac later gained lasting recognition as the founder of Detroit.

New England

In 1759, after a century and a half of conflict, British troops triumphed at Quebec, ending French dominion in Acadia. With Native Americans scattered and the fleur-de-lis banished, lands along the Maine coast opened for English settlement. Gov. Francis Bernard of Massachusetts obtained a royal land grant on Mt. Desert Island. In 1760, Bernard attempted to secure his claim by offering free land to settlers. Abraham Somes and James Richardson accepted the offer and settled their families at what is now Somesville.

The onset of the Revolutionary War ended Bernard's plans for Mount Desert Island. In its aftermath, Bernard lost his claim, and the newly created United States of America granted the western half of Mount Desert Island to John Bernard, son of the governor, and the eastern half of the island to Marie Therese de Gregoire, granddaughter of Cadillac. John Bernard and de Gregoire soon sold their holdings to non-resident landlords.

Their real estate transactions probably made very little difference to the increasing number of settlers homesteading on Mount Desert Island. By 1820, farming and lumbering vied with fishing and ship building as major occupations. Settlers converted hundreds of acres of trees into wood products ranging from schooners and barns to baby cribs and hand tools. Farmers harvested wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes. By 1850, the familiar sights of fishermen and sailors, fish racks and shipyards revealed a way of life linked to the sea.

It was the outsiders - artists and journalists - who revealed and popularized this island to the world in the mid-1800s. Painters of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole and Frederick Church, glorified Mount Desert Island with their brushstrokes, inspiring patrons and friends to flock here. These were the "rusticators." Undaunted by crude accommodations and simple food, they sought out local fishermen and farmers to put them up for a modest fee. Summer after summer, the rusticators returned to renew friendships with local islanders and, most of all to savor the fresh salt air, beautiful scenery, and relaxed pace. Soon the villagers' cottages and fishermen's huts filled to overflowing, and by 1880 thirty hotels competed for vacationers' dollars. Tourism was becoming the major industry.

For a select handful of Americans, the 1880s and the "Gay Nineties" meant affluence on a scale without precedent. Mount Desert, still remote from the cities of the East, became a retreat for prominent people of the times. The Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors chose to spend their summers here. Not content with the simple lodgings then available, these families transformed the landscape of Mount Desert Island with elegant estates euphemistically called "cottages." Luxury, refinement and ostentatious gatherings replaced buckboard rides, picnics, and daylong hikes of an earlier era. For more than 40 years, the wealthy held sway at Mount Desert, but the Great Depression and World War II marked the end of such extravagance. The final blow came in 1947 when a fire of monumental proportions consumed many of the great estates.

Though the affluent of the turn of the century came here to frolic, they had much to do with preserving the landscape that we know today. It was from this social stratum that George B. Dorr, a tireless spokesman for conservation, devoted 43 years of his life, energy, and family fortune to preserving the Acadian landscape.

In 1901, disturbed by the growing development of the Bar Harbor area and the dangers they foresaw in the newly invented gasoline-powered portable sawmill, George Dorr and others established the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. The corporation, whose sole purpose was to preserve land for the perpetual use of the public, acquired 6,000 acres by 1913. Dorr offered the land to the federal government and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson announced the creation of Sieur de Monts National Monument. Dorr continued to acquire property and renewed his efforts to obtain full national park status for his beloved preserve. In 1919, President Wilson signed the act establishing Lafayette National Park, the first national park east of the Mississippi. Dorr, whose labors constituted "the greatest of one-man shows in the history of land conservation" became the first park superintendent.

In 1929, the park name changed to Acadia. Today the park encompasses 35,000 acres, and the simple pleasures of "ocean, forests, lakes, and mountains" that for over a century and a quarter have been sought and found by millions, are yours to enjoy.

The Carriage Roads

Forty-five miles of rustic carriage roads weave around the mountains and through the valleys of Acadia National Park, the gift of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., and family. Rockefeller, a skilled horseman, desired motor-free byways via horse and carriage into the heart of Mount Desert Island. His construction efforts, from 1913-1940, resulted in roads with sweeping vistas and close-up views of the landscape.

Rockefeller's love of road building grew naturally from his father's. John D. Rockefeller Sr., the founder of Standard Oil, had built and landscaped carriage roads on his Ohio and New York estates. The younger Rockefeller learned many techniques from him, which he applied to building his Mount Desert Island carriage roads.

State of the Art Roads

The carriage roads are broken stone roads, a type commonly used at the turn of the century. Acadia's roads are the best example of broken stone roads left in America today. They are true roads, approximately 16-feet wide, constructed with methods that required much hand labor.

The roads were engineered to contend with Maine's wet weather. Three layers of rock, stone culverts, wide ditches, and a substantial 6- to 8-inch crown ensure good drainage.

Rather than flattening hillsides to accommodate the roads, breast walls and retaining walls were built to preserve the line of hillsides and save many trees. Rockefeller, gifted with the eye of a landscape architect, aligned the roads to follow the contours of the land and to take advantage of scenic views. He graded the roads so they were not too steep or too sharply curved for horse drawn carriages.

Road crews quarried island granite for road material and bridge facing. Roadsides were landscaped with native vegetation such as blueberries and sweet fern, which helped blend the roads into the natural landscape.

An Integrated System

Rockefeller participated in the construction process. He walked areas staked out for road alignment and observed work in progress. He knew the laborers by name and used experts to design the bridges and engineer the roads. Throughout it all, he paid rapt attention to the minutest details, from the placement of coping stones, to the cost of a running foot of road.

The following are some elements that unify the carriage road system:

Coping stones: Large blocks of granite lining the roads serve as guardrails. Cut roughly and spaced irregularly, the coping stones create a rustic appearance, and have been affectionately called Rockefeller's teeth.

Signposts: Cedar signposts were installed at intersections to direct carriage drivers. The posts were stained with Cabot's shingle stain #248. The lettering was painted first with one coat of flat yellow paint, then with another coat of enamel yellow. Today, numbers are attached to the signposts, which match maps and guidebooks, and help carriage road users find their way.

Roadside grooming and landscaping: Rockefeller employed a crew of foresters to remove debris from the roads and roadsides. Nationally known landscape architect Beatrix Farrand was consulted on planting designs to frame vistas and bridges, and to heal scars left behind by carriage road construction. The Fire of '47 destroyed much of her work.

Gate lodges: Two gate lodges, one at Jordan Pond and the other near Northeast Harbor, ornament the roads and serve as whimsical welcomes to the system. A third gate lodge was planned at Eagle Lake, but never built. During carriage road construction, engineer Paul Simpson and his family lived at the Jordan Pond Gate Lodge.

Bridges: Rockefeller financed 16 stone-faced bridges, each unique in design, to span streams, waterfalls, roads, and cliffsides. The bridges are made of steel-reinforced concrete, but the use of native stone for the facing gives them a natural appearance. Over time, the stone cutters grew very skilled and Rockefeller often requested they not cut the facing too well lest the rustic look be lost!

The result of Rockefeller's vision and attention to detail is an integrated system of carriage roads that blends harmoniously with the landscape.

Carriage Road Rehabilitation

In 1989, a historic resource study on the carriage roads was completed for the National Park Service. That study documented the sequence of the roads' development and construction and made recommendations for their rehabilitation and maintenance.

In the spring of 1992, Acadia National Park embarked on the first stage of a complete rehabilitation of the system. The rehabilitation project includes:

1. Removing all woody vegetation from roads, shoulders, and ditches. These once-open ditches and roadsides have filled with bushes and tree seedlings, which prevent proper drainage and contribute to washouts.

2. Re-establishing ditches, drainage paths, and culverts to slow erosion.

3. Applying new surface material to restore the crown and subgrade layers. Thousands of cubic yards of material have washed away over the years.

4. Resetting missing or loose coping stones.

5. Reopening some of the original vistas which once greeted horseback riders, carriage drivers, and walkers.

Rehabilitation is being funded through a special program of federal construction funds with matching private funds for maintenance. This program will ensure that the roads are restored to their original condition and maintained.

A Spirit of Philanthropy

John D. Rockefeller Jr., was one among several men and women who in some way contributed to the formation of Acadia National Park. Today, people still help preserve the park by donating time to work on trails and carriage roads, or to contribute financially to carriage road rehabilitation. Ask at the visitor center to learn how to join in these efforts. Such spirit allows the park to better meet its mission of protecting and preserving its cultural and natural resources for present and future generations.

The Year Maine Burned

Maine winters are long. Spring is always eagerly anticipated and this was especially true in 1947. The gloominess of WWII still lingered and everyone looked forward to the return of nice weather. Disappointingly, it rained continually through April, May, and most of June. Finally, at the end of June, the sun came out, temperatures soared, and a glorious summer emerged. But weather patterns continued to be odd that year. Through the summer and into the fall, Maine received only 50% of its normal rainfall. Vegetation became bone dry. Water supplies dwindled. Still, most people did not worry - rain would come eventually. The island enjoyed one of the most beautiful Indian Summers in memory. But the autumn rains never came and by mid-October, Mount Desert Island was experiencing the driest conditions ever recorded. The stage was set for a disastrous blaze.

On Friday, October 17, 1947, at 4 p.m. the fire department received a call from Mrs. Gilbert, who lived near Dolliver's dump on Crooked Road west of Hulls Cove. She reported smoke rising from a cranberry bog between her home and the dump. No one knows what started the fire. It could have been cranberry pickers smoking cigarettes in the bog. Or perhaps it was sunlight shining through a piece of broken glass in the dump that acted like an incendiary magnifying glass. Whatever the cause, once ignited, the fire smoldered underground. From this quiet beginning arose an inferno that burned nearly half the eastern side of Mount Desert Island and made international news.

In its first three days, the fire burned a relatively small area, blackening only 169 acres. But on October 21, strong winds fanned the flames and the blaze spread rapidly and raged out of control, engulfing over 2,000 acres. Personnel from the Army Air Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, University of Maine forestry program and the Bangor Theological Seminary joined local fire fighting crews. National Park Service employees flew in from parks throughout the east and additional experts in the west were put on standby.

The pace of the blaze intensified, and nearly 2,300 acres burned on October 22. The fire crossed Route 233 and continued along the western shore of Eagle Lake. On the morning of October 23 the wind shifted, pushing one finger of the fire toward Hulls Cove. Firefighters shifted their efforts in an attempt to squelch the threat to that community. But in the afternoon, the wind suddenly turned again and increased to gale proportions as a dry cold front moved through, sending the inferno directly toward Bar Harbor. In less than three hours the wildfire traveled 6 miles, leaving behind a three-mile wide path of destruction. The fire swept down Millionaires' Row, an impressive collection of majestic summer cottages on the shore of Frenchman Bay. Sixty-seven of these seasonal estates were destroyed. The fire skirted the business district, but razed 170 permanent homes and five large historic hotels in the area surrounding downtown Bar Harbor.

Bar Harbor residents not actively fighting the fires tried to find safety, fleeing first to the athletic field and later to the town pier. At one point all roads from the town were blocked by flames, so fishermen from nearby Winter Harbor, Gouldsboro, and Lamoine prepared to help with a mass exodus by boat. At least 400 people left by sea. Finally by 9 p.m., bulldozers opened a pathway through the rubble on Route 3 and a caravan of 700 cars carrying 2,000 people began the slow trip to safety in Ellsworth. According to eyewitness reports, it was a terrifying drive - cars were pelted with sparks and flames flickered overhead. But the motorcade was orderly and successful, an uplifting end to a day that saw close to 11,000 additional acres blackened.

Still, the fire continued to burn. From Bar Harbor, the blaze raced down the coast almost to Otter Point, engulfing and destroying the Jackson Laboratory on its way. The fire blew itself out over the ocean in a massive fireball. But that wasn't the end of the destruction. Almost 2,000 more acres burned before the fire was declared under control on October 27. Organic soil and vegetation on the forest floor, along with matted tree roots infiltrating deeply around granite boulders, aided stubborn underground fires. Even weeks later, after rain and snow had fallen, fire still smoldered below ground. The fire was not pronounced completely out until 4 p.m. November 14.

Epilogue

In all, some 17,188 acres burned. Over 10,000 acres of this was in Acadia National Park. Property damage exceeded $23 million. Considering the magnitude of the fire, loss of human life had been minimal. An elderly man returned to his home to save his cat and was never seen alive again. A car accident claimed the lives of an Air Force officer and a local teenage girl. A man and woman, already ill, succumbed to heart attacks. An unknown number of animals died in the blaze, but park rangers believe that most outran the fire and found safety in ponds and lakes.

Once the fire was over, it was time to start anew. Two crews, one hired by the park and one hired by the Rockefeller family, logged selected park areas for timber salvage and clean-up. Some timber was milled, slash was burned, and other logs, still visible today, were left to prevent soil erosion.

Nature, however, played the predominant role in the island's restoration. The forests that exist today regenerated without human interference. Wind carried seeds back into burned areas and some deciduous trees regenerated by stump sprouts or suckers. Today's forest, however, is often different from what grew before the fire. Spruce and fir that reigned before the fire have given way to sun-loving trees, such as birch and aspen. But these deciduous trees are short-lived. As they grow and begin to shade out the forest floor, they provide a nursery for the shade-loving spruce and fir, which may eventually reclaim the territory.

Fire has an important natural role. It clears away mature growth, opening areas to the sun-loving species that are food for wildlife. The fire of 1947 increased diversity in the composition and age structure of the park's forests. It even enhanced the scenery. Today, instead of one uniform evergreen forest, we are treated to a brilliant mix of red, yellow, and orange supplied by the new diverse deciduous forests.

The fire, too, changed Bar Harbor. Most of the permanent residents rebuilt their homes, but many of the grand summer cottages were not replaced. In fact, many of the seasonal families never returned. Motels that house the ever-increasing tourist population have replaced the estates on Millionaires' Row. But the fire alone cannot be blamed for ending the island's once-grand "Cottage era" The opulent lifestyle had already been suffering from the effects of the newly invented income tax and the Great Depression. The destructive flames merely provided a final blow.

The fire on Mount Desert Island was publicized in headlines in newspapers around the world because the island was a renowned summer retreat for the wealthy. But actually, the fall of 1947 was a dry one throughout the state, and many serious fires occurred. Statewide, over 200,000 acres, 851 permanent homes, and 397 seasonal cottages were destroyed in "The year Maine burned."

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Reservation Information

Camping Reservations

For telephone reservations call:

USA - (800) 365-2267
TDD (Hearing Impaired) - (888) 530-9796
International Reservations - (301) 722-1257

Daily reservation office phone hours:

10 a.m. - 10 p.m. EST

Types of payment:

VISA, MasterCard, Discover

Check and Money Order at least 20 days in advance of arrival at the park.

For mail-in reservations, write:

NPRS
P.O. Box 1600
Cumberland, Maryland 21502

Reservations received more than two weeks in advance will be returned.

When making a reservation, you are simply securing a space in the campground; it is not possible to reserve a specific site or adjoining sites.

Cancellation Policy:

All changes of a reservation will be considered a cancellation and charged a $12.50 cancellation fee. Cancellations made on the day of arrival will be charged an additional one night camping fee.

Group camping sites are available at Blackwoods or Seawall campgrounds, May 15 - September 15. Call (207) 288-3338. The price is $30/night/site (up to 20 people).

An Isle au Haut special use permit is available May 15-October 15 for $25. Call (207) 288-3338.

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