Acadia

On This Route

Acadia comes in August, reached by one of the longest drives of the trip, about 18 hours from Ohio (plan two overnight stops). August is warm, busy and foggy some mornings. Bar Harbor is packed, and the park is compact enough to cover well in one full day.

Plan the Day

• Sunrise: Cadillac Mountain, the tallest peak on the U.S. Atlantic coast. It needs a reservation (below).
• Morning: the Park Loop Road, 27 miles past Sand Beach, Thunder Hole and Otter Cliff. Walk the Ocean Path between them instead of hopping from lot to lot.
• Lunch: Jordan Pond House, then the pond’s shore trail with the Bubbles behind it.
• Afternoon: the carriage roads, 45 miles of car-free gravel built for horse carriages. Rent a bike in Bar Harbor.

Reservations, 2026

Cadillac Summit Road needs a vehicle reservation from May 20 to October 25, 2026. It costs $6 per vehicle on Recreation.gov, with no sales at the park.

• Sunrise slots (in August, 4:30 to 6 a.m.) have a 90-minute entry window. Daytime slots have a 30-minute window.
• 30% of slots release 90 days ahead and 70% release 2 days ahead, both at 10 a.m. Eastern.
• Vehicles over 21 feet, including bike racks, aren’t allowed on the summit road.

You also need a park entrance pass. Acadia is one of 11 parks with a $100 per-person surcharge for visitors who aren’t U.S. residents in 2026.

Where to Stay

Bar Harbor is the base: walkable, full of restaurants, and next to the Park Loop Road. There’s no lodging inside the park, only campgrounds.