Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Bass Harbor Head Light
Location in the United States Show map of the United States Location in Maine Show map of Maine
Location	Hancock & Knox counties, Maine, United States
Nearest city	Bar Harbor
Coordinates	44°21′N 68°13′W / 44.350°N 68.217°W / 44.350; -68.217
Area	49,075 acres (198.60 km2) 861.46 acres (348.62 ha; 3.4862 km2) private (in 2017)[1]
Established	July 8, 1916 (as Sieur de Monts National Monument) February 26, 1919 (as Lafayette National Park) January 19, 1929 (as Acadia National Park)[2]
Visitors	2,669,034 (in 2020)[3]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Official website

Central coast of Maine

10km
6miles

Maine

Winter Harbor

NE Harbor

SW Harbor

Bass Harbor Head Light

Cadillac Mtn.

Bar Harbor

Schoodic Point

Isle au Haut

Mount Desert Island

  

National park areas are shaded green

Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park includes about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and portions of sixteen smaller outlying islands.

The park contains the tallest mountain on the Atlantic Coast of the United States (Cadillac Mountain), exposed granite domes, glacial erratics, U-shaped valleys, and cobble beaches. Its mountains, lakes, streams, wetlands, forests, meadows, and coastlines contribute to a diversity of plants and animals. Woven into this landscape is a historic carriage road system financed by John D. Rockefeller Jr.^[4] In total, it encompasses 49,075 acres (19,860 ha; 76.680 sq mi; 198.60 km²) as of 2017^[update].

Acadia has a rich human history, dating back more than 10,000 years ago with the Wabanaki people. The 17th century brought fur traders and other European explorers, while the 19th century saw an influx of summer visitors, then wealthy families. Many conservation-minded citizens, among them George B. Dorr (the "Father of Acadia National Park"), worked to establish this first U.S. national park east of the Mississippi River and the only one in the Northeastern United States. Acadia was initially designated Sieur de Monts National Monument by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, then renamed and redesignated Lafayette National Park in 1919. The park was renamed Acadia National Park in 1929.

Recreational activities from spring through autumn include car and bus touring along the Park Loop Road; hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding on carriage roads (motor vehicles are prohibited); fishing; rock climbing; kayaking and canoeing on lakes and ponds; swimming at Sand Beach and Echo Lake; sea kayaking and guided boat tours on the ocean; and various ranger-led programs. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Two campgrounds are located on Mount Desert Island, another campground is on the Schoodic Peninsula, and five lean-to sites are on Isle au Haut. The main visitor center is at Hulls Cove, northwest of Bar Harbor. Park visitation has been steadily increasing in Acadia over the past decade, with 2021 seeing a record count of 4.07 million visitors.^[5] In 2023 the park saw 3,879,890 recreational visitors.^[6]