Located off the coast of Maine, Acadia National Park features gorgeous woodland, wonderful rocky beaches, and towering granite peaks. For those of you planning a trip to Acadia National Park, the cost to enter the park is as follows:
- Non-commercial Car: $30
- Non-commercial Recreational Vehicle: $30
- Non-commercial Motorcycle: $25
- Hiker, Biker, or Pedestrian : $15 per person
The park entrance fee was increased for the National Park Service in June of 2018. The entrance fees help Acadia National Park with fixing up the hiking trails, maintaining and repairing their facilities, evolving park projects and improving their historical projects. The fee that you pay allows you to enter the park and use the park’s facilities. 20% of your entrance fee also goes towards helping other national parks with similar initiatives.
How long is the entrance pass good for?
Once you pay the park ranger you will be given a receipt that is valid for seven days upon entrance. This allows you enter and exit the national park freely over the next seven days. The seven days is consecutive so that means you cannot leave and return a few weeks later. This receipt is not shareable and allows entry for the driver and the other passengers of the vehicle.
Can I buy my park entrance pass beforehand?
You can actually purchase your park entrance fee before entering the park. For those of you trying to plan your budget ahead, you can buy the entrance pass at Recreation.gov. Once you pay, you will get an order confirmation email with the entrance pass attached as a PDF. All you need to do from there is print out the entrance pass and present it to the ranger at the Acadia National Park Entrance stations. Be sure to actually print it out as the electronic copies will not be accepted by the ranger.
Are there any ways to save money on the park entrance fee?
If you are on a strict budget or looking for ways to save on the park entrance fees, there are a few ways to save money. The national park service has annual passes for $80 which is a great deal if you plan on visiting at least three national parks in a twelve month timeframe. For Seniors the national park service also offers a lifetime pass for $60 or an annual pass for $20. These passes are a great way to save money if you are going to visit multiple national parks in the same year.
Is the Acadia National Park entrance fee ever free?
There are actually quite a few ways to pay zero dollars and enter Acadia National Park for free. The National Park Service has something for active duty military, fourth graders, and fee free days. For those of you who are active duty in the military, you can obtain a free military annual pass from the entrance station. All you need to do is present your active duty military id. The pass is valid for twelve months and lets you enter the park for free! Another unique way to get a free pass is to have your fourth grader sign up for a free annual pass. The national park service has teamed up with the Everykidoutdoors organization, just sign up for the pass at Everykidoutdoors.gov. You can register then print out your pass and enter the park for free. The last way you can get into the park for free is to visit during a fee free day. There are six fee free days : Martin Luther King Jr Day(Mid-January, First day of National Park Week in Mid-April, National Park Service Anniversary in end of August, National Public Lands Day at the end of September, and Veterans Day in the middle of November.
Acadia National Park is a beautiful coastal national park and well worth the entrance fee.
