All vehicles, including motorcycles and scooters, require a private vehicle reservation. Commercial operators with a valid Commercial Use Authorization will be permitted to purchase vehicle reservations on Recreation.com. They have separate business rules and quota of reservations.

Each reservation is for a single vehicle regardless of occupancy.

The Island Explorer does not serve Cadillac Summit Road and there is no other public transit system. Visitors may use authorized commercial tours, taxis, and ride hailing services to access Cadillac Summit Road instead of using their private vehicle.

There is a required entry time window (2 hours for Sunrise, and 30 minutes for Daytime) starting at the reservation time, but there is no limit on the time visitors can stay.

For private vehicles, 30% of the reservations will be released 90 days before the reservation time, and the remaining 70% will be released 2 days before the reservation time.

The vehicle reservation system was one of the major management actions selected in the Acadia National Park Transportation Plan to reduce traffic and parking congestion in the park. The plan was approved in May 2019, and steps to implement the vehicle reservation system began immediately, including a pilot that was conducted October 1 -18, 2020. Implementation of other management actions in the plan have been delayed due to COVID-19.