Vehicle reservations are required for Cadillac Summit Road from sunrise to sunset from May through October (see the park’s website for exact dates). The reservation system was designed as a tool to improve the visitor experience, ensure visitor safety, and protect park resources. Reservations are NOT required for visitors to Cadillac Mountain who enter by foot or bike.
Acadia National Park is among the smallest and most popular national parks in the United States with more than 4 million estimated visits in 2021. Growing visitation has caused severe traffic and parking congestion at the park’s most popular destinations, including Cadillac Summit. To address these issues, the National Park Service completed a Transportation Plan in 2019 that provides a range of management actions for the park. The plan included a vehicle reservation system for the Cadillac Summit Road, which was fully implemented in 2021.
Park studies show that about 75% of park visitors go to the summit of Cadillac at some point during their stay. The summit’s popularity has resulted in trampling of fragile alpine soils and plants, illegal parking and traffic gridlock, crowding at interpretive platforms, unsafe conditions, and degradation of the overall visitor experience. During peak visitation, the summit road can become so crowded that emergency vehicles cannot access the top of the mountain.
With a vehicle reservation, visitors are assured that a parking space will be available when they arrive and they won’t have to spend time hunting for a space–or worse, not find one at all!
The vast majority of Acadia National Park does not require additional reservations, so visitors have many options for enjoying mountain summits, trails and historic roads while paying only the park entrance fee.
Also, reservations are not required for visitors to Cadillac Mountain who enter by foot or bike, or who wish to drive to the Cadillac summit outside of the dates of the reservation system.
For more information on Cadillac Vehicle Reservations, visit the park website here or see answers to frequently asked questions below.
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.
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