Acadia National Park

About

Acadia National Park covers granite peaks, spruce forest, ponds, and rocky Atlantic shoreline on Mount Desert Island, Maine. It is smaller than most national parks, so the main sights sit within a short drive of one another rather than spread across a long park road.

Visitors drive or bike the Park Loop Road, walk the Ocean Path along the coast, drive or hike to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, and use the 45 miles of carriage roads built for horse-drawn carriages a century ago and now open to walkers, cyclists, and wheelchair users. Wildwood Stables runs carriage tours out of Eagle Lake, including one carriage fitted with a rear ramp for wheelchair riders. Sand Beach and Echo Lake Beach give two different swimming options, one on the ocean and one on a freshwater lake.

A single day covers the loop road and a trail or two. Two or three days leave room for the quieter west side of the island, a longer hike, and a slower pass through Bar Harbor itself. Entrance costs 35 dollars per vehicle for seven days as of 2026, and the free Access Pass waives that fee for visitors with a permanent disability.

The park entrance and Hulls Cove Visitor Center sit about three miles from downtown Bar Harbor, which has the closest hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores. Bangor, the nearest city with a regional airport, is roughly 45 miles to the northwest, and the drive down Route 3 to the island takes about an hour.

Accessibility

Acadia National Park is accessible in its developed areas and on a specific set of trails, but the park is not accessible everywhere; granite shoreline, older buildings, and steep terrain limit other parts of a visit.

Hulls Cove Visitor Center and other major lots have designated accessible parking, including van-accessible spaces. At Hulls Cove, the main entrance has 52 steps, so wheelchair users should use the rear entrance, where an elevator opens one flight up into a hallway alcove near the exhibits.

Several routes are built or maintained for wheelchairs. The Cadillac Summit Loop is a paved, 0.3-mile path past overlooks. The Jesup Path and Hemlock Road form a 1.5-mile boardwalk loop at Sieur de Monts. The Ocean Path is paved from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole and turns to uneven granite past that point. The first loop of the Ship Harbor Trail is ADA compliant. The 45-mile carriage road network is packed gravel wide enough for wheelchairs and scooters, and the park lists the Eagle Lake and Bubble Pond sections as the smoothest. The fare-free Island Explorer buses carry wheelchair lifts and will divert up to three-quarters of a mile off a regular route if you call ahead.

Visitor centers have single-stall, unisex accessible restrooms with open space under the sink for a wheelchair. Rockefeller Welcome Center lends a manual wheelchair at the desk, and Echo Lake Beach keeps a beach wheelchair with wide, inflatable tires for summer use if you call five days ahead. A wheelchair-accessible carriage with a rear ramp runs out of Wildwood Stables by reservation. Service animals, which the park defines as dogs trained to perform a task for a person with a disability, are welcome in every building and on every trail except six trails with iron ladder rungs and steep drops.

Call the park at least two weeks ahead for accommodation requests tied to a ranger program or event, and check the NPS app before you set out, since trail conditions change with weather and season.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Maine

• Bar Harbor (Bar Harbor)
• Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (Boothbay)
• Acadia NP & coastal hikes & food scene (Acadia National Park / Bar Harbor)
• Maine Maritime Museum (Bath)
• Portland Museum of Art (Portland)
• Southern Maine Beach Towns (Ogunquit)

Photo credits

• Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park with the rounded twin peaks of the Bubbles reflected in calm water.: Plh1234us, CC BY-SA 3.0 (source)
• Acadia National Park visitor image: National Park Service, Public domain (U.S. National Park Service)
• Aerial view from a trail overlook of Sand Beach cove and forested coastline in Acadia National Park.: PDCspartan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• People and dogs walking along the wide flat sand of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park.: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source)