• Granite mountains on islands along coast

    Acadia

    National Park Maine

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  • Park Loop Road opening

    May 17, 2013: The entire Park Loop Road and all other paved roads in the park open today. All dirt roads in the park, including the Seal Cove Road, will open on June 3.

  • Trail closures

    April 22, 2013: The Precipice, Orange and Black, Valley Cove, and Jordan Cliffs Trails are closed until further notice because of nesting peregrine falcons. All other trails in the park are open, whether accessible from the park or from state roads.

  • Hulls Cove Visitor Center

    May 17, 2013: The visitor center will open on May 19 and will be open 9-5 every day. All park passes are available there. There is an accessible entrance at the back of the building for those who have trouble climbing stairs.

Land Resources

Schoodic

NPS/Sheridan Steele

Acadia National Park is one of the few national parks created virtually entirely of land donated to the federal government. In addition, Congress gave the National Park Service the responsibility to hold conservation easements on private property within the Acadian archipelago. The park's lands program is charged with keeping records of these properties, marking and monitoring park boundaries, and working together with interested landowners to protect the ecological, cultural, and scenic values of their holdings. Specific components of the lands program include:

Conservation Easements
The National Park Service at Acadia National Park currently holds conservation easements on 184 properties in 18 towns. All easements but one are on islands. These conservation easements protect more than 12,000 acres of land. Ongoing activities include:

  • evaluating properties offered to the National Park Service as potential conservation easements;
  • working with landowners interested in establishing conservation easements to devise appropriate strategies to protect their properties;
  • monitoring properties held by the National Park Service to ensure compliance with the terms of their conservation easement; and
  • resolving conflicts on conservation easement properties that are held by the National Park Service.

Boundary Management
Acadia National Park has approximately 120 miles of boundary, not all of which are marked or surveyed. Ongoing activities include:

  • monitoring development on lands adjacent to the park to ensure that activities on private property do not encroach on or damage park resources and
  • clearing, marking, and surveying park boundaries.
 

More Information
National Center for Recreation and Conservation
Land and Water Conservation Fund
Maine Island Trail Association
Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Did You Know?

Cobblestone Bridge, faced with rounded cobblestones, has a stream running underneath.

The historic carriage road system at Acadia National Park features 17 stone-faced bridges spanning streams, waterfalls, cliffs, and roads. The design of each bridge, such as Cobblestone Bridge, is unique.