Access: Brown Mountain Parking Lot

Brown Mountain Gatehouse

Quick Facts

Amenities

3 listed

Bus/Shuttle Stop, Parking - Auto, Toilet - Vault/Composting

The Brown Mountain Parking Area offers 19 lined parking spaces, with 5 located on the western end of the lot and 14 on the eastern end. An additional designated space for the Island Explorer bus stop is situated between the entrance and exit of the lot. If arriving from the north via Route 3, you will pass the Hadlock Ponds before turning left into the far entrance of the lot.
If arriving from the south, turn right immediately after passing the Brown Mountain Gatehouse into the nearest entrance.

Access to the carriage road is available at the southeastern corner of the lot, where a gravel-packed path extends beyond a barricade marked “Do Not Block.” Pedestrians, cyclists, and dog walkers can pass through via narrow gravel walkways on either side of the gate.

Just beyond the barricade, there is a garbage receptacle, and a short gravel path to the south leads to a unisex bathroom. Another gravel path extends from the main parking area directly to the bathroom building; note there is a ½-inch step where a wooden plank borders the path. Additionally, two narrow footpaths extend from the eastern side of the lot toward the carriage road, covered in dry pine needles with some exposed roots beneath the surface. Near the carriage road entrance, a wayside exhibit titled “Roads to Discoveries” provides additional information about the area. 

The video shows an asphalt parking lot off Maine State Route 3. There are two entrances to this parking lot with a grassy area and a large tree in between the entrances. There is a bus stop in front of this grassy area. The parking lot is surrounded by trees and there is a light layer of snow along the edges. In the front corner of the parking lot, the asphalt changes to gravel and there is a brown metal gate with a sign that reads “Do Not Block Gate”. This marks the entrance to one of the carriage roads in the area. There is a vault toilet and a trash receptacle on the right side of the carriage road. The gravel becomes more compacted as the carriage road continues into the woods.

Open Transcript  Open Descriptive Transcript

Transcript

The video shows an asphalt parking lot off Maine State Route 3. There are two entrances to this parking lot with a grassy area and a large tree in between the entrances. There is a bus stop in front of this grassy area. The parking lot is surrounded by trees and there is a light layer of snow along the edges. In the front corner of the parking lot, the asphalt changes to gravel and there is a brown metal gate with a sign that reads “Do Not Block Gate”. This marks the entrance to one of the carriage roads in the area. There is a vault toilet and a trash receptacle on the right side of the carriage road. The gravel becomes more compacted as the carriage road continues into the woods.

Descriptive Transcript

The video shows an asphalt parking lot off Maine State Route 3. There are two entrances to this parking lot with a grassy area and a large tree in between the entrances. There is a bus stop in front of this grassy area. The parking lot is surrounded by trees and there is a light layer of snow along the edges. In the front corner of the parking lot, the asphalt changes to gravel and there is a brown metal gate with a sign that reads “Do Not Block Gate”. This marks the entrance to one of the carriage roads in the area. There is a vault toilet and a trash receptacle on the right side of the carriage road. The gravel becomes more compacted as the carriage road continues into the woods.

Duration:

38.405 seconds

An accessible description and transcript of the Brown Mountain parking area in Acadia National Park. (July 2025)