Airports near Acadia, summer and winter.

Which airport for Acadia?

NPS names two airports for Acadia. Direct flights from Boston's Logan Airport land at Hancock County-Bar Harbor, which NPS puts 10 miles from the park, and national airlines serve Bangor International, about an hour away. Pick by flights first, then check the season. From either airport the shortest drive ends at the Park Loop Road Entrance on Route 233, open to cars April 15 to December 1, 2026. In winter you go in on Schooner Head Road in Bar Harbor, to the stretch of Park Loop Road from Schooner Head Road to Otter Cliff Road that NPS keeps open to cars. You need an entrance pass for any part of the park.

Every airport-to-entrance drive.

Every airport-to-park drive we route, two for each airport. The shorter drive ends at the Park Loop Road Entrance on Route 233, which is closed to cars from December 1 to April 14. The longer one follows Schooner Head Road to where it meets Park Loop Road by the Sand Beach entrance station. NPS says that stretch, to Otter Cliff Road, usually stays open to vehicles in winter, and to check alerts for road closures in the winter months.

The winter drive adds a few miles. From Hancock County-Bar Harbor it's 18 miles and 37 min, against 13 miles and 21 min to Route 233. From Bangor it's 56 miles against 50. Bangor adds about an hour of driving either way, so pick it for the flights, not the road. Schoodic Peninsula, the part of the park on the mainland, is a separate drive with its own road, Schoodic Loop and Point Road, open all year. We don't route airports to it.

Match the road to your month.

April 15 to December 1, 2026: Park Loop Road is open to cars, so take the short drive to the Route 233 entrance: 13 miles from Hancock County-Bar Harbor or 50 from Bangor. From May 20 to October 25, driving Cadillac Summit Road also takes a vehicle reservation, covered on our Acadia reservations page.

December 1 to April 14: Park Loop Road, including the road up Cadillac Mountain, is closed to cars. Two pieces stay open: Schooner Head Road to Otter Cliff Road, and Jordan Pond Road from Seal Harbor to the Jordan Pond parking lot. Use the Schooner Head Road drive, 18 miles from Hancock County-Bar Harbor or 56 from Bangor.

June 23 to October 12, 2026: the Island Explorer's airport route runs, so you can skip the rental car if you're staying near a bus stop. Outside those dates, plan on a rental car or a booked shuttle.

Road dates for the whole park are on Acadia road closures. If you haven't picked dates yet, start with the best time to visit Acadia page.

Winter: the Schooner Head Road drive.

From December 1 to April 14 the dashed lines to Route 233 drop off, leaving one year-round drive from each airport, both on Schooner Head Road. NPS says that section usually stays open, but check the park's current conditions page before a winter drive. Our Acadia in winter page covers what's open.

Bar Harbor, Bangor, or Boston?

We don't publish fares. What sets them is how many routes an airport has, and whether you need a connection. Hancock County-Bar Harbor has one route, nonstop to Boston: Cape Air all year, which partners with JetBlue, and Silver Airways daily, which you can also book through United. Unless you live in Boston, that's a connection.

Bangor's airline page lists Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta and United. Nonstops include Philadelphia and Washington Reagan on American, Orlando-Sanford and St. Pete-Clearwater on Allegiant, Orlando and Tampa on Breeze, and New York LaGuardia and JFK on Delta, plus daily United service to Newark and more cities in season. If one of those is your home airport, Bangor saves you a connection for about an hour more on the road.

Flying from abroad? Bangor has no regularly scheduled international flights, so you'll connect in the United States either way. Boston Logan is the big gateway: more than 40 airlines fly nonstop to over 100 domestic and international destinations, per Massport. From there you can fly on to Bar Harbor, or drive. NPS gives that drive as I-95 north to Augusta, then Route 3 east to Ellsworth and on to Mount Desert Island. We don't route it, so we don't give a time.

Rental cars, the free bus, and parking.

NPS says car rentals are available at both airports. Bangor lists Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National, Alamo and Enterprise. Hancock County-Bar Harbor's site doesn't list its rental companies, so reserve a car before you fly. If you drive to that airport and fly out, parking is free for up to 60 days, per the airport.

No car? The fare-free Island Explorer bus serves the Bar Harbor airport. Its Trenton route (Route 9) runs from the airport to Hulls Cove Visitor Center, where you change to the Gateway Center bus (Route 1) for downtown Bar Harbor. In 2026 the Trenton route runs June 23 to October 12. The Gateway Center, Loop Road and Schoodic routes started earlier, on May 20. Island Explorer buses don't go to the summit of Cadillac Mountain.

Landing in Bangor without a car? The airport lists shuttle and cab companies that take reservations for rides to Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island. Hancock County's public transit provider also runs a bus between Bar Harbor and Bangor five days a week, per the airport.

We don't carry live flight status, schedules or fares. Those change daily. Check them on the airline's or the airport's own site before you book.

Common questions.

Which airport is the cheapest to fly into for Acadia National Park?

We don't publish fares, and they change daily. The number of routes is the better guide. Hancock County-Bar Harbor flies only to Boston, so most trips add a connection. Bangor lists five airlines, with nonstops to cities including Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Newark, Orlando and Tampa. Boston Logan has the most choice, with more than 40 airlines, but from there it's a second flight or the long drive north on I-95.

What's the closest airport to Southwest Harbor and the quiet side of Acadia?

Hancock County-Bar Harbor. We don't route either airport to Southwest Harbor, but our drives from Bangor pass within a mile of the Bar Harbor airport on the way onto Mount Desert Island, so it's the nearer airport for any part of the island.

Does this page show flight prices or live flight status?

No. Fares and schedules change daily. We compare the airports by drive and by the routes each airport lists, then send you to the airline or airport for flights.

Where these facts come from

The two airports, NPS's distances for them, rental car availability, the Boston driving route and the entrance pass rule come from the NPS Acadia directions page; the 2026 Park Loop Road season, the Cadillac Summit Road reservation window and the year-round Schoodic road from the NPS operating hours and seasons page; the winter exceptions on Park Loop Road from the NPS winter page; the winter alerts note from the NPS Park Loop Road page; Island Explorer airport service and the Cadillac summit note from the NPS Island Explorer page. Airport-to-park distances and drive times are computed by the OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap roads (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with airport coordinates from OurAirports and entrance coordinates from the NPS directions page and OpenStreetMap; last computed 2026-09-10. They are road distances and no-stop times, not live traffic. The winter drives are routed along Schooner Head Road to where it meets Park Loop Road. NPS gives only rough airport distances, so we use the routed figure to a named entrance. Airline, parking, rental and ground transport notes come from the airports' own pages: the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport home page, Bangor International's airlines and ground transportation pages, and Massport's About Boston Logan page. Island Explorer dates and the Trenton route come from the operator's home page, route finder and Route 9 timetable. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.