Acadia National Park camping and RV campgrounds.

All 4 Acadia campgrounds, compared.

The short version: pick Blackwoods if you want to be close to Bar Harbor and the Park Loop Road, and for the highest published RV limit, 35 feet. Pick Seawall for walk-to tent sites a short walk from the shore, but leave anything over 20 feet at home. Pick Schoodic Woods if you need electric hookups, and plan on 60 to 70 minutes to reach Bar Harbor. Pick Duck Harbor for a lean-to on an island with no car. Every figure below comes from NPS pages and NPS campground records, checked September 11, 2026. The 2026 seasons come from the park's hours page, and the dates below are first and last nights: each campground closes at 10 am the morning after. The Blackwoods and Seawall pages still print 2025 dates, and the Duck Harbor page says mid-June to mid-October, so go by the hours page. Fees are per night.

How to book, and when sites go on sale.

Every campground books on Recreation.gov, and you need an account first. NPS says reservations can't be made through the campground office or in person. Same-day bookings work online if a site is free, but cell service at the campgrounds is limited and unreliable, so book before you drive in.

Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods. 90 percent of sites go on sale six months ahead, at 10 am Eastern on the first of each month. The other 10 percent go on sale at 10 am, 14 days before your arrival date, on a rolling basis. NPS's own example: to arrive on May 20, you can book from 10 am on December 1, or from 10 am on May 6 for the second release.

Duck Harbor books once a year. All reservations for the whole season go on sale at 10 am on April 1. The five shelters hold up to six people each, stays are 3 nights at most, and each camper gets one stay per calendar year. Isle au Haut has no car ferry. The mailboat from Stonington runs to the town landing all year and to Duck Harbor from mid-June through late September, first-come, first-served. Book outside that window and you hike over 4 miles from the Town Landing. There's no potable water at the campground, so bring or treat all of it.

A campsite doesn't cover the park entrance fee, and every vehicle in Blackwoods must show a park pass. Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods sell passes; see Acadia fees. Schoodic Woods gives Senior and Access pass holders a camping discount. For the Cadillac Summit Road vehicle reservation, see Acadia reservations.

RVs and hookups: where your rig fits.

Acadia's limits are strict. At Blackwoods, RV sites have a 35-foot maximum, and NPS says equipment over the limit won't be let in and your reservation can be cancelled, so read each site's Equipment Allowed before you book. Seawall caps RVs and trailers at 20 feet because the A-Loop road turns tightly and its sites are back-in, and oversize rigs may be turned away. Schoodic Woods has no single limit: check each site for allowable equipment, number of vehicles, and driveway details. Duck Harbor allows no RVs or trailers.

Schoodic Woods is the only campground with hookups. 78 of its 89 sites have electric, and the RV rates are $36 with electric only (20, 30, or 50 amp) and $40 with electric and water. A drive-up tent or small RV site with 20-amp power is $30. Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods each have a seasonal dump station.

No campground has showers. NPS points Blackwoods campers to fee showers in the town of Otter Creek, and says private vendors a short drive from Seawall sell them. Blackwoods allows one vehicle per site; extras park in the A-Loop overflow lot, then along Route 3 outside the campground once that fills.

Once you're set up, you can leave the rig parked. The fare-free Island Explorer buses stop at campgrounds, carriage road entrances, and many trailheads. In 2026, per the bus operator, the Gateway Center, Loop Road, and Schoodic routes started May 20, and the other routes run June 23 to October 12.

Camp rules that change your trip.

There's no backcountry camping, out-of-bounds camping, overnight parking, or winter camping anywhere in Acadia. Blackwoods keeps its front gates closed until it reopens in spring. Arriving after hours? Go to your reserved site and check in at the ranger station before 10 am the next day.

Leave your firewood at home. NPS says not to bring firewood from more than 50 miles away, because it can carry insects that kill trees, and it's sold locally. At Duck Harbor, don't bring any: you may collect dead and downed wood near the campground. Schoodic Woods' hike-in sites allow no campfires at all, charcoal included, but propane, butane, and white gas stoves are fine.

Pets are allowed at Blackwoods and Schoodic Woods on a leash of six feet or less, or caged, and can't be left alone. Duck Harbor allows no pets, no generators, and quiet hours run 10 pm to 8 am. Carry out all trash there.

Every campground has accessible sites, with features that vary, including 12 accessible drive-in sites at Blackwoods. Isle au Haut and Duck Harbor are not wheelchair accessible. Our Acadia accessibility page has more.

Camping and the crowd calendar.

Acadia's camping season covers its busy months and nothing else. May averages 41% of August's visits, with Blackwoods opening May 1 and Seawall and Schoodic Woods on May 20. June runs 77%, and Duck Harbor opens June 17. July (98%) and August are the peak. September is still 83% of August, and the mailboat stops going to Duck Harbor in late September. October runs 70%, and the last nights come early: October 4 at Duck Harbor, October 11 at Seawall and Schoodic Woods, and October 18 at Blackwoods. Our pick is September: every campground is open, visits are below August's, the mailboat still reaches Duck Harbor for most of the month, and nights average 53°F, so pack a warm layer.

Month-by-month tradeoffs are on the best time to visit Acadia page.

When the campgrounds are full or closed.

After the campgrounds close in October, and whenever they're full, NPS points campers to the many types of accommodations in nearby towns. We don't track private campgrounds. Wildwood Stables Campground, inside the park, is open only to visitors with stock animals, and NPS publishes no fee or season for it. Our Acadia in winter page covers visiting when camping is closed.

Common questions.

Is there free camping in Acadia National Park?

No. Every campsite in the park charges a fee, from $20 a night at Duck Harbor to $60 for a group tent site, and all four campgrounds are reservation only. NPS allows no backcountry camping, out-of-bounds camping, overnight parking, or winter camping anywhere in Acadia. Some older guides describe free winter camping at Blackwoods, but NPS says off-season and winter camping aren't allowed there, and its gates stay closed until spring.

Can I sleep in my car at Acadia?

Only in a reserved campsite. NPS prohibits overnight parking anywhere in Acadia, so sleeping in a car at a trailhead, pullout, or parking lot isn't allowed. An RV or car camper needs a site at Blackwoods, Seawall, or Schoodic Woods, booked on Recreation.gov.

How much does it cost to camp at Acadia?

Tent and RV sites are $30 a night at Blackwoods, Seawall, and Schoodic Woods. Seawall's walk-in sites and Schoodic Woods' hike-in sites are $22. At Schoodic Woods, RV sites with electric are $36, or $40 with electric and water. Duck Harbor's lean-tos are $20, and group tent sites are $60. The park entrance fee is separate.

Can you camp in Acadia in the winter?

No. NPS allows no winter camping anywhere in the park. In 2026, the last nights are October 4 at Duck Harbor, October 11 at Seawall and Schoodic Woods, and October 18 at Blackwoods, and none reopens until spring. Winter visitors stay in nearby towns.

What is Wildwood Stables Campground?

A campground inside Acadia that's open only to visitors with stock animals, such as horses. NPS lists it on its camping page but publishes no fee, site count, or season, so contact the park before planning around it.

Where these facts come from

The campground count, the Recreation.gov-only rule, the 90 and 10 percent release schedule and its example, Duck Harbor's April 1 release, same-day booking, the ban on backcountry, winter, and overnight-parking camping, the firewood rule, accessible sites, nearby towns, and Wildwood Stables come from the NPS Acadia campgrounds page. Blackwoods' vehicle and pass rules, winter gates, showers, and after-hours check-in come from the Blackwoods page; Seawall's showers from the Seawall page; Schoodic Woods fees, the hike-in campfire ban, the pass discount, and showers from the Schoodic Woods page; Duck Harbor's shelters, water, stay rules, and mailboat access from the Duck Harbor page. The 2026 season dates come from the NPS hours page. Site counts and types, fees, RV and trailer limits, hookups, dump stations, pet rules, cell service, accessible sites, locations, Duck Harbor's firewood rule, and campground coordinates come from the NPS API campground records. Island Explorer stops come from the NPS Island Explorer page and its 2026 route dates from the operator's site; the separate entrance fee and pass sales from the NPS fees page. Visit shares are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, as a percentage of August, Acadia's busiest month. Temperatures are NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.