Acadia National Park entrance fee and passes.

Buying and using the pass.

Where to buy. Every pass type is sold at five park locations: the Park Loop Road fee station at Schooner Head Road, which is open year round, Hulls Cove Visitor Center, and the Blackwoods, Schoodic Woods, and Seawall campgrounds. Automated machines at Hulls Cove Visitor Center and the Schoodic Institute gatehouse sell 7-day vehicle, motorcycle, and individual passes by credit card, 24 hours a day, all year, so you can buy one at any hour. Chambers of commerce and the Jordan Pond Gift Shop sell Acadia passes too, but they aren't run by NPS and don't sell America the Beautiful passes.

Bring a card. Since April 15, 2025, park sales outlets take only mobile payments and credit or debit cards for entrance fees. If you can only pay cash, the NPS fees page lists third-party vendors in nearby towns that sell park passes.

Or buy online and print it. An entrance pass bought online has to be printed before you arrive so it can go on the dashboard, and connectivity in the park is unreliable. A digital America the Beautiful pass from Recreation.gov saves to your phone. A physical one ordered from the USGS store can take up to three weeks, and the order receipt doesn't count as a pass.

Display it. A pass is required all year, and every vehicle has to show one through the windshield. If you already have a pass, you can drive straight to a trailhead or parking area and put it on the dashboard. Annual and military passes go signature and expiration date up. Passes are non-transferable, the passholder has to be present, and America the Beautiful passholders must show photo ID with each pass.

Groups and schools. A non-commercial group arriving by bus, van, or another vehicle carrying 16 or more people pays $20 for each adult 16 and older, and youth 15 and under are free. School groups can apply for an Educational Fee Waiver, but an educational visit doesn't qualify automatically. It has to support a specific course for academic credit, and the application must arrive at least two weeks before the visit. The form is on the NPS educational fee waiver page.

Where the money goes. Acadia keeps 80 percent of the fees it collects, under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. The park spends it on work like carriage roads and hiking trails, and on running the Island Explorer bus.

The $100 nonresident fee.

Each non-U.S. resident 16 and older pays a $100 nonresident fee at Acadia on top of the standard entrance fee, unless they come in on an annual or America the Beautiful pass. That includes people on commercial, CUA, and concessioner tours. For two non-U.S. adults in a rental car, that's $35 plus $200, or $235. For three, it's $335, already more than the $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass, which covers the whole vehicle, two motorcycles, or the holder plus three adults where fees are per person.

If anyone in the car is a U.S. citizen or resident, their pass can do the same job for everyone. Per the NPS nonresident fee page, every valid America the Beautiful pass and park-specific annual pass covers entrance and nonresident fees for the holder and passengers in a private vehicle or on two motorcycles, or the holder and three more adults where fees are per person. That includes the $70 Acadia Annual Pass, a $20 senior pass, and the free Access, military, and 4th grade passes. Acadia says the passholder has to be present.

Photo ID decides the price. Resident pricing is checked when you use a pass, not only when you buy it. NPS says purchasers show photo ID at the time of use, and someone who isn't eligible for the resident pass is asked to upgrade to the $250 non-resident pass. Proof of U.S. citizenship or residency includes a U.S. passport, a state or territory driver's license or ID, or a green card.

Acadia is one of eleven parks that charge this fee, per the NPS entrance fee prices page. Fee-free days don't help: from 2026 they're for U.S. citizens and residents only, and nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee and the nonresident fee.

Free entrance days in 2026.

NPS lists eight fee-free dates for 2026, ten days in all: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3 to 5, August 25, September 17, October 27, and November 11. Entrance is free for U.S. citizens and residents only, and other fees, including reservation fees, may still apply. That means the $6 Cadillac Summit Road reservation can still apply on a free day in season. Seven of the ten days have passed. The three left in 2026 are September 17, October 27, and November 11.

Most of these days land in Acadia's busy season. August is the park's busiest month, with about 25,800 recreation visits a day on average over the past five years, and July runs about 25,400. The July 3 to 5 weekend and August 25 fall right in that peak. September 17 averages about 22,100 a day and October 27 about 18,000. November 11 is the quiet pick at about 2,400 a day, inside the April 15 to December 1 season for Park Loop Road and the other paved roads. February 16 averages about 500 a day, but most of Park Loop Road is closed then.

Cadillac, camping, and other fees.

Cadillac Summit Road. From May 20 to October 25, driving Cadillac Summit Road takes a $6 vehicle reservation on top of your entrance pass. It's the park's only timed entry, sold online in advance and not at the park. No other area needs one, and neither do visitors who arrive on foot, by bike, or by taxi. The Island Explorer bus doesn't serve Cadillac. How reservations work is on our Acadia Cadillac Summit Road reservations page.

Parking. Acadia's fees page lists no separate parking fee. Your entrance pass on the dashboard is what trailheads and parking areas need.

Campgrounds. A camping fee doesn't cover the entrance fee. NPS says the two are separate. Schoodic Woods Campground offers discounts to Senior and Access pass holders. See Acadia camping.

Fishing. You need a valid Maine fishing license, though exceptions may apply, and fees vary. Kids under 16 don't need one. Carrying weapons, traps, or nets across park land to reach the Great Ponds takes a free special use permit, and you have to hold the matching Maine license. Details are on the NPS fishing page.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Two seven-day vehicle passes cost $70, the same as the Acadia Annual Pass, so the annual pass breaks even on a second trip within its 12 months and saves money from the third. The $80 America the Beautiful pass costs $10 more and also covers other national parks and federal recreation lands, so one more fee park in your year makes it the better buy. At 62 or older, the $20 Senior Annual Pass costs less than one visit. Acadia's fees don't change by season, so pick your dates on the best time to visit Acadia page and budget the pass separately.

For non-U.S. residents, the math tips toward the $250 pass fast. Three adults in one car pay $335 at the gate, so the pass wins at Acadia alone. Two adults pay $235, so the pass wins once the trip adds another park with a vehicle fee of $20 or more. The calculator above runs your own numbers.

Common questions.

Do I need to pay to go to Acadia National Park?

Yes. A park entrance pass is required all year: $35 per private vehicle for seven days, $30 for up to two motorcycles, or $20 per person on foot or bike for visitors 16 and older. Youth 15 and under are free. Non-U.S. residents 16 and older add $100 each unless a valid annual or America the Beautiful pass admits them.

Do you have to pay to park at Acadia National Park?

Acadia's fees page lists no separate parking fee. Your entrance pass is what you need. Display it on the dashboard at any trailhead or parking area. The one extra vehicle charge is the $6 reservation to drive Cadillac Summit Road from May 20 to October 25, and that reservation doesn't assign you a parking space.

Are there half-price passes for Acadia National Park?

Acadia's fees page lists no half-price entrance pass. The discounted and free passes are the $20 Senior Annual and $80 Senior Lifetime passes for U.S. citizens and residents 62 and older, and the free Access, military, 4th grade, and Volunteer passes. Schoodic Woods Campground offers camping discounts to Senior and Access pass holders.

Where these facts come from

Entrance, annual, America the Beautiful, and group prices, the display and passholder rules, where to buy, the automated machines, the cashless rule, printing online passes, the $100 nonresident fee, the Cadillac Summit Road reservation price, season, and rules, the Island Explorer note, where fee money goes, and the 2026 fee-free dates come from the NPS Acadia fees page. Separate camping fees and unreliable connectivity come from the NPS Acadia FAQs; the waiver rules from the NPS educational fee waiver page; the Schoodic Woods discount from the NPS Schoodic Woods Campground page; the license and Great Ponds permit from the NPS fishing page. Pass coverage for nonresident passengers, residency documents, and photo ID at time of use come from the NPS nonresident fee page; the eleven-park list from the NPS entrance fee prices page; the $250 pass coverage and the U.S.-residents-only rule for fee-free days from the NPS fee-free days page. The Park Loop Road season comes from the NPS Acadia hours and seasons page. Daily visit figures are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, divided by the days in the month. Calculator results are our arithmetic on the fee table. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.