What you need, and when.
You do not need a reservation to enter Acadia. The one thing that needs a vehicle reservation is driving up Cadillac Summit Road, the road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Everything else in the park is open without one.
| What it covers | Driving Cadillac Summit Road only. Sunrise and daytime slots. |
| Season | Wednesday May 20 through Sunday October 25, 2026. |
| Where to book | Recreation.gov (the timed-entry page for Cadillac Summit Road). |
| Cost | $6 per vehicle. You also need a separate park entrance pass. |
| Release windows | About 30 percent open 90 days ahead; the other 70 percent open two days ahead at 10 a.m. Eastern. |
How the booking works.
Reservations are per vehicle, not per person, and they are tied to a specific entry window. If you are chasing a sunrise slot, which is the hardest to get, your two shots are the 90-day-ahead block and the 10 a.m. Eastern release two days out. Keep in mind the reservation is only for the summit road. It does not replace the park entrance pass, and it does not cover anything else in Acadia.
What if you don't have one.
Without a Cadillac Summit Road reservation you cannot drive to the top during the season, but the rest of the park stays open to you. You can still take the Park Loop Road, bike the carriage roads, walk to Jordan Pond, and hike the trails, all with no reservation. If sunrise on Cadillac is the goal and the slots are gone, that is the one piece you will miss without booking ahead.
When it matters most.
The Cadillac reservation covers the whole warm season. August is the busiest month of the year here, with about 798,914 visits in a typical recent year and 844,268 in 2025. The summer stretch from June through September carries roughly 72 percent of the whole year's visits, so that is when lines, parking, and any booking pressure are heaviest. For the full month-by-month picture, see the crowd calendar linked below.
Common questions.
Do you need a reservation to visit Acadia in 2026?
Not to enter the park. The only reservation is a vehicle reservation to drive up Cadillac Summit Road, required May 20 through October 25, 2026. The rest of Acadia needs no reservation.
How much is the Cadillac Summit Road reservation?
It is $6 per vehicle, booked on Recreation.gov. You still need a separate park entrance pass to get into Acadia.
How do I get a Cadillac sunrise reservation?
Book on Recreation.gov. About 30 percent of slots open 90 days ahead and the rest open two days ahead at 10 a.m. Eastern. Sunrise is the most competitive, so try both release windows.
Can you drive up Cadillac Mountain without a reservation?
Not during the May 20 to October 25 season. A vehicle reservation is required to drive the summit road in that window. Outside the season the reservation is not in force.
Reservation rules change from year to year, and sometimes mid-season. Confirm the current rule on the official park page before you book or travel. Acadia vehicle reservations page (NPS)
Rules on this page last verified against the official NPS pages on July 13, 2026.
How we read the crowds
The monthly visit counts on this page come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics. "Share of peak" compares a month against the park's own busiest month, so 100 percent marks the single busiest month of the year. The reservation and permit rules come from each park's official NPS pages, linked above and last verified on July 13, 2026. We are an independent site and not affiliated with the National Park Service.
Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.