NEWS RELEASES
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through MSN's website.
Acadia National Park is set to institute a timed-entry reservation system for certain popular spots starting next summer. Acadia would be joining Muir Woods and Haleakala National Park in implementing the reservation system. The permit system is designed to solve problems of gridlock traffic and illegal, unsafe roadside parking during peak season at the busiest areas of the park. MSN writer, Maggie Fuller, covers in her article, "Located in Maine, Acadia is the seventh most visited national park and welcomes around 3.5 million visitors annually. But it just wasn’t designed to accommodate such numbers. On February 3, 2020, superintendent Kevin Schneider told the Acadia Advisory Commission that on an average summer morning, there are 450 cars parked in and around the 100-car lot at Cadillac Mountain—meaning that hundreds are parked illegally and potentially in unsafe locations." Visitors will only need to reserve permits during the summer and only for the Ocean Drive road and for the parking lots at James Pond and Cadillac Mountain. It’s a timed-entry system, so visitors will have a specific window between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during which they’re allowed to enter the restricted areas.To read more on Acadia National Park, click here.