Two routes will be active Memorial Day Weekend
Jan 27, 2026
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Acadia had an all-time record visitation in 2025 and as both Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park continue to work on ways to mitigate either road congestion or decrease serious injury crashes, the Island Explorer will be starting a bit earlier this year and will be running some routes for Memorial Day weekend.
The free bus system intends to begin running two routes out of the Trenton visitor center beginning May 20.
“Acadia had an all time record visitation in 2025, a little bit over the record in 2021,” ANP Management Assistant John Kelly said during a League of Towns meeting, January 27. “It did exceed even 2021 which was a banner year.”
It also exceeded last year’s visits by 3%.
“So just a note, we had an extremely busy season, especially fall and October when we were in a shutdown. So, having a shutdown and having one of the busiest months of year at the same time as a real challenges for the park, but we did get through it it and we didn’t have any major incidents,” Kelley said.
The state had worked on a master plan for the transportation facility and welcoming center from 1997 to 2007, according to a report in the Mount Desert Islander by Becky Buyers-Basso. The goal was to “move people more efficiently, reduce traffic congestion between Bangor and Mount Desert Island, and protect air quality in Acadia National Park.”
From May 20-October 13, the Island Explorer will operate two routes in Trenton and into MDI from May through June. There will be 30-minute headways.
The Island Explorer’s website still shows 2025 routes and no expansion into Southwest Harbor or Tremont.
One early route runs from the Acadia Gateway Center to Bar Harbor’s village green. The other will operate along the Park Loop Road, leaving from the Hull’s Cove visitor center and looping through the park.
A headway is the time between two buses, Kelly said.
The full regular season will begin June 23. There will be 20-minute headways for those routes then.
“So that’s a big change for this year in terms of transportation in the park,” Kelly said. “We’ll have some bus service during Memorial Day weekend, which is going to be a first for us. We’ll see how that helps.”
The Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton had a soft opening on September 3, 2025. The 11,000-square-foot visitors center and transit hub was mostly funded by federal money, but also received funds from FOA and the state. The state owns the $27 million center. MaineDOT along with the Maine Office of Tourism, Acadia National Park, and Downeast Transportation Inc. operate it. The parking is free during the day.
Because of the federal shutdown, Acadia National Park wasn’t able to participate after October 1, but the center’s soft-opening ran through the twelfth.
The statistics were funky for the bus, Kelly said, but he believes there was a minimum of 2,000 riders during the Acadia Center’s soft opening and the center averaged approximately 200 people a day visiting the site, without any robust promotions.
According to the park’s Deputy Chief of Interpretation, Amanda Pollock, “Due to unexpected delays, the federal register notice has not yet published. Therefore, we have no choice but to cancel the Advisory Commission meeting scheduled for February 2. We look forward to meeting with you on Monday, June 1.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Parking Ban in Bar Harbor Starts Tonight
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