Acadia’s New Visitor Hub Seeks to Change How Some Travelers Reach the Park and the Island. Built Slowly, Opened Joyfully: Acadia’s New Gateway Arrives.
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Acadia’s New Visitor Hub Seeks to Change How Some Travelers Reach the Park and the Island.

Built Slowly, Opened Joyfully: Acadia’s New Gateway Arrives.

Carrie Jones

May 21, 2026

A group of people gathered outdoors, smiling and holding scissors and ribbons, celebrating a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of a modern building.
Governor Mills (center) wields a giant pair of scissors at the ribbon cutting.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Geddy’s.

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TRENTON—There was a stinging bug on the floor right before the Acadia Gateway Center’s official opening and ribbon cutting, May 20, and a worker was concerned, silently trying to rescue the insect and bring it outside.

Before the dignitaries spoke, before congratulations happened, before applause rang out, before Governor Janet Mills (flanked by Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider and Trenton Select Board Chair R. Fred Ehrlenbach) cut a ribbon , a worker at the new intermodal center took his driver’s license and painstakingly, carefully, swept a stinging insect onto the thin plastic. He was trying to move the bug from where it had fallen on the floor. It took a couple of attempts before he gently carried the insect outside so that it could be free.

That small and singular moment helped evoke the bigger picture, the small moments, the quiet work, the persistence without the fanfare that led to Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony of a huge collaborative effort to create a transportation and visitor hub in Downeast Maine.

Many of the people who worked for decades to make the center a reality could probably relate to that worker’s moment if they saw it, relate to the way that things have to be nurtured, carried, hoped over, and set off before those things can become what they are meant to be, where they are meant to be.

The Acadia Gateway Center is state-operated and owned, but many players and administrations were quietly part of its creation. The center opened in September 2025, but the full-season and official reopening for the $27.7 million center was May 20, just before the historical Memorial Day weekend start of the tourist season.

A person wearing a reflective safety vest and a cap is crouched down on the floor, inspecting or picking up something near a large glass window. The scene includes an outdoor view with people gathered near a building.
An employee begins the insect evacuation.
A woman with blonde hair and sunglasses is speaking to a park ranger in a green uniform and hat, smiling while holding a brochure.
Supt. Schneider
A group of individuals participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. One person holds oversized scissors, while another holds a ribbon. They appear to be celebrating an opening or inauguration.
R. Fred Ehrlenbach, Gov. Mills, Schneider.
A group of people gathered outdoors during a sunny day, with a man in a light blue shirt holding a document and adjusting his sunglasses, while another man records with a smartphone. Various individuals in formal attire and casual clothing can be seen in the background, with a building and blue sky above.
Paul Murphy center.

The ribbon cutting happened Wednesday, but the $28 million visitors’ center officially began in 2004 when Friends of Acadia (FOA) exercised an option on 369 acres in Trenton.

Then decades of work started.

That work, Dale Doughty, MaineDOT commissioner, said has been a collaboration.

“It evolved like everything else you work with partners on,” Doughty said.

The 11,000-square-foot visitors’ center itself was mostly funded by federal money, but also received funds from FOA and the state.

The center holds approximately 300 free daytime parking spaces along with 18 electric vehicle charging spaces and 10 spots for oversized vehicles.

Two smiling men seated in a crowded room, with people in the background engaged in conversation. The men are wearing casual attire and appear friendly, with one holding a booklet.
Jesse Dunbar, Jeff Prentice.
A woman wearing glasses and a blue scarf is speaking outside, with a man in a suit slightly blurred in the background.
A man in a light blue suit and tie speaks at a podium with a microphone, smiling and gesturing. The background shows a reception area with people and promotional materials.
FOA’s Eric Stiles
A rear view of a L.L. Bean bus parked outside a modern building with a curved roof and wooden accents, under a partly cloudy sky.

“We are deeply grateful to the donors whose generosity helped bring this vision to life,” said Eric Stiles, president and CEO of Friends of Acadia. “By making it easier to park, ride the bus, and explore Acadia car-free, the Acadia Gateway Center will help reduce traffic congestion in the park and surrounding communities, protect park resources, and create a more enjoyable visitor experience.”

The project has a lot of goals, but a main one is to encourage visitors to park off Mount Desert Island and take the free Island Explorer bus into the park and towns.

“If you go to Sand Beach or Jordan Pond House in the middle of summer, it can take upwards of 45 minutes to find a parking spot. Or you can come to a place like Acadia Gateway Center, get great information, hop on the bus, beautiful wrap-around windows so you get to enjoy it while it’s in transit,” said Stiles. “You hop right off, and you get to enjoy the features that you’re here to see.”

There is also a visitor information center, a place where people can plan their trip, restrooms, and spaces to collect information about the area.

The center opens after January 1 park pass fee increases for people who are not U.S. residents. The cost is now the normal fee and an additional $100 for those visitors. The price for U.S. residents tends to be between $20 and $35, with some exemptions. During comments with the press after the ribbon cutting, Governor Mills called those increased fees for non-residents ridiculous.

“The Gateway is expected to be used by nearly 300,000 visitors who, last year, supported more than 14,000 jobs and contributed more than $610 million in wages in this region alone,” Governor Mills said. “This facility will safeguard Acadia National Park as the treasure that it has always been by making the visitor experience smoother, more accessible, and more sustainable.”

A group of people is gathered outside a modern building, participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. They are smiling and holding a large red, white, and blue ribbon, with some individuals holding scissors ready to cut the ribbon.
A visitor information center with a staff member assisting visitors at the reception desk, discussing maps and local attractions, with promotional screens in the background.
Three men standing together outdoors, two of them wearing formal attire and one in a ranger uniform, engaging in conversation.
Stiles. Ehrlenbach. Schneider.
Two people smiling for the camera in a crowded indoor setting, with chairs in the background.
Karen Reddersen and Noah Burby.

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 then, too, was to “move people more efficiently, reduce traffic congestion between Bangor and Mount Desert Island, and protect air quality in Acadia National Park.”

But first, MaineDOT had to complete an environmental assessment. Three years later, Friends of Acadia purchased the property from Nacochee Corporation of Atlanta. The non-profit organization then sold 152 acres to the state.

Those 152 acres mitigate wetland losses and host the center, which opened Wednesday of this week.

The Island Explorer maintenance facility and Downeast Transportation offices have been on the site since 2012. That propane-powered bus system is fare-free and provides seasonal service to the park.

A group of people engaged in conversation inside a spacious building with wooden beams and natural light, featuring a park store and other visitors in the background.
Eben Salvatore, Jennifer Byer. Alex Kimball.
A smiling man in a green uniform speaking at a podium with a microphone, set in an indoor environment.
A man wearing glasses and a blazer speaks at a podium with a microphone in a well-lit room, with artwork visible in the background.

State, local, and federal agencies as well as nonprofits such as Friends of Acadia, Downeast Transportation, and the Town of Trenton worked together for years to make the center a reality.

Dignitaries gave exuberant speeches and the ribbon cutting, the smiles and thank you’s; there was a litany of thank you’s from local speakers.

Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty focused on the hope that visitors to Mount Desert Island will leave their cars in Trenton. “Visitors have an opportunity to switch over to public transportation. They can enjoy the park instead of having to worry about where to park or how they get through town.”

“It’s not just a park-based system. You can hop on the bus and go to Bar Harbor, you can go to Southwest Harbor, and you can go into the park,” Schneider said.

A middle-aged man with glasses and gray hair speaks at a microphone in a lobby setting, with blurred figures and informational displays in the background.
Paul Murphy.
A woman wearing a white hat speaks with a male employee at a tourist information desk, with maps and promotional materials displayed.
A woman with short blonde hair, wearing a dark blazer and a patterned scarf, speaks at a microphone during an event, with people in the background.

The state owns the 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.

The Maine Tourism Association operates the visitor information center within the building. It’s one of seven such centers in the state.

“It’s all about getting people off the beaten path,” Tony Cameron, CEO of the Maine Tourism Association, said during an interview with WCSH during the media event in September. “Rolling out the red carpet and really making sure they feel welcome here.”

According to Friends of Acadia, “Every full Island Explorer bus that you see going by this summer represents 10 to 16 personal vehicles removed from the road.”

With just one state-run road on and off Mount Desert Island and with some locals worrying about congestion and its potential negative implications for safety (Bar Harbor has just adopted a plan calling for no major road-related accidents or deaths), any extra vehicles off the region’s roads is considered a good thing.

On Wednesday, Cameron said, “It’s super exciting. I think it’s a great day for Maine. It’s a great day for Acadia. It’s a great day for the visitors and the local communities.”

A man with a beard speaking in a casual setting, wearing a blazer and collared shirt, with a blurred background of people and a television screen.
Devin Lueddeke
Two women engaged in conversation at an event, one wearing a floral dress and the other a white hat.
A park ranger speaking at a podium with a microphone, gesturing with his hands in a spacious interior setting.

For Downeast Transportation Executive Director, Paul Murphy, the thanks were plentiful. Downeast Transportation runs the Island Explorer.

“It took a long time to get here,” Murphy said before he thanked park superintendents past and president, federal partners, state partners, Friends of Acadia staff, and local towns of Bar Harbor and Trenton.

“And particularly Fred Ehrlenbach,” Murphy said, who led Trenton through the process and allowed it to happen.

People he mentioned “breathed new life” into the project.

He also thanked FOA’s Vice President of Conservation Stephanie Clement, who he said, “doesn’t know how to say no.”

Clement received enthusiastic applause from the crowd for being with the project since it began as a mentor, trusted confident, an organizer. Those monikers, Murphy said, were inadequate to describe her.

Three individuals posing in front of the Acadia Gateway Center; one man in a blue checkered shirt, one woman in a white blouse holding a red cane, and one man in a ranger uniform with a hat.
TRENTON, MAINE- MAY 20, 2026– (L-R) Paul Murphy, Executive Director, Downeast Transportation, Stephanie Clement, VP of Conservation for Friends of Acadia, and John Kelly, Acadia National Park Management Assistant, pose for a photo after celebrating the completion of the new transportation hub. Murphy, Clement, and Kelly worked on the project through several decades, seeing it go from idea to completion. (Julia Walker Thomas/Friends of Acadia)
A man speaking into a microphone at an event, gesturing with his hand while another man in a suit stands in the background.
Tony Cameron
Two men engaged in a conversation at an indoor event, with one wearing a blue checkered shirt and the other in a white shirt.
A man with short gray hair and a beard is laughing joyfully, dressed in a dark shirt, with a blurred background of plants and framed pictures.

“Friends of Acadia has been involved with the Island Explorer since its start in 1999 and in planning for the Acadia Gateway Center since the project’s beginning,” according to FOA’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing Perrin Doniger. “Over the years, Friends of Acadia helped facilitate the purchase of the land, contributed $1 million toward construction of the visitor center and transit hub, and donated $225,000 to help install solar panels.”

Stiles also spoke to the efficiency and eventual cost savings of those panels when the costs of other utilities is increasing.

According to Friends of Acadia, “The design of the visitor center and transit hub went through several revisions over the years to improve efficiency, lower construction costs, and incorporate new technologies. The majority of the estimated construction costs will come from the Federal Transit Administration. The National Park Service (NPS) has contributed $4 million in Centennial Challenge funds, matched and exceeded by transportation bonds and other funds provided by MaineDOT.

“Friends of Acadia has pledged $1 million from the Acadia Experience portion of funds raised as part of the Acadia Second Century campaign. We have also pledged up to $225K for solar panels on the building to reduce environmental impact, as well as the long-term operational costs.”

The nonprofit has also donated 200 acres behind the site to create a municipal park.

Those 217 acres are some aspects of the project that don’t get quite as much buzz as the transit hub.

The acres by Crippens Creek are tree growth areas, but also the site of the Trenton Community Trail. The public access trail’s build was facilitated by the National Park Service’s Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program. There is a deeded right-of-way through the front acreage along what was once the Turnpike Road.

That trail system was something that FOA’s Clement advocated for, studied, and spoke to Trenton officials about since the beginning of the 2000s. She, Jim Linnane, and FOA were instrumental in its completion.

The 1.8-mile loop trail opened in 2013. It meanders through the mossy-covered trees, openings in the forest, and across streams.

A man in a light blue suit stands at a podium with a microphone, smiling, with a park store in the background.
A group of individuals, including a woman holding large scissors, participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony outdoors, with colorful ribbons and smiling faces.
A man with a bald head and mustache speaks at a podium with a microphone, wearing a gray suit and blue tie, in an indoor setting with artwork in the background.
Dale Doughty

On Wednesday Stiles spoke to the importance of the Acadia Gateway Center for daily visitors.

“If you ever go to Jordan Pond House or Sand Beach on a July or August day and you see those minivans, they’re like sharks. Right? Circling the island hoping the seals will come off so that they can pick off that seal. It is like that,” Stiles said of cars trying to find spaces in those lots in high season.

LL Bean has committed $5.5 million to help support the Island Explorer over ten years, Stiles said.

The need is self-evident, he said. The free bus and place for people to park sells itself.

A woman speaks at a podium with a microphone, gesturing with her hands, in a well-lit indoor space with people in the background.
A man with a beard and short hair speaking into a microphone, dressed in a suit and tie, with a serious expression
A smiling young woman in a gray uniform stands in front of a display of brochures and maps, interacting with a crowd in a visitor center.
Amanda Pollock

During her prepared comments, Governor Mills also spoke of the park’s history, and tales of people living in “houses of silver and gold” and when French explorer Samuel de Champlain found an island, home to the Wabanaki. She spoke of George Dorr’s dedication of making a national park, of all the land donations that created the park.

“Today we celebrate the partnership that will protect these lands for the enjoyment of future generations,” Governor Mills said.

The collaboration to create the Gateway Center spans decades. The state spent approximately $12 million on the project.

“This beautiful space will greet visitors from Mount Desert Island, encourage them to park for free here,” and explore Acadia, she said. It will make the visitor experience smoother and more accessible, she said.

That will help decrease traffic congestion and pollution. Last year in the Downeast and Acadia Region, the state estimates 1.7 million visitors spent more than $1.3 billion dollars, Governor Mills said.

A man in a suit delivering a speech at a podium with a microphone, expressing himself with open hands and a surprised expression.
Chief Counsel Matthew Cahill of the Federal Transit Administration.
A woman with long dark hair and glasses looking directly at the camera, with a blurred crowd in the background.
A man in a red checkered shirt converses with a woman, while other people are seen blurred in the background.
Rep. Gary Friedmann.

All photos unless otherwise specified: Shaun Farrar/Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story.

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

A straw hat with a decorative leather band resting on a dark table, with blurred figures and water bottles in the background.
The Acadia Gateway Center is Now Open!

For Island Explorer routes

Maine Tourism Association’s page about the Gateway Center.

Acadia National Park’s page about the center.

Acadia Gateway Center Opens as Acadia Has A Record-Breaking August

Acadia Gateway Center Opens as Acadia Has A Record-Breaking August

Carrie Jones

·

September 6, 2025

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Acadia Visitor Center in Trenton Opens After Months of Delays

Acadia Visitor Center in Trenton Opens After Months of Delays

September 3, 2025

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Paid for by the candidate.

This was updated at 4:41 p.m., May 22, to include the words “paid for by the candidate” underneath the above image.

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