Tag: acadia national park

Acadia Counts Migrating Hawks as Researchers Study Climate Change Impact on Raptors
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Acadia Counts Migrating Hawks as Researchers Study Climate Change Impact on Raptors

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Bar Harbor Historical Society. by Sabrina Martin/BDN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK — Every day from August through October, researchers, volunteers, and visitors gather atop Cadillac Mountain to count hawks, falcons, and eagles migrating over Acadia National Park, data scientists rely on to gauge how climate change is reshaping the region’s ecosystem. The multi-month count comes as key tenets of … Continue reading Acadia Counts Migrating Hawks as Researchers Study Climate Change Impact on Raptors

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THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK. And some ongoing events.
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THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.

And some ongoing events. Carrie Jones Sep 21, 2026 THINGS TO DO It’s our weekly round-up, and we may have missed some things, so apologies! If you have something you’d like in here, please let us know. We hope you have some great adventures this week! To check out our news stories and briefs from the past week, click on the archive section, and you’ll see them … Continue reading THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.

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Island Explorer Is Getting New Buses; They Just Won’t Be Electric. The revised plan calls for low-emission buses and could allow the Island Explorer to expand its fleet as ridership grows.
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Island Explorer Is Getting New Buses; They Just Won’t Be Electric.

The revised plan calls for low-emission buses and could allow the Island Explorer to expand its fleet as ridership grows. Carrie Jones Sep 19, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Window Panes Home and Garden. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—The Island Explorer will get a new fleet of buses, but they won’t be electric. Instead, the fare-free system plans to replace its existing buses with … Continue reading Island Explorer Is Getting New Buses; They Just Won’t Be Electric.

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69,061 People Visited Acadia’s New Gateway Center This Season and From There 6,409 Boarded an Island Explorer Bus. The Trenton center is attracting visitors in its first full season, but survey results show driving their own vehicles remains the dominant way people plan to get around.
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69,061 People Visited Acadia’s New Gateway Center This Season and From There 6,409 Boarded an Island Explorer Bus.

The Trenton center is attracting visitors in its first full season, but survey results show driving their own vehicles remains the dominant way people plan to get around. Carrie Jones Sep 16, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Viridian Law. TRENTON —Between June 1 and August 31, at the Acadia Gateway Center, the buses have been boarded 6,409 times. That’s the news Amanda … Continue reading 69,061 People Visited Acadia’s New Gateway Center This Season and From There 6,409 Boarded an Island Explorer Bus.

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When Someone Needed Help at Acadia’s Monument Cove This July, Traffic Got in the Way. The park plans a dedicated lane near Sand Beach for Island Explorer buses and emergency vehicles as officials look for ways to keep people moving. Carrie Jones Sep 14, 2026 Precipice Trail parking overflow on the Park Loop road shortly before the Sand Beach Entrance Station, August 31, 2024. File photo: Bar Harbor Story. The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Witham Family Hotels. BAR HARBOR — A new dedicated bus lane is in the works for a section of the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park. The lane will not be just for busses, but also for emergency response vehicles. The lane will be in one of the most popular areas of Acadia National Park, which will host an estimated 4 million visits this year. It will likely begin in October. The lane will start 1,000 feet north of the Sand Beach entrance station, which is where park passes are shown and sometimes purchased prior to vehicles, bikes, or pedestrians entering Ocean Drive, which hosts Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, the Bee Hive Trail, and other major attractions. The lane will merge for 300 feet or so after the entrance station. John Kelly, Acadia National Park management assistant, gave the information to members of the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission during its meeting, September 14. A concern from those attending was whether or not the bus-only lane would cause more traffic back up at busy times. “We’ve studied this,” Kelly said. The line for other vehicles is expected to be longer, but the process time for other vehicles should be the same. “If it’s not working, there’s no point in keeping it going.” The fare-free Island Explorer system has had 40,000 more riders so far this season. Approximately 30,000 of those riders are attributed to an earlier start for some routes prior to Memorial Day. A United States Department of Transportation grant is providing funding to purchase an additional six to eight buses for the system and replace the existing buses by 2031. Those buses will be similar in accessibility, size, and function as the current fleet. The busses will also be low-emission busses, the type will be determined by whatever the park can get for the best price. New buses will allow potential new routes, consistency, and length of service throughout the day. They could also eventually allow for express buses from the Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton to the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, Southwest Harbor, or Mount Desert. “We are looking at ways to improve the way they move through the park,” Kelly explained. The express lane is one of those ways that could make an impact. The biggest choke point is the Sand Beach entrance station. Buses typically experience a 20-30 minute delay, but that can be up to one hour and 15 minutes at that site. Police, ambulance, fire, and search and rescue vehicles will also be able to use the bus lane for emergency responses, a need, Kelly said, made more poignant due to an emergency response this summer. “Vehicles could not get through Ocean Drive to get to an incident at Monument Cove,” Kelly said. Morning light illuminates Monument Cove off the Ocean Path. Ashley L. Conti/Friends of Acadia via NPS BHS file photo. BHS file photo. In July, Hannah VanDevander twisted her ankle at Monument Cove. She then fell further eventually ending up in the ocean unconscious. Efforts to get land-based emergency personnel to the site off Ocean Drive—part of the Park Loop Road which travels past Sand Beach, the Beehive, and Thunder Hole—were stymied by vehicle congestion in the popular area of the park, which hosts approximately 4 million visits each year. The woman was safely taken from the rocks on the shore as the tide was coming in and brought via the Coast Guard to the Seal Harbor pier, along with a Bar Harbor paramedic. From there, an ambulance brought her to the landing zone—a field across from the Seal Harbor Beach. In a GoFundMe for Hannah, her brother Tyler wrote, “My sister, Hannah, was in critical condition after falling from a significant height while on a hike with her fiancé, Connor, at Acadia National Park in Maine. The fall caused traumatic, life-changing injuries to her entire body before she ended up unconscious in the water below. She was rescued and brought to shore by Connor, who continued making crucial decisions to save her life. The area she fell into was extremely difficult to navigate due to the woods, the rocky shore, and the rough waters.” HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you.
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When Someone Needed Help at Acadia’s Monument Cove This July, Traffic Got in the Way.

The park plans a dedicated lane near Sand Beach for Island Explorer buses and emergency vehicles as officials look for ways to keep people moving. Carrie Jones Sep 14, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Witham Family Hotels. BAR HARBOR — A new dedicated bus lane is in the works for a section of the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park. The … Continue reading When Someone Needed Help at Acadia’s Monument Cove This July, Traffic Got in the Way.

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14 99+ THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK. And some ongoing events.
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THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.

And some ongoing events. Carrie Jones Sep 14, 2026 THINGS TO DO It’s our weekly round-up, and we may have missed some things, so apologies! If you have something you’d like in here, please let us know. We hope you have some great adventures this week! To check out our news stories and briefs from the past week, click on the archive section, and you’ll see them … Continue reading THINGS TO DO IN THE MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION THIS WEEK.

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Year-to-Date Acadia National Park Numbers Show 2% Decrease in Visits. Visits to the park are 2% below last year through August, yet other measures—from bus ridership to commercial coaches—point to a more complicated picture of how people are visiting MDI.
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Year-to-Date Acadia National Park Numbers Show 2% Decrease in Visits.

Visits to the park are 2% below last year through August, yet other measures—from bus ridership to commercial coaches—point to a more complicated picture of how people are visiting MDI. Carrie Jones Sep 10, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Don & Beth Straus Center at Birch Bay Village. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—Year-to-date visits to Acadia National Park is down in 2026 as … Continue reading Year-to-Date Acadia National Park Numbers Show 2% Decrease in Visits.

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A Proposed New Nationwide Plan Could Give Acadia National Park a Somewhat Different Role. Draft documents obtained by NOTUS describe a proposed National Park Service reorganization that would place some parks at the center of regional “hub and spoke” networks.
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A Proposed New Nationwide Plan Could Give Acadia National Park a Somewhat Different Role.

Draft documents obtained by NOTUS describe a proposed National Park Service reorganization that would place some parks at the center of regional “hub and spoke” networks. Carrie Jones Sep 09, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Coastal Kayaking Tours and Acadia Bike. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—New plans are underway for the reorganization of all of the country’s national parks, according to reporting from The … Continue reading A Proposed New Nationwide Plan Could Give Acadia National Park a Somewhat Different Role.

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They’re Carrying Bags of Soil Up Acadia’s Mountains. Here’s Why. Twenty Hikers, 311 Pounds of Soil and One Mountain’s Summit Is Being Restored.
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They’re Carrying Bags of Soil Up Acadia’s Mountains. Here’s Why.

Twenty Hikers, 311 Pounds of Soil and One Mountain’s Summit Is Being Restored. Aug 29, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank. By Sabrina Martin/BDN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—Twice a week, from June through September, volunteers at Acadia National Park haul bags of soil — each of which are between 5 and 20 pounds — to the summits … Continue reading They’re Carrying Bags of Soil Up Acadia’s Mountains. Here’s Why.

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13 99+ How Did Gus Find His Home? Through a Community of Hundreds of Strangers Who Helped. The friendly dog found wandering near Pretty Marsh was safe at the Hancock County SPCA while a community started trying to figure out where he belonged.
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How Did Gus Find His Home? Through a Community of Hundreds of Strangers Who Helped.

The friendly dog found wandering near Pretty Marsh was safe at the Hancock County SPCA while a community started trying to figure out where he belonged. Carrie Jones Aug 27, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Wealth Management. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—They found Gus in Tremont, over by Pretty Marsh, wandering in Acadia National Park property. The first photo published of … Continue reading How Did Gus Find His Home? Through a Community of Hundreds of Strangers Who Helped.

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