Acadia National Park
Park Regulations
For your safety, and to protect Acadia's treasures, please read and follow all NPS regulations. Complete regulations are available at any park visitor center.
Shoreline Exploring
Exercise caution along Acadia's rocky shoreline. Loose gravel on rocks creates dangerous footing. Wet rocks are slippery and a sudden wave can sweep the unsuspecting sightseer into the sea.
Frostbite
Winter poses additional safety problems. Pay attention to weather forecasts and know and respect your own limits. Prolonged exposure to extreme cold can lead to tissue damage. To protect against frostbite while cross-country skiing or winter camping, dress warmly and bring along extra layers. Protect your extremities: fingers, toes, ears and nose. Avoid tight clothing and boots that constrict blood flow. If you notice a small white patch forming on your skin, seek shelter immediately and slowly re-warm the affected area by immersing it in warm water (104—108°F).
Hiking Safety Tips
• Be prepared. Carry a trail map, wristwatch, knife, matches, flashlight, water, food, insect repellent, rain gear and a first-aid kit.
• Hike with a partner and leave an itinerary with a responsible person, or on the dashboard of your vehicle.
• Stay on the trail so you won't get lost.
• If you become lost, exhausted or injured, stay calm and stay on the trail. Ask passing hikers for assistance. Do not bushwhack or travel in darkness. Should evening fall, you are better off staying where you are and waiting for help to arrive.
• While some trails can be comfortably hiked in sneakers, sturdy hiking shoes are recommended, especially for steep ascents such as Champlain Mountain's Precipice Trail.
• To prevent blisters—the most common ailment on the trail—wear comfortable shoes and quality outdoor socks to cushion and protect your feet.
Hypothermia
Because of Maine's fickle weather, dress in layers and bring rain gear. This is not only for comfort but also to prevent hypothermia. This potentially fatal condition occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can generate it. Skiers and winter campers are not the only candidates for hypothermia. Being tired or wet on a breezy summer day can also bring on the condition. If you find yourself or a member of your party shivering uncontrollably and acting disoriented, seek shelter immediately, remove all wet clothing, wrap them in a blanket and drink warm, nonalcoholic liquids. Serious cases of hypothermia require prompt medical treatment.
PARK REGULATIONS
• Accidents must be reported to park rangers if they involve personal injury or property damage.
• Bicycles are permitted on all paved park roads (including Park Loop Road) and Acadia's network of carriage roads, except those carriage roads posted by the Green Rock Company. Bicycles are not allowed on hiking trails.
• Only camp in designated campsites at Blackwoods, Seawall and Isle au Haut campgrounds.
• Gathering dead and downed wood within the campgrounds is prohibited. Take wood from park provided woodpiles only. Only build fires in designated fire rings or fireplaces in campgrounds and picnic areas.
• Discharge of firearms is prohibited in the park. Firearms may, however, be transported through the park provided they are unloaded and stored in such a way as to prevent use.
• Hunting or trapping is prohibited.
• The possession or use of fire-crackers or fireworks is prohibited.
• Fishing is permitted in accordance with Maine state law. A state license is required for freshwater fishing. While licenses cannot be purchased in the park, they are available at some town offices and hardware stores.
• Pets must always be on leashes that can be no longer than six feet. They are allowed in all park locations except Echo Lake Beach, Sand Beach, Duck Harbor Campground on Isle au Haut, ladder trails, park buildings and on ranger-led programs.
• All-terrain vehicles are prohibited.
• All motorized vehicles are prohibited on park trails and carriage roads.
• The possession, destruction, removal or disturbance of park property or natural and cultural resources is prohibited.
• Don't feed, chase or harass wildlife.
Acadia In Depth
News from the Parks
Denali National Park Goes Greener With New Hybrid Commercial Bus From IC Bus
July 18, 2008 - 12:55pm
DENALI, Alaska, July 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Visitors to Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, one of the largest protected intact ecosystems in the world, will now have the opportunity to explore the park with the aid of an environmentally friendly vehicle -- a fuel-efficient and emissions-reducing hybrid bus. IC Bus, North America's largest school bus and commercial bus manufacturer, is delivering the Park's first hybrid bus on July 17.
July 18, 2008 - 12:55pm
DENALI, Alaska, July 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Visitors to Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, one of the largest protected intact ecosystems in the world, will now have the opportunity to explore the park with the aid of an environmentally friendly vehicle -- a fuel-efficient and emissions-reducing hybrid bus. IC Bus, North America's largest school bus and commercial bus manufacturer, is delivering the Park's first hybrid bus on July 17.
Canyoneering Heaven At Zion National Park
July 18, 2008 - 10:17am
Lee and Brian are loaded like sherpas, each hauling an end of the 700-foot-long rope and moving in lockstep as they hike down a dry creek bed through a ponderosa pine forest atop a mesa about 6,000 feet above sea level. Behind us, at the end of a wretched logging road that almost made a couple of people in our group sick, is Lee's truck, which we'll come back for the next day. Ahead of us is . . . one big drop. The creek bed ends at a sheer cliff that plunges into what looks like an enormous hole. Walking to the edge, I peer over and can't see the bottom. This is the start of Engelstead Canyon.
July 18, 2008 - 10:17am
Lee and Brian are loaded like sherpas, each hauling an end of the 700-foot-long rope and moving in lockstep as they hike down a dry creek bed through a ponderosa pine forest atop a mesa about 6,000 feet above sea level. Behind us, at the end of a wretched logging road that almost made a couple of people in our group sick, is Lee's truck, which we'll come back for the next day. Ahead of us is . . . one big drop. The creek bed ends at a sheer cliff that plunges into what looks like an enormous hole. Walking to the edge, I peer over and can't see the bottom. This is the start of Engelstead Canyon.
Shenandoah National Park Launches Multimedia Tour Inviting Visitors to Experience the Blue Ridge Mountains Like Never Before
July 18, 2008 - 9:30am
Austin, Texas - Greta Miller, Executive Director of the Shenandoah National Park Association announced today the launch of a new interpretive tool, the GPS Ranger™, for visitors at Shenandoah National Park. Visitors to the park can experience the Blue Ridge Mountains and learn more about the park’s unique history, land, plants, and animals with the assistance of the multimedia GPS Ranger™ tour guide system. Informative and educational ranger-narrated videos automatically play as guests hike.
July 18, 2008 - 9:30am
Austin, Texas - Greta Miller, Executive Director of the Shenandoah National Park Association announced today the launch of a new interpretive tool, the GPS Ranger™, for visitors at Shenandoah National Park. Visitors to the park can experience the Blue Ridge Mountains and learn more about the park’s unique history, land, plants, and animals with the assistance of the multimedia GPS Ranger™ tour guide system. Informative and educational ranger-narrated videos automatically play as guests hike.
Hiker tackles every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
July 18, 2008 - 9:28am
Sixty-three year old Diane Scarbrough loves to spend time in the Smoky Mountains. "Anybody that can be out there for any length of time," she says. "It's uplifting." Diane's passion for hiking turned into a mission to hike every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "We call it the 900 mile club. Actually it comes out to be 845, but I think they round that off because it takes a long time to get to a trail. We may hike 4 miles to get to the trail we are hiking on," Diane explains.
July 18, 2008 - 9:28am
Sixty-three year old Diane Scarbrough loves to spend time in the Smoky Mountains. "Anybody that can be out there for any length of time," she says. "It's uplifting." Diane's passion for hiking turned into a mission to hike every mile of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "We call it the 900 mile club. Actually it comes out to be 845, but I think they round that off because it takes a long time to get to a trail. We may hike 4 miles to get to the trail we are hiking on," Diane explains.
Rabid bat in Olympic National Park puts visitor, three employees in treatment
July 18, 2008 - 9:25am
The Olympic National Park's first possible case of rabies since 1977 has struck a woman who was in the Ozette campground late last week. The 55-year-old woman is getting rabies prevention treatment after a bat scratched her in the Ozette campground. Three Olympic National Park employees who responded to the incident are also receiving treatment. The bat approached the woman at her campsite. She knocked the bat to the ground and got scratched. The stunned bat remained on the ground until the next morning. Park employees removed the bat for rabies testing. The rabies virus was found in the bat. The only other known case of rabies in Olympic National Park was recorded 33 years ago in July 1975, when a child was bitten by a bat in the Elwha Valley.
July 18, 2008 - 9:25am
The Olympic National Park's first possible case of rabies since 1977 has struck a woman who was in the Ozette campground late last week. The 55-year-old woman is getting rabies prevention treatment after a bat scratched her in the Ozette campground. Three Olympic National Park employees who responded to the incident are also receiving treatment. The bat approached the woman at her campsite. She knocked the bat to the ground and got scratched. The stunned bat remained on the ground until the next morning. Park employees removed the bat for rabies testing. The rabies virus was found in the bat. The only other known case of rabies in Olympic National Park was recorded 33 years ago in July 1975, when a child was bitten by a bat in the Elwha Valley.
