By Carey Kish
The Island Explorer offers fare-free travel throughout Acadia National Park and neighboring towns and villages. PHOTO: Aimee Beal Church, Courtesy of Friends of Acadia
Acadia National Park is one of the busiest parks in the United States, attracting nearly three million visitors each year to the amazing ocean shoreline, leafy-green forests and bare-topped, pink-granite mountains of Mount Desert Island. The most popular time to visit Acadia is during the high summer months of July and August. That’s when the famed Park Loop Road and many other island roads are busy with traffic, and parking areas are filled to capacity much of the time.
Savvy park visitors can avoid the hassles of driving and parking by riding the fare-free Island Explorer shuttle bus system. Ten convenient bus routes (with frequent service) connect lodging and campgrounds around Mount Desert Island and on the mainland at Trenton to popular destinations throughout Acadia National Park, including neighboring towns and villages. By going “car-free” via the Island Explorer buses, you can leave the driving to someone else and ride stress-free to the beach, hiking trails, carriage roads, museums and historic sites, shops, restaurants, ferry terminals and many other park attractions.
Frenchman Bay from the south ridge of Champlain Mountain. PHOTO: Aimee Beal Church, Courtesy of Friends of Acadia
The Island Explorer has proven to be a resounding success in its 15 years of operation. Since 1999, the propane-powered bus system has carried over 5 million passengers and helped eliminate 2 million vehicle trips, 25 tons of smog-causing pollutants and 16,000 tons of greenhouse gases. The island nonprofit Friends of Acadia has played a major role in this environmentally-friendly visitor service along with L.L. Bean, state and federal government agencies, and local towns and businesses.
The Island Explorer buses operate seasonally from late June through early October. While the service is fare-free, riders must still purchase a park entrance pass, available at many locations on the island. All buses are accessible and include bike racks. MORE INFO: www.exploreacadia.com, 207-667-5796.
